BYU’s 11-1 Season Is a Statement - But Will the CFP Committee Hear It?
PROVO - Kalani Sitake found himself in a familiar spot Saturday afternoon - back in the press room at LaVell Edwards Stadium, fresh off a dominant win, but wearing the same look of quiet frustration. Another regular season in the books.
Another year of asking *what more could we have done? *
Last year, Sitake sat in that same room after a 10-2 campaign, trying to celebrate a season-ending win over Houston while the sting of missed opportunities lingered. Fast forward to now, and the Cougars are 11-1, better in just about every way, and yet the College Football Playoff still feels like a distant dream.
“The next best thing to 12-0 is 11-1,” Sitake said after BYU’s convincing win over UCF. “That’s what we are. And losing to the fifth-ranked team.”
He’s not wrong. BYU’s only blemish this season came in Lubbock, a 29-7 loss to No.
5 Texas Tech. Everything else?
Clean. Efficient.
Dominant, even. The Cougars handled every team they were supposed to beat, finished November with three double-digit wins, and added two top-25 victories to their résumé - something last year’s squad couldn’t claim.
So why does it feel like they’re still stuck in neutral when it comes to the playoff picture?
That’s the question Sitake, his players, and fans in Provo are wrestling with. Because on paper, BYU did everything the committee has historically asked of a contender.
They learned from 2024’s late-season stumbles. They didn’t drop the trap games.
They beat ranked opponents. They showed growth, resilience, and consistency.
Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick summed it up: “Last year we had nine [wins] in a row and then we dropped two. We learned from that.
This year, we dropped one, then we bounced back. Now we have to finish it off.”
And yet, BYU sits at No. 11 in the latest rankings, needing a win over Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship just to stay in the playoff conversation.
That’s not just a tough ask - it’s a moving target.
The committee has made it clear: BYU’s loss to Texas Tech wasn’t just a loss, it was a red flag. “They were dominated on both sides of the ball,” said CFP committee chair Hunter Yurachek. That single game, it seems, has overshadowed a season full of high-level football.
But here’s where things get murky. Other teams in the top 10 - including Notre Dame - have similar or worse résumés.
The Irish are 10-2, with their best win coming against No. 20 USC.
They also lost their only top-five matchup of the year. BYU, meanwhile, beat No.
13 Utah and No. 25 Arizona, and only has one loss.
So why the disparity?
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark isn’t buying the committee’s logic. “BYU has been underappreciated all year,” he said. “And when you compare them to a Notre Dame, there is no comparison.”
The numbers back him up. BYU ranks sixth in strength of record and boasts the 33rd-best strength of schedule - higher than Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Ohio State, and others currently in the CFP mix. Yet the committee has reportedly given more consideration to a two-loss Miami team than to the Cougars.
Even Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire - whose team handed BYU that lone loss - doesn’t think the Cougars should be on the outside looking in.
“No matter what happens, I think BYU and Texas Tech should be in,” McGuire said.
That’s not just coach speak. That’s respect from a peer who saw firsthand what BYU brings to the field.
Quarterback Bear Bachmeier kept it simple: “I think we should be in the CFP. I think we are a great team.”
Linebacker Jack Kelly echoed the sentiment: “We’ve believed [BYU is a playoff team] from the beginning.”
But Sitake isn’t spending time lobbying. Not publicly, at least. His focus is squarely on what’s next - a Big 12 title game in Arlington with everything on the line.
Still, it’s fair to ask: why does BYU need a play-in game at all?
They’ve done the work. They’ve built the résumé.
They’ve responded to adversity. And yet, unless they beat the No. 5 team in the country - something not even all current playoff contenders have done - they may be headed not to the CFP, but to a bowl game in Texas or Florida.
For a program that’s done almost everything right, that’s a tough pill to swallow.
But Sitake and his team aren’t done yet. They’ve got one more chance to make their case - not with words, but with a win. And if they do, the committee may have no choice but to listen.