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BYU Football: Understanding the CFP rankings

By Adam Gibby

Sep 18, 2021; Provo, Utah, USA; BYU Cougars quarterback Jaren Hall (3) is pursued by Arizona State Sun Devils defensive back Evan Fields (4) in the fourth quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 18, 2021; Provo, Utah, USA; BYU Cougars quarterback Jaren Hall (3) is pursued by Arizona State Sun Devils defensive back Evan Fields (4) in the fourth quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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OU safety Pat Fields (10) returns a blocked extra-point attempt for two points during the Sooners’ 23-16 win against Nebraska on Saturday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman.cover main — ou-nebraska
OU safety Pat Fields (10) returns a blocked extra-point attempt for two points during the Sooners’ 23-16 win against Nebraska on Saturday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman.cover main — ou-nebraska /

Big Wins Matter the Most

Last year, Georgia, Oklahoma and Iowa State were all ranked in the first poll’s Top 15 despite having records of 6-2 or worse.

Despite having two losses, all three of those teams had picked up really good wins. Iowa State despite losing to Louisiana and Oklahoma State was given a great ranking for beating Oklahoma and TCU.

Georgia was 5-2 with losses to Alabama and Florida, but that didn’t seem to matter much since they had also beaten ranked Tennessee and Auburn.

The list goes on and on. In 2018 Florida was ranked No. 11 despite an 6-3 record, including bad losses to Kentucky and Missouri. Why were they ranked so high? They had beaten LSU and Mississippi State.

Over and over we can point to examples where a team has multiple losses, some to really bad teams, but are still ranked higher than the AP poll because of a big win later in the season.

In BYU Football’s case, one has to wonder if the wins over Utah (leading the Pac 12 South) and Virginia (control’s fate in ACC Coastal) will be enough to be considered great wins.

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