By Jordan SiglerShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberOn Sunday, the College Football Playoff selection committee punished BYU for playing in its conference championship game.
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The Cougars were ranked No. 11 before losing 34-7 to No. 4 Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday. In the final rankings released, BYU dropped to No. 12.
The committee dropped BYU and Ohio State (who lost 13-10 to Indiana in the Big Ten championship) one spot, but kept Alabama at No. 9 after losing 28-21 to No. 3 Georgia in the SEC championship.
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The biggest mover up was Miami, who jumped from No. 12 to No. 10 after watching Duke upset No. 17 Virginia 27-20 in overtime of the ACC championship. (Virginia dropped two spots in the final rankings to No. 19.)
Following the rankings release, BYU made several posts on social media torching the committee for bumping Miami over the Cougars after not playing in the ACC championship.
"Congrats to all the teams who made the @CFBPlayoff. Many talented, deserved programs. Worth asking the question… Was the core mission & purpose of the committee to ensure the BEST teams are included upheld?" BYU asked on X.
BYU then compared the resumes of Miami, Notre Dame and the Cougars:
"Objectively, how do you defend this: Miami (10–2) – ESPN SOS: 45 – ESPN SOR: 14 – Did not play for a conference championship – Losses: Two 8–4 teams (SMU, Louisville) BYU (11–2) – ESPN SOS: 22 – ESPN SOR: 9 – Played in the Big 12 championship – Losses: No. 4 Texas Tech on the road & in the Big 12 title game
"Notre Dame (10–2) – ESPN SOS: 44 – ESPN SOR: 13 – Did not play for a conference championship – Losses: Miami (who lost to two 8–4 teams) & No. 7 Texas A&M."
During his appearance on ESPN on Sunday, CFP committee member Hunter Yurachek argued that BYU's significant loss to Texas Tech was the reason the Hurricanes bumped them.
"We felt like the way BYU performed in their championship game, a second loss to Texas Tech in a similar fashion, was worthy of Miami moving ahead of them in the rankings," Yurachek said.
BYU apparently made a mistake by choosing to play in the Big 12 game instead of standing on its body of work in the 12-game regular season.
For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.
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