College Football

Lurking Or Overlooked?

Published Nov. 26, 2020 4:49 p.m. ET

On this week's edition of Breaking the Huddle, FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt welcomed in BYU coach Kalani Sitake to discuss the Cougars' playoff ranking, and also broke down his top 10.

On Tuesday evening, the College Football Playoff Committee released their top 25, with BYU debuting at No. 14 despite an undefeated season (9-0).

Naturally, the conversation had to start there, and while Kalani was disappointed with where the Cougars sit, he is channeling that frustration into fuel.

"I was, more than anything, just feeling for our players. We have a great group of young men that I love coaching ... we have to rally back ... this is motivation. We have a lot to prove now."

Speaking of players, no quarterback has turned heads more than BYU's Zach Wilson. In addition to being a Heisman favorite, he is tied for the second-most passing touchdowns (26), while boasting the second-highest passer rating (205.3) and the third-most passing yards (2,724) in the nation.

"He's a stud," said Sitake. "He's one of the most competitive people I've ever met. I think he's going to make a franchise and a fan base really happy in the NFL."

Unfortunately for Wilson and the Cougars, they only have one more game on their schedule against San Diego State to showcase their skills.

However, Sitake is doing all he can to look for possible opponents, especially from the Power Five, but it has proved a difficult challenge.

"Just because the ranking didn't work out the way we wanted it to, it doesn't really matter – it's just another distraction. The only frustration is that we only have one game that's scheduled ... hopefully there's enough time to get us an opportunity to show what we can do."

Klatt believes BYU has earned another look, as the Cougars have the fourth-ranked scoring offense, averaging 47.6 points per game, and fifth-ranked scoring defense, averaging 12.6 points per game, in the nation.

"I think BYU is getting absolutely jobbed. It's clear that this committee is giving zero respect to BYU. They desperately need a Power Five opponent ... this year more than any other, I think schedules should be thrown out."

In Klatt's top 10, BYU came in at No. 7, just ahead of another non-Power Five program, Cincinnati, at No. 8.

Meanwhile, the College Football Playoff committee had the Bearcats listed at No. 8 in their rankings. In addition, Klatt disagreed with No. 4 Ohio State (4-0) being ranked behind No. 3 Clemson (7-1), citing the fact that the Tigers have a blemish on their record.

"I think the most egregious is the fact that they put Clemson above Ohio State. I get it, [the Buckeyes'] defensive metrics don't look like themselves, but they are 4-0 and beat up a top 10 team ... and yet Clemson can have a loss and they are still ranked ahead of Ohio State?"

Speaking of Ohio State's defensive struggles, you can watch Klatt break down what the problem is by watching the full episode of Breaking the Huddle below!