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Projected college football rankings after Boise State proves they deserve the bye

Boise State is going to the College Football Playoff. Where will they sit in the college football rankings?

By Alicia de Artola

Dec 6, 2024; Boise, ID, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty (2) during the first half against the UNLV Rebels at Albertsons Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Losness-Imagn Image
Dec 6, 2024; Boise, ID, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty (2) during the first half against the UNLV Rebels at Albertsons Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Losness-Imagn Image / Brian Losness-Imagn Images
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The Boise State Broncos are champions of the Mountain West conference. They've got their sights set on more than that.

With a 21-7 win over UNLV on Friday night, Ashton Jeanty and company punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff. Unsurprisingly, the Heisman Trophy candidate racked up 209 rushing yards and a touchdown.

An automatic bid wasn't the only thing at stake though. The Broncos needed to give the College Football Playoff selection committee a reason to keep them in the No. 4 seed.

There remains a chance the committee will reward the winner of the Big 12 with that spot, but Boise's performance in the Mountain West Championship Game should be enough.

Projected college football rankings after Boise State wins Mountain West

  1. Oregon
  2. Texas
  3. Penn State
  4. Notre Dame
  5. Georgia
  6. SMU
  7. Ohio State
  8. Tennessee
  9. Boise State
  10. Indiana
  11. Alabama
  12. Arizona State
  13. Miami
  14. Ole Miss
  15. South Carolina
  16. Iowa State
  17. Clemson
  18. BYU
  19. Missouri
  20. Army
  21. UNLV
  22. Illinois
  23. Syracuse
  24. Colorado
  25. Memphis

I'm rewarding conference champions for not only playing an extra game, but winning it. That means bumps for Boise State and Army, as crowned champs, and Arizona State and SMU, presumptive conference champs.

That bump won't be enough to get the Sun Devils into the Top 4. The Broncos will get an unexpected bye on the strength of their 12-1 record and Mountain West title.

Frankly, that's deserved. I understand the Big 12's argument that they're being respected. When they beat each other up, it's a negative. When the SEC beats each other up, it's proof of strength. Trust me, I get it. Still, Boise State is a unique case.

Despite playing in the G5, the Bronco's strength of schedule isn't significantly worse than the Big 12 contenders. They came into championship weekend at 86th in that measure. ASU is 72nd. Iowa State is 68th.

Moreover, Boise State went into Eugene to face Oregon and lost at the last second on a go-ahead field goal. Going toe-to-toe with the No. 1 team in college football on their home field is proof of quality for the Broncos.

Short of a shocking ranking rethink by the College Football Playoff committee, Boise State is set up to be the No. 4 seed. And they should be a top 10 team in the college football rankings as well.

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