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Why did BYU miss CFP? Explaining why Cougars not in Playoff bracket
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- Why did BYU miss CFP? Explaining why Cougars not in Playoff bracket
BYU football did not put its best foot forward in both of its biggest games this season.
Both the Cougars ' losses during the 2025 college football season came at the hands of Texas Tech . First, the Red Raiders downed BYU 29-7 on Nov. 8 in Lubbock, Texas. Then on Saturday, Dec. 6, Texas Tech dominated the Cougars to the tune of a 34-7 win in the Big 12 championship game .
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As a result of the two losses, BYU finished the season with an 11-2 mark. On Sunday, Dec. 7, when the final College Football Playoff rankings and the 12-team CFP bracket were revealed, and the Cougars weren't in the field. BYU was the second team out of the bracket.
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At the end of the day, the two losses to Big 12 rival Texas Tech did the Cougars in, despite an 8-1 record in conference play, and a single top 25 win during the regular season over Utah did not help BYU earn a berth.
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Here's what to know about why BYU was left out of the College Football Playoff:
Why did BYU football not make College Football Playoff?
Following the loss to the Red Raiders in the Big 12 championship game, BYU wide receiver Parker Kingston blamed SEC bias for the Cougars' potential exclusion from the CFP field.
"What's the point of going to a Big 12 championship when it's going to hurt us (and) our College Football Playoff chances. I hope the committee realizes it. They are all biased towards ESPN and the SEC," Kingston told BYUtv Sports Nation following the Big 12 championship game. "It is what it is. If we don't get put in, we will be there next year."
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However, the reasoning is deeper than that. The Big 12 did not match up with the Big Ten and the SEC in terms of dominance this season.
Despite losing just two games, the style in which BYU lost both hurt its chances. In the two losses to the Red Raiders, the Cougars were outscored 63-14. In its two games against Texas Tech ― the only CFP team on its schedule ― BYU had just 14 points and turned the ball over five times.
In the loss on Nov. 8, BYU amassed 255 total yards, with much of it coming in garbage time.
On Saturday, it had just 200 total yards. In fact, after scoring on a 14-play, 90-yard opening drive, the Cougars put together just 110 yards and zero points on their next 12 drives.
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BYU football schedule 2025
Here is BYU's schedule and results:
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Saturday, Aug. 30: No. 23 BYU 69, Portland State 0
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Saturday, Sept. 6: No. 25 BYU 27, Stanford 3
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Saturday, Sept. 13: BYE
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Saturday, Sept. 20: BYU 34, East Carolina 13
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Saturday, Sept. 27: No. 24 BYU 24, Colorado 21*
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Friday, Oct. 3: No. 23 BYU 38, West Virginia 24*
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Saturday, Oct. 11: No. 18 BYU 33, Arizona 27*
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Saturday, Oct. 18: No. 14 BYU 24, No. 22 Utah 21*
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Saturday, Oct. 25: No. 10 BYU 41, Iowa State 27*
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Saturday, Nov. 1: BYE
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Saturday, Nov. 8: No. 9 Texas Tech 29, No. 8 BYU 7*
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Saturday, Nov. 15: No. 12 BYU 44, TCU 13*
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Saturday, Nov. 22: No. 11 BYU 26, Cincinnati 14*
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Saturday, Nov. 29: No. 11 BYU 41, UCF 21*
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Saturday, Dec. 6:No. 6 Texas Tech 34, No. 11 BYU 7**
* Denotes Big 12 game
**Denotes Big 12 championship game
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Did BYU make CFP bracket? Why Cougars missed College Football Playoff
