The final College Football Playoff rankings were released Sunday with No. 12 BYU getting absolutely screwed, and missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year, despite having better resumes than several playoff teams once again.

The announcement and final ranking reveal came as no surprise as BYU was severely undervalued by the playoff committee all year, with ESPN even going as far as not putting the teams graphic on the screen when comparing all the bubble teams (Alabama, Notre Dame, BYU and Miami), with metrics such as Top 25 wins, strength of schedule and strength of record. The Cougars had a stronger resume, and should absolutely follow Vanderbilt which is suing the College Football Playoff.

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Coming into the Big 12 Championship game, the Cougars made history — the bad kind — as the program became the first P4 team to come into a conference championship game 11-1, and be ranked outside the Top 10. Never before in the sport has that happened. BYU could have received an automatic berth by winning the Big 12 title, however, the Cougars were no match for Texas Tech once again.

The loss caused the Cougars to drop one spot, allowing Miami to move up right behind Notre Dame — a team that it had beaten earlier in the year. The Committee ended up giving the final spot to the Hurricanes because of the head-to-head win.

Meanwhile, Alabama, which doesn’t have as good of a resume as BYU, got dominated (28-7) by Georgia in the SEC title game and finished with -3 rushing yards. Yet, the committee didn’t drop them any spots in the “ESPN SEC Invitational” … I mean the College Football Playoff. BYU, Ohio State and Virginia all dropped one spot after losing in their respective conference title games, but Alabama was given the special treatment, becoming the first team with 3 losses to get into the Playoff.

Big 12 Football: BYU-Texas Tech Backyard Football Field (W/Video)

BYU vs. Georgia Tech (Pop Tarts Bowl)

Although the Cougars were left out of the College Football Playoff, they now turn their focus to postseason play. BYU has accepted a spot in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, where it will face No. 22 Georgia Tech at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The game will be played on Saturday, Dec. 27, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

The matchup features a Top 25 showdown as the 12th-ranked Cougars will take on the 22nd-ranked Yellowjackets in the 36th edition of the bowl. This season marks the third year under the Pop-Tarts sponsorship and the 25th time the game has been held at Camping World Stadium. Iowa State won last year’s game 42-41 in a thrilling come from behind victory over Miami.

Series History: This will be the fifth all-time meeting between BYU and Georgia Tech, a series that began in 2002. The Cougars hold a 3–1 series lead, including a 2–0 record in Provo and a split (1–1) in Atlanta. It will also be the first time the two programs meet on a neutral field and their first postseason showdown. The last contest between them came in 2013, when BYU earned a 38–20 victory at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Georgia Tech claimed the inaugural matchup in 2002 with a 28–19 win at home.

2025 Big 12 Championship: BYU, Texas Tech Already Setting Records

Social Media Reacts After BYU Gets Snubbed From College Football Playoff

From “Provo Dave” to RG3, here’s a look at how the sports world reacted to the Cougars getting the shaft and missing out on the playoffs for the second year in a row.

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Big 12 Football: BYU-Texas Tech Backyard Football Field (W/Video)

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