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Arizona State jumps 5 spots in latest College Football Playoff rankings

Arizona State came in at No. 16 in Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings, jumping five spots from last week's No. 21 ranking.

Arizona State Sun Devils...

Arizona State Sun Devils running back Cam Skattebo (4) celebrates a touchdown during the college football game between the BYU Cougars and the Arizona State Sun Devils on November 23, 2024 at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

(Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Arizona State came in at No. 16 on Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings, jumping five spots from last week’s No. 21 ranking.

The Sun Devils (9-2) are the highest-ranked Big 12 team, joining Iowa State (18), BYU (19), Kansas State (24) and Colorado (25) as one of the five Big 12 squads ranked by the CFP committee.

Arizona State also placed No. 14 on the latest AP Top 25 poll after defeating then-No. 14 BYU on Saturday. The program was previously ranked No. 21 heading into Saturday’s game against the Cougars.

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As the fifth-best conference leader, the Sun Devils are currently projected as the No. 12 seed to play No. 5-seed Ohio State in a national championship quarterfinal matchup.

Undefeated Oregon remained at the top in the No. 1 seed while Ohio State stayed at No. 2. SEC co-leader Texas stayed at No. 3. Penn State comes in at No. 4 while Notre Dame rounds out the top five spots.

Boise State of the Mountain West was ranked 11th by the committee but was slotted into that fourth and final bye that goes to the top four ranked conference leaders.

ASU on Saturday will face the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson, needing a win to give itself near-perfect odds to make the Big 12 Championship Game.

The Sun Devils were chosen as the last-place team in the preseason poll and are now the favorites to win the conference with Arizona, who was picked by some to win the Big 12, sitting at 4-7 and missing out on bowl game contention.

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This year marks the debut of the 12-team playoff bracket, which has expanded from the previous four-team format. The tournament will include the five highest-ranked conference champions and the seven highest-ranked remaining teams.

The bracket will be revealed on Dec. 8, with the first round scheduled for Dec. 20-21.

The Sun Devils and Wildcats will kick off at 1:30 p.m. MST on Saturday. Listen to the game on 98.7 FM, the Arizona Sports app or arizonasports.com. Watch on FOX.

Aaron Schmidt arizonasports.com editor

Aaron Schmidt is a web content editor for Arizona Sports and KTAR News. A Valley native, Schmidt graduated from Arizona State University in May 2024 and has experience covering the Arizona Diamondbacks and Arizona State athletics. Schmidt started… Read more

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