facebook-pixel

Voices: BYU and Utah just exposed the problem with rankings. Here’s how we fix it.

The ranking system is acting less like a scoreboard and more like a credit score.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU hosts TCU, NCAA football in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025.

Let’s start with BYU, because the sting is fresh.

The Cougars went 11–2 this season. Their only losses came to the same team: Texas Tech. In their first meeting, BYU was ranked #7 and Tech #8. BYU lost a close top-10 game and immediately fell five spots, from #7 to #12. SEC programs lose top-10 games all the time and typically drop one or two places, if at all.

Fast forward to the Big 12 championship game this past weekend, where Texas Tech entered ranked #4 and BYU #11. BYU lost again. Tech went on to finish #4 in the country and earned a College Football Playoff bid. BYU, despite their only two losses coming against the #4 team, finished outside the playoff field, headed to the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Dec. 27 against Georgia Tech.

Now shift to Utah. Early in the season, Utah lost one game to Texas Tech when Tech was ranked #17. Utah dropped 13 places in the next AP Poll. At that time, pollsters didn’t see Tech as a playoff team. The season proved they were wrong. Texas Tech climbed to #4 by year’s end, but Utah never recovered those 13 spots. A single September judgment became permanent, even after the data changed.

Now look at Miami. Miami started the season ranked #10. In week 8, they lost to unranked Louisville and dropped seven spots. Two weeks later, they lost again to unranked SMU and dropped eight more. That’s 15 spots total for two bad losses. But here’s the difference: Miami climbed back into the Top 10 by the end of the year and earned a playoff spot.

Miami’s ranking recovered. Utah and BYU’s rankings didn’t. These outcomes weren’t controlled by wins and losses alone. They were shaped by starting position and preseason credibility.

The ranking system is acting less like a scoreboard and more like a credit score.

Miami can have two missed payments and still qualify for a loan at the end of the season. Their preseason ranking gives them margin for error. BYU and Utah operate on cash only: everything up front, no grace period, no chance to absorb mistakes.

Polls don’t just reflect the season; they shape it. A number published in preseason ends up affecting television slots, narrative framing, “strength of schedule” metrics and playoff consideration. Human beings on the playoff committee spend weeks seeing the same names at the top of the rankings, then claim those ideas don’t influence them in December. That’s not a conspiracy. It’s cognitive reinforcement.

If college football wants to live up to the idea that “every Saturday matters,” there are straightforward ways to bring rankings more in line with performance:

  1. Automatic playoff bids for conference champions. Win your league, you’re in. No branding debate required.
  2. No national polls until mid-October. If preseason rankings are “just predictions,” then we can wait until teams actually play six or seven games before assigning numbers.
  3. Publish every playoff committee ballot weekly. The Heisman Trophy already does this. Transparency builds credibility.
  4. Remove recruiting projections from official metrics. If a formula includes data from 247Sports or Rivals, it’s measuring history and expectation, not results.
  5. Use one public scoring formula. Define the weight of road wins, bad losses, ranked wins and conference titles, and apply it consistently nationwide.

BYU and Utah don’t need special treatment. They need equal treatment. They need a fair starting line, a consistent scoring system and recognition that losing to a team that finishes #4 is not the same as losing to two unranked opponents.

College football says every Saturday matters. It’s time to ensure December reflects what happened on the field, not what was predicted in August.

(David P. Murray) David P. Murray is a business executive, entrepreneur and former broadcast news leader.

David P. Murray is a business executive, entrepreneur and former broadcast news leader, who has strong opinions about merit, math and how college football manages to ignore both every November.

The Salt Lake Tribune is committed to creating a space where Utahns can share ideas, perspectives and solutions that move our state forward. We rely on your insight to do this. Find out how to share your opinion here, and email us at voices@sltrib.com.

By David P. Murray | For The Salt Lake Tribune