BYU coach Kalani Sitake had seen enough as he watched ESPN reveal the latest College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday.
As the graphics displayed all the teams contending for at-large bids, ESPN put up a comparison of programs ranked nine through 15.
Only the Cougars, ranked No. 11, weren’t on the screen. Instead, BYU was an afterthought as the conversation centered mostly on Notre Dame, ranked 10th, and Miami, ranked 12th.
Those teams, the committee said, were the real contenders.
“I’m just going to be honest, it’s a little disrespectful if your job is to put the comparison up there but you leave the BYU graphic out,” Sitake said on BYUtv. “You put up [teams] nine through 15 and subtract BYU and Utah. It seems like that is maybe done on purpose. And maybe the committee shouldn’t be doing that on purpose.”
Sitake feels BYU’s body of work should merit a top 10 ranking and a spot in the at-large playoff conversation.
BYU is 11-1, made the Big 12 Conference championship and has a higher strength of schedule and strength of record than Notre Dame, Miami and the others in the conversation.
“Let’s not look at logos, let’s look at resumes. Any blind resume comparison has BYU in the top 10,” Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said. “No question about it. ... I am confident the CFP committee will get it right for BYU.”
But Sitake has his doubts the committee will bump the Cougars up.
In fact, he thinks BYU will be punished for playing in the Big 12 title game on Saturday.
Last year, the committee moved SMU down several spots for losing in the ACC title game.
If BYU loses to No. 4 Texas Tech, the committee could potentially move Miami ahead of it. It certainly will not move it ahead of No. 10 Notre Dame, which does not play this weekend as an independent. Sitake doesn’t think that is a fair comparison.
“Don’t punish the team for being in a conference championship and elevate the other teams. Don’t let them have the upper hand by not playing. Then why would anyone play a championship game?” Sitake said.
Sitake felt as though BYU didn’t deserve to be in the playoff discussion last year, specifically because it missed out on the Big 12 title game. The Cougars finished 11-2.
But now, he thinks the same standard isn’t being applied to Miami and the Fighting Irish.
“Last year I felt like we didn’t belong in the conversation because we weren’t in the championship,” he said. “Now there are teams that aren’t in the championship game that are sitting [in the conversation] waiting to move up or move back.”
He added the committee changed its standards throughout the year. He pointed to how the committee apparently discounted the head-to-head matchup between Miami and Notre Dame. Both are 10-2; Miami beat Notre Dame early in the year, but Notre Dame is ranked higher.
“If you’re going to say you are only going to count the last six weeks then let’s do that,” he said. “Like you can’t say one thing and change the game as you are looking and seeding.”
Sitake is now advocating for a 24-team playoff that would allow each conference four automatic bids.
Short of that, he thinks every team trying to get into the current playoff should play a 13th game. For instance, he suggested the Big 12’s third-place team would play the third-place team from the ACC, SEC or Big Ten.
Then, he argued, every team could earn its way in and the conferences could be compared accurately.
“I mean, what else are you going to do?” Sitake asked. “Last year. we would have played the third-place team of another conference and that would have been amazing. Then you can honestly compare it. If the question is who deserves to be in with Notre Dame or Miami, let them play to settle it.”
But none of that will change in the next few days. Sitake knows the only real path for BYU is likely to beat Texas Tech outright.
Even Tech coach Joey McGuire doesn’t think that is right.
“Without a doubt, we should both be in the playoffs. They are discounting both of us,” McGuire said.
But Sitake thinks the committee members will likely be rooting against the Cougars to win. The only way to change their mind, he knows, is to force their hand.
“The committee shouldn’t be cheering for one team or their picks to justify their picks. Hard to compare a team that is not playing,” Sitake said.