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Week 1 College Football Playoff Rankings: Mountain West Gets Two Teams
Fresno State and San Diego State make the cut.
Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire
Well… this was a surprise.
The first College Football Playoff rankings came out and it was very nice to the Mountain West with San Diego State coming in at No. 24 and Fresno State at No. 23.
The Mountain West was the only Group of Five team with more than one team, the conference had more teams than the Pac-12 and the only teams from California came from the Mountain West.
https://twitter.com/MountainWest/status/1455678429500686336
The Aztecs making it was slightly surprising as they just lost but that defeat came at the hands of Fresno State, and the Bulldogs took Oregon to the brink and they also defeated UCLA.
San Diego State is likely getting some credit for its win over Utah who is in first place in the Pac-12 South and also have a win over Arizona but they are not a great Pac-12 school.
This is the very first rankings and a lot can change from now until later in the year. A few notable Group of Five teams are lurking just outside of the poll.
There is undefeated UTSA and also a pair of AAC teams with a loss each in SMU and Houston. All three of those teams are ranked in the coaches and AP poll and ahead of both San Diego State and Fresno State.
With no other AAC team in rankings outside of Cincinnati which is at No. 6, this means the Mountain West has a decent shot to get to a New Year’s Six game, maybe.
If the Bearcats don’t win the American then they can not get an auto bid for a NY6 game, but if Houston or SMU win the league with one loss and have a win over Cincinnati there is a very good chance they would jump both Fresno State and San Diego State.
Things will change down the road but in the meantime, the Mountain West is in great shape.
25. Pittsburgh Panthers 6-2
24. San Diego State Aztecs 6-1
23. Fresno State Bulldogs 7-2
https://twitter.com/MattK_FS/status/1455674027708588034
22. Iowa Hawkeyes 6-2
21. Wisconsin Badgers 5-3
20. Minnesota Golden Gophers 6-2
19. NC State Wolfpack 6-2
18. Kentucky Wildcats 6-2
17. Mississippi State Bulldogs 5-3
16. Ole Miss Rebels 6-2
15. BYU Cougars 7-2
14. Texas A&M Aggies 6-2
13. Auburn Tigers 6-2
12. Baylor Bears 7-1
11. Oklahoma State Cowboys 7-1
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10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 7-1
9. Wake Forest Demon Deacons 8-0
8. Oklahoma Sooners 9-0
https://twitter.com/MWCwire/status/1455691677490810884
7. Michigan Wolverines 7-1
6. Cincinnati Bearcats 8-0
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5. Ohio State Buckeyes 7-1
4. Oregon Ducks 7-1
3. Michigan State Spartans 8-0
2. Alabama Crimson Tide 7-1
1. Georgia Bulldogs 8-0
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