SALT LAKE CITY — The Big 12 remains in a strong position for another week.
In the third installment of the College Football Playoff rankings, five teams from the Big 12 were ranked for the first time this season. The two newcomers this season include No. 23 Houston and No. 25 Arizona State.
The top of the conference remains the same with the top three teams, though each inched up on a week where Texas dropped seven spots following a loss to Georgia.
Texas Tech moved up to No. 5 as the highest-ranked team from the conference, with BYU moving up to No. 11 and Utah up one spot to No. 12. The Red Raiders have the most likely path to a guaranteed spot in the playoff, with BYU and Utah needing more work to secure a spot.
For BYU, selection committee chairman Hunter Yurachek said their "quality wins" over Iowa State, Arizona and East Carolina — in addition to a ranked Utah team — help their case in relation to stacking up against teams around them with two losses.
"I think it's just the number of quality wins that are with those two-loss teams ahead of them and how they looked in that game two weeks ago in Texas Tech — against Texas Tech," Yurachek said.
The three top Big 12 remain above any team from the ACC, though Miami moved up to No. 13 as the highest-ranked team from the conference and would secure a spot on the playoff. That would leave BYU and Utah as the first two teams on the outside of the playoff.
"I am thrilled to see the Big 12 Conference getting the respect it deserves," conference Commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement. "I said at Big 12 football media days in July that we would earn it on the field, and we continue to do that."
Speaking about why the selection committee views Utah better than Miami, Yurachek said the Utes topped the Hurricanes largely based on strength of opponents.
"Utah right now, they are second in the country in their margin of victory in each of their games," Yurachek said. "They have played really good football moving forward. Obviously, there's a 12 versus 13, that one spot apart, but I think the differentiator is the losses that Utah has versus the losses that Miami has."
Following a loss last week to Oklahoma, Alabama, who was previously ranked No. 4, dropped all the way to No. 10, opening up a spot for Georgia to claim the final projected bye — joining No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana and No. 3 Texas A&M.
For a full list of the rankings see below, or click here.
