By james art 
Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.
On the eve of the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 12-team era, there’s no shortage of questions about what the first projected selection committee group will look like. But one piece of conventional wisdom involving the Group of 5 could be overturned by Boise State.
The Power 4 conference champions aren’t guaranteed the four first-round byes, and the automatic bid to the Group of 5, reserved for the highest-ranked champion from those leagues, isn’t guaranteed the No. 12 seed, even if most projections default to that . 12-1 Mountain West champion Boise State could go higher than the 12 and could earn the No. 4 seed, depending on who wins the Big 12.
After a week in which many ranked teams fell, Boise State moved up to No. 12 in this week’s edition of The Athletic 134. That’s not ranked No. 12 as the conference’s fifth-highest ranked champion. This is number 12 overall.
Boise State deserves a real look and I’m curious to see what the committee will do. Historically, the committee has ranked G5 teams lower in its rankings than in the polls, often because they lack wins in the Top 25. But the situation with the Broncos is different. They have a 45-24 win against a Washington State team that is ranked in both polls (and No. 21 here) and a win against a UNLV team that is getting votes. Boise State’s only loss was to Oregon on a field goal as time expired. This is the biggest loss of anyone in the country.
The Broncos aren’t just the Ashton Jeanty show. Teams have loaded the box over the past two weeks to stop their Heisman Trophy candidate from running back, but quarterback Maddux Madsen completed 24 of 32 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns against San Diego State. Boise State’s defense leads the nation in sacks per game.
If BYU, the Big 12’s last remaining undefeated team, loses a game or doesn’t win the conference, Boise State could realistically finish ahead of the Big 12 champion and get what would likely be the No. 4 seed in the scheme. Or at least it seems possible. We’ll see what the committee thinks on Tuesday.
Here is this week’s edition of The Athletic 134.
DIVE DEEPER
Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Amid major change, Penn State’s loss to Ohio State remains the same
1-10
Ohio State’s win at Penn State sees the Buckeyes jump to the No. 3 seed, ahead of Miami, because the Buckeyes’ best win is much better than the Canes’ and they were one game away in their loss to No. 1 Oregon. The only top-40 team Miami has played is No. 22 Louisville.
Penn State drops to No. 8 with the loss. The Nittany Lions and No. 7 Tennessee are separated by a thin margin. The Vols have a much better win (Alabama) and a much worse loss (Arkansas). Penn State plays close to USC and Wisconsin, while Tennessee plays close to Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky. In the end, I’m going with the better win and it’s Tennessee by a hair.
DIVE DEEPER
PSU remains Ohio State’s big panacea, and Ryan Day can breathe again
11-25
SMU rises from No. 19 to No. 11 after a 45-28 demolition of Pitt that was so close because of some garbage scores. The Mustangs are 8-1 with wins against currently ranked Pitt and Louisville teams, and the lone loss was a three-point loss to undefeated BYU while SMU was in the midst of a quarterback change. The Mustangs control their destiny in the ACC and CFP title game. Don’t sleep on them.
Texas A&M drops to No. 14 after a 44-20 loss to South Carolina, but remains ahead of LSU because of last week’s win against the Tigers, and LSU remains ahead of No. 16 Ole Miss because of their head-to-head record. An Ole Miss win against Georgia this week could shake things up, while the LSU-Alabama winner could see it jump into the top spot.
Likewise, Kansas State drops to just No. 18 after losing to Houston because of its win against Colorado. And Clemson barely held on to No. 25 after its home loss to Louisville. The Tigers dominated their opponents between their two multi-score losses to Georgia and Louisville, but there isn’t a win on Clemson’s resume that says it should be higher.
DIVE DEEPER
Week 10 college football playoff lessons: Big 12 shakeups and SEC trap games
26-50
South Carolina’s No. 26 has a strange resume. They beat Texas A&M and nearly beat Alabama, but were also blown out by Ole Miss and needed a late comeback to beat Old Dominion. Army continues to move into the top 25 after a win against Air Force. They have yet to trail all season, but the Black Knights have yet to play a team with a winning record. Their next two games against North Texas and Notre Dame will change that.
Texas Tech jumps to No. 31 after beating previously unbeaten Iowa State, and Arizona State, moving to 6-2, also helps the Red Raiders thanks to their win over the Sun Devils. Minnesota looks much better and is up to No. 36 after beating Illinois, but the Gophers are behind Michigan because of the back-to-back results.
Louisiana hasn’t been talked about much in the CFP, but the Cajuns are now 7-1 after a win at Texas State. Keep an eye on them in the Sun Belt. Navy and Memphis fell to Nos. 40 and 41 after bad losses to Rice and UTSA, respectively. Baylor moves from No. 69 to No. 44 after a win against TCU that gives the Bears three straight.
DIVE DEEPER
AP Top 25: Oregon unanimous No. 1 ahead of first CFP rankings
51-75
Florida drops to just No. 51 after struggling Georgia in the fourth quarter with a third quarterback, but DJ Lagway’s injury doesn’t bode well down the stretch. USC drops to No. 57 after its fifth one-score loss, this time to Washington. There is no “best 4-5 team” trophy, but USC or Michigan State is probably it.
Houston, which was one of the lowest-ranked teams in the Power 4 at one point, climbed to No. 64 after a comeback win against Kansas State. Willie Fritz does what he does and a bowl game isn’t out of the question. UConn is bowl eligible after beating Georgia State and could get to eight or nine wins.
DIVE DEEPER
Can Florida rate Billy Napier fairly with DJ Lagway injured?
76-100
UCLA, winner of two straight, climbs to No. 76, while Oklahoma State has lost six straight after a 3-0 start and falls to No. 79. Arizona, loser of five straight, is at No. 80 ULM’s second straight loss, this time by Marshall, drops the Warhawks to No. 76. Fresno State drops to No. 77 after a home loss to Hawaii.
Jacksonville State climbs to No. 82 after a win over Liberty, while Colorado State is up to No. 83 thanks to four straight wins. Mississippi State’s win against UMass keeps him in the top 100, just barely.
101-134
No. 102 Florida State and No. 103 Purdue are the first Power 4 teams to fall out of the top 100 this year. What’s left to say about the Seminoles after a 35-11 loss to North Carolina that dropped to 1-8 and finished 1-7 in ACC play? No. 105 Rice and No. 106 UTSA slide up after wins against Navy and Memphis, respectively.
Troy had a big win against Coastal Carolina to climb to No. 121, while No. 122 Wyoming bounced back with a 49-45 shootout win against New Mexico. Kent State, the last winless team of the season, is off this week but plays Ohio on Wednesday as the November MACtion begins.
The Athletic 134 Series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains complete editorial independence. Partners have no control or involvement in the reporting or editing process and do not review stories prior to publication.
(Photo: Lauren Orr/Getty Images)