Teams do not start off on a level playing field when it comes to making the College Football Playoffs. Some programs' destinies are largely written before the season begins, and the AP Poll voters are the authors of their fates.
For the most part, teams that begin the season ranked in the AP Poll are already "in the club" before the first game even kicks off. All ranked teams need to do is win their games and only suffer a couple of "quality losses" and they stay ranked all year. Teams that begin the year unranked have a long, arduous slog to respectability, and you can almost forget getting an invitation to the CFP.
What BYU's 2025 season taught us about the importance of the AP Preseason Poll
If you want to see the importance of beginning the season ranked, just take a look at BYU's 2025 campaign.
Kalani Sitake's squad finished 2024 ranked No. 13 in the AP Poll, and with quarterback Jake Retzlaff expected to return for his senior season, BYU was a virtual shoo-in to begin 2025 ranked. But prior to the 2025 season, Retzlaff withdrew from school rather than serving a lengthy suspension, and the Cougars suddenly didn't have a proven quarterback.
AP Poll voters took note and BYU began the 2025 season unranked, though they were the top school among "other receiving votes." Even then, it took the Cougars going 3-0 in nonconference play behind freshman quarterback sensation Bear Bachmeier before cracking the rankings at No. 25 in Week 5's poll that was released the week of September 21st.
After BYU started the season unranked, the College Football Playoff selection committee essentially viewed the Cougars as "guilty until proven innocent", and a single road loss at Texas Tech was all the committee needed to sentence BYU to CFP purgatory.
Where is BYU landing in the "Way Too Early" 2026 rankings?
The Cougars likely won't have the same uphill battle to national credibility next year, provided there aren't any major unforeseen issues between now and August. Here's where the Cougars are landing on some of the "Way Too Early" rankings for the 2026 season:
PFF - No. 10. Pro Football Focus highlights BYU's 23-4 record over the last two seasons and proclaims "the Cougars have a chance to crash the College Football Playoff for the first time next season."
ESPN - No. 11. This is the most important of them all. ESPN largely controls the media narrative for the season and puts a very heavy thumb on the scale in the CFP's determination of who makes the playoffs. If ESPN counts the Cougars among the deserving, that's massive for BYU.
CBS Sports - No. 12. Brandon Marcello of CBS Sports lists BYU as Texas Tech's primary contender for Big 12 supremacy.
On 3 - No. 13. The recruiting service applauds BYU returning two "stars" in Bear Bachmeier and running back LJ Martin, the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
If BYU can, in fact, start next year ranked somewhere between No. 10 and No. 13, they will be perfectly positioned for inclusion in next year's CFP provided, of course, they handle their business on the field.
They will be part of the national conversation from Week 0 and start the season with both credibility and relevance.
As BYU's 2025 season taught us, schools that begin the season without credibility and relevance -- meaning they start the season unranked in the AP Poll -- have an incredibly difficult mountain to climb to make the CFP.
Provided there's no major offseason drama, Kalani Sitake's team should start next year already in the driver's seat for a spot in the College Football Playoffs.