Arizona State football moves up to No. 15 in CFP rankings, 5th among conference leaders

Arizona State football jumped up one spot in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings revealed on Tuesday.

The Sun Devils climbed from No. 16 to No. 15, the top spot among Big 12 schools. ASU’s Big 12 championship game opponent, Iowa State, improved its slot from No. 18 to No. 16. BYU came in at No. 18 and Colorado at No. 23, but neither program has a shot at the playoff without a conference championship bid.

ASU is the fifth-highest ranked conference leader going into championship weekend, and the top four conference winners receive a first-round bye.

If Tuesday’s rankings were final, ASU would make the CFP as the 12th and final seed set to visit No. 3 Penn State — the fifth seed since Oregon leads the Big 10 — in the opening round.

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Mountain West-pacing Boise State landed at No. 10 in the CFP rankings on Tuesday and holds the fourth seed.

ASU has to defeat Iowa State first and foremost, but the program could receive quite a gift should UNLV (No. 20 in CFP) upset Boise State in the Mountain West championship game or No. 17 Clemson take down No. 8 SMU for the ACC crown.

Top-seeded Oregon, SEC-leading Texas, SMU and Boise State are the four in position for a bye entering this weekend.

The Big 12 championship game between Arizona State and Iowa State kicks off Saturday at 10 a.m. MST from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

The Mountain West title game is set for Friday at 6 p.m. MST, while the ACC championship is Saturday at 6 p.m. MST.

College Football Playoff rankings

1. Oregon 12-0
2. Texas 11-1
3. Penn State 11-1
4. Notre Dame 11-1
5. Georgia 10-2
6. Ohio State 10-2
7. Tennessee 10-2
8. SMU 11-1
9. Indiana 11-1
10. Boise State 11-1
11. Alabama 9-3
12. Miami 10-2
13. Mississippi 9-3
14. South Carolina 9-3
15. Arizona State 10-2
16. Iowa State 10-2
17. Clemson 9-3
18. BYU 10-2
19. Missouri 9-3
20. UNLV 10-2
21. Illinois 9-3
22. Syracuse 9-3
23. Colorado 9-3
24. Army 10-1
25. Memphis 10-2

The first round of the CFP is set for Dec. 20-21 with the higher seeds hosting the games.

The quarterfinals are Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 at the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl. Semifinals are Jan. 9-10 at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl, while the National Championship is on Jan. 20.

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