College Football Playoff rankings are out. Is Boise State in good position for a bye?
Boise State remained comfortably in the fourth and final automatic bye spot in Tuesday evening’s penultimate College Football Playoff rankings.
The Broncos were ranked No. 10 by the committee after a 34-18 victory over Oregon State on Friday, moving up one spot from last week. But because Boise State is a would-be conference champion, it slides into the No. 4 seed and a bye. The five highest-rated conference champs receive automatic bids, and the top four get the byes.
The final CFP rankings will determine the playoff bracket and will be released at 10 a.m. Mountain time Sunday.
The league without a bye right now for its champion is the Big 12, which has No. 15 Arizona State playing No. 16 Iowa State in its title game Saturday. Boise State faces No. 20 UNLV in the Mountain West title game, with the winner getting the Group of Five bid. It seems doubtful the Big 12 winner could jump the Broncos if they win, but that is not set in stone, of course.
The ACC title game also poses an interesting situation, with No. 8 SMU hosting No. 17 Clemson, which has three losses. If the Tigers were to claim the automatic bid, it seems unlikely they would vault past Boise State either, meaning the No. 3 seed could be in play.
But all of that will be determined this weekend.
As things stood in the mock Tuesday night bracket, Boise State would face the winner of No. 3 Penn State (the No. 5 seed) and No. 15 Arizona State, which slots in as the 12 seed. The matchup would likely be in the Fiesta Bowl, with bowl games being assigned based on honoring historic bowl traditions and geography.
If Boise State falls to UNLV on Friday night, the dream of making the playoffs crumbles. The chances of the Broncos grabbing an at-large berth over a Power Four conference school such as No. 12 Miami or No. 13 Ole Miss are remote.
Here are the latest CFP rankings:
1. Oregon
2. Texas
3. Penn State
4. Notre Dame
5. Georgia
6. Ohio State
7. Tennessee
8. SMU
9. Indiana
10. Boise State
11. Alabama
12. Miami
13. Ole Miss
14. South Carolina
15. Arizona State
16. Iowa State
17. Clemson
18. BYU
19. Missouri
20. UNLV
21. Illinois
22. Syracuse
23. Colorado
24. Army
25. Memphis
