BYU (No. 4) has a better strength of record than Ohio State (No. 5), has played roughly the same quality schedule as Texas and has two wins against other teams ranked in the committee's top 25 -- as many as Ohio State, Texas, Penn State, Tennessee and Indiana (all ranked ahead of the Cougars) combined.

The BYU Cougars ranked No. 9 in the first College Football Playoff poll released Tuesday night. Why it matters: The CFP is entering a new era as this season will be a 12-team format for the first time since the CFP was introduced in 2014.