PROVO, Utah – No surprise, BYU football will not be participating in the College Football Playoff.
After being undervalued by the Playoff Committee entering Championship week following an 11-1 regular season, a 34-7 loss to Texas Tech was not going to help BYU’s cause.
Notre Dame and BYU missed the cut and will NOT play in the @CFBPlayoff 👀 pic.twitter.com/J29QUqM4Fw
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 7, 2025
The Playoff Committee made it official on Sunday, leaving BYU outside of the 12-team field.
BYU was the second team outside of the playoff bracket, behind the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. They finished ranked No. 12 in the final Top 25 rankings.
BYU’s blowout loss to Texas Tech dropped them one spot, allowing Miami to move up alongside them and giving the Hurricanes the bump over Notre Dame due to a head-to-head win. The College Football Playoff Chairman, Hunter Yurachek, confirmed on the ESPN reveal show.
Alabama, which suffered a 28-7 loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship, stayed at No. 9 in the Playoff rankings.
BYU will now turn its attention to the Bowl Season, where the Alamo Bowl and Pop-Tarts Bowl are the top two bowls in the pecking order for non-Playoff teams in the Big 12.
2025 College Football Playoff bracket
First Round
(12) James Madison vs. (5) Oregon
(11) Tulane vs. (6) Ole Miss
(10) Miami vs. (7) Texas A&M
(9) Alabama vs. (8) Oklahoma
Quarterfinals
(1) Indiana vs. 8/9 winner – Rose Bowl
(2) Ohio State vs. 7/10 winner – Cotton Bowl
(3) Georgia vs. 6/11 winner – Sugar Bowl
(4) Texas Tech vs. 5/12 winner – Orange Bowl
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
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