On Tuesday night, the College Football Playoff (CFP) committee unveiled the second CFP rankings of the 2024 season. While the AP Poll and Coaches poll are mostly for show, the CFP rankings are not. The CFP rankings determine the times that will qualify for the 12-team College Football Playoff at the end of the season.

BYU, who is 9-0 and in first place in the Big 12, improved from no. 9 to no. 6 in the CFP rankings following a win over Utah. If the season ended today, BYU would be in the College Football Playoff as the 3-seed. Last week, BYU’s ranking would have made them the 4-seed. Since projected ACC champion Miami lost, however, the Cougars moved ahead of the Hurricanes in the CFP rankings.

Two other Big 12 teams are ranked in the top 25: Colorado (17) and Kansas State (16). BYU has two wins over teams ranked inside the CFP top 20. SMU is ranked no. 14 and Kansas State is ranked no. 16. Below is the second edition of the CFP rankings.

1. Oregon
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Penn State
5. Indiana
6. BYU
7. Tennessee
8. Notre Dame
9. Miami
10. Alabama
11. Ole Miss
12. Georgia
13. Boise State
14. SMU
15. Texas A&M
16. Kansas State
17. Colorado
18. Washington State
19. Louisville
20. Clemson
21. South Carolina
22. LSU
23. Missouri
24. Army
25. Tulane

Here are a few instant takeaways from the rankings:

The committee showed BYU some respect this week. It was expected that BYU would surpass Miami and Georgia since those two teams lost. Surpassing Tennessee, however, was the surprise of the evening. The Vols were ranked ahead of BYU in the rankings last week. Tennessee didn’t lose, but the committee valued BYU’s resume over Tennessee’s.

Perhaps most noteworthy is that there’s now some buffer between BYU and Boise State. At this point, it looks like BYU would earn a top-four seed if they win the Big 12, even if they lose a game over the next few weeks.

Alabama blew out LSU last weekend. It’s nice to see the committee respecting the value of wins and loses and maintaining some distance between the undefeated teams the the teams with losses – even if they pass the eye test.

Miami stayed in the top 10 even though they lost to Georgia Tech. That’s encouraging to see for BYU. It leaves some room for hope even if BYU drops a game in November.