On Tuesday, the College Football Playoff committee unveiled the first CFP Top 25 of the 2024 season. BYU, which is 8-0 with two wins over teams ranked in the top 20, came in at no. 9 behind one-loss teams Georgia, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee and fellow undefeated teams Oregon, Miami and Indiana. ESPN analyst Greg McElroy thought BYU’s ranking was “painfully low” in the first CFP rankings.

“This to me feels underrated,” McElroy said as BYU’s rankings were revealed. “I mean, I’m looking at BYU with a nine to their name, undefeated with a significant win over no. 13 SMU, beat Kansas State by nearly 30 points. (BYU) gave it back a bunch in that game. I know that’ I’ve been outplayed in a few different games, but I look at the control of the game, the strength of the undefeated record.

After the full rankings were revealed, McElroy continued.

“I’m a little frustrated if it’s BYU, I’m really upset,” McElroy said. “Okay, first of all, I’m at risk of not securing a first-round bye if Boise State gets ahead of me. So the fact that there’s only a three-spot margin between 12, Boise State and BYU at nine is ridiculous. I’m also sitting there behind Tennessee, Texas and Penn State who don’t have a win against a top 25 team. So, if I’m BYU, we didn’t lose. So, if I’m BYU, I’m a little frustrated with the way it turned out this, and I know it’s early, and I know there’s a lot on the table…I get that, but I feel like Them at nine, four spots behind teams that have no wins, not even close to what they’ve accomplished and no loss, and a few teams with losses that they don’t have for me would be remarkably frustrating.

CFP Executive Director Ward Manuel was asked why BYU was ranked as high as nine, and more specifically why they were ranked behind Indiana, which has a strong program in the top 100. Manuel said the way Indiana won games impressed the committee, but did not say specifically why BYU was ranked ninth.

“Two great teams like you said, I mean, Indiana, their strength of schedule is not as strong as BYU’s,” Manuel said, “But what Indiana did on the field, when we look at those games , they win at doubles. Figures 33 points more than their opponents. They are solid offensively and defensively. They’re just a really great team, the way we thought, the way we looked at everything, Indiana was ranked eighth by the committee and BYU is right behind them at nine.”

After the call, Manuel said Miami was ranked ahead of BYU because of “offensive ability.” “It came down to more of an eye test,” added Manuel.