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SALT LAKE CITY — It's not a trick, but a treat for Utah football.
A few days after ESPN "College GameDay" set up in Salt Lake City, the worldwide leader of sports announced Utah as the No. 18 team in the initial College Football Playoff rankings of the 2023 season Tuesday night.
The rankings are consistent with where Utah landed in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll released Sunday.
The Utes have appeared in the College Football Playoff rankings 41 of the 54 possible weeks since 2014, which ranks seventh all-time in the country. Only Alabama and Ohio State have appeared in every CFP rankings since its inception.
Utah is one of six teams from the Pac-12 ranked in the initial CFP rankings, with Washington considered the "first team out" of the four-team playoff at No. 5. The Huskies edged out fellow Pac-12 member Oregon, which landed at No. 6.
The two teams, which are the only two from the Pac-12 to earn a CFP playoff spot, remain the best in the conference to make the playoff.
"With regards to Washington, huge win over Oregon, who we have at No. 6, but in looking at that, the game most recently, two most recent games at home against Arizona State and on the road at Stanford from a committee standpoint gave us some pause and put them in at No. 5," said Boo Corrigan, the CFP selection committee chair.
Oregon State at No. 16 is the next-highest ranked team from the Pac-12. Behind the Beavers is No. 18 Utah, No. 19 UCLA and No. 20 USC.
At the top of the rankings is No. 1 Ohio State, which has consistently been behind at least Georgia and Michigan in the AP Top 25 poll. Behind the Buckeyes is No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Florida State.
Corrigan said the selection committee ranked the Buckeyes No. 1 based on their resume and their ability to win big games at home and on the road, while Georgia and Michigan haven't yet had to face the same hurdles Ohio State has to this point in the season.
"The win against Penn State, to win at Notre Dame, the win at Wisconsin, they've proven they can do it at home, they've proven they can do it on the road," Coorigan said. "They have explosive plays. Down a receiver, Marvin Harrison, Jr., who's clearly one of the top players in the country. As we look at it, as we evaluate it, it is part of the overall evaluation."
