UCLA football makes stunning move in CFP rankings after initial snub

Given another week to assess UCLA, the College Football Playoff selection committee had a different take on the Bruins.

Move them up. Way up.

In the wake of an impressive road victory over Minnesota, UCLA rose to No. 4 in the CFP rankings released Tuesday night. That’s four spots above where the Bruins were slotted only a week ago.

Most importantly, moving into the top four puts UCLA (9-0 overall, 6-0 Big Ten) on track to receive a first-round bye into the quarterfinal round of the 12-team playoff.

So, did the CFP selection committee make a mistake last week when it came to the Bruins?

“I don’t think it was an admission of them being ranked too low,” Hunter Yurachek, chairman of the CFP selection committee, said on a conference call with reporters. “I think what we’re seeing with the parity around college football [is] that we now have only two remaining unbeaten teams and UCLA is one of those, and I think they continue to improve as a team.

“The defense has been steady and really dominant all season, they’ve had an established running game and their quarterback play is getting better — their backup quarterback that has been filling in really seemed to find his way, especially in the fourth quarter of that game against Minnesota.”

Yurachek was alluding to quarterback Ty Dieffenbach, who replaced the injured Nico Iamaleava a month ago, throwing 75-yard touchdown passes on back-to-back offensive plays to help the Bruins pull away for a 34-20 victory over the Golden Gophers.

This is UCLA’s highest spot ever in the CFP rankings after its No. 8 ranking last week tied its previous high from the 2014 season.

The only teams ranked ahead of the Bruins were No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Utah and No. 3 Alabama. UCLA and Utah are the last remaining unbeaten teams in major college football, which offset schedules that are widely perceived to be relatively weak.

“This is one of the earliest dates there’s only been two undefeated teams remaining,” Yurachek said. “I think there’s something to be said for winning games. UCLA and Utah have won every challenge that has been put ahead of them. They’re being rewarded for that right now.”

The Bruins’ move was part of a major shakeup in which no team remained in the same CFP spot as a week ago.

USC (7-2, 4-2) rose two spots to No. 18 and has a chance to vastly improve its standing Saturday when it faces No. 9 Indiana, which dropped five spots despite not playing last weekend.

Yurachek said Indiana was the victim of having a bye week at the wrong time given that seven games matching top-25 teams triggered significant movement. Another factor was all six Big Ten teams that Indiana previously played having lost their games last weekend.

What about the Trojans?

Yurachek said they were a team to watch given their recent victory over Ohio State and remaining games against the Hoosiers and UCLA.

“They do have some opportunities ahead of themselves to really move up in these rankings,” Yurachek said. “Southern Cal is a team that I think we all should keep an eye on.”

Should the Bruins secure a first-round bye, they’ll need to come up with a plan to avoid the fate of nearly every predecessor in that spot — teams with byes have gone only 1-7 in the quarterfinals since the playoff expanded to 12 teams for the 2024 season.

UCLA can tie a single-season school record for victories Friday night if it beats Illinois at the Rose Bowl; only twice before have the Bruins won 10 games in the regular season.

There’s also a scenario in which the Bruins could clinch a spot in the Big Ten title game this weekend depending on the results of other conference games.

For now, UCLA remains in an enviable – and unprecedented – spot.