The BYU Cougars were inside the Top 10 of the first College Football Playoff rankings for the 2026-27 season. Kalani Sitake's team came in at No. 9, according to the Playoff committee.

There are a few takeaways from where the Cougars were placed. There's a case to be made for each team ahead of BYU, except for two SEC teams. Alabama, who has two losses on the season, debuted at No. 5. The same cast for two-loss Texas at No. 7. This sends a clear message to the rest of the country about overall record not being a factor in the nation's premium conference.

For undefeated UCLA to be No. 8 behind three SEC teams says everything. The other one besides Alabama and Texas is No. 6 Kentucky, whose only loss was against the Crimson Tide in a 45-17 blowout. What doesn't make sense is Alabama has lost two of the last three games and still got bumped up to No. 5. That's four spots ahead of the latest AP Top 25 poll.

As for Texas, being at No. 7 is a bit too high for the initial rankings. However, the Longhorns' two losses were by an average of three points. Should they be above BYU? That's a different debate than Alabama being above both of them. Unlike the Tide, Texas hasn't suffered a double-digit loss this year and has been extremely competitive.

As for the Big 12, five teams were put in the initial rankings. No. 3 Utah earned the top spot with BYU as the next up. The Beehive State foes were joined by No. 15 Texas Tech. No. 17 Houston and No. 22 Arizona. These five are expected to play a role in the conference title race in the final month. BYU has a tiebreaker over Arizona, while Utah has a similar scenario against Houston.

Here's a look at the entire College Football Playoff Ranking for November 3.

College Football Playoff Rankings Week 10

1. Miami 8-0

2. Georgia 7-1

3. Utah 8-0

4. Indiana 8-1

5. Alabama 6-2

6. Kentucky 7-1

7. Texas 6-2

8. UCLA 8-0

9. BYU 7-1

10. Ole Miss 6-2

11. Notre Dame 7-1

12. Ohio State 6-2

13. Tennessee 6-2

14. LSU 6-2

15. Texas Tech 7-1

16. Wake Forest 7-1

17. Houston 6-2

18. Missouri 6-2

19. Iowa 6-2

20. Southern California 7-2

21. South Carolina 5-3

22. Arizona 6-2

23. Oregon 5-3

24. Florida 5-3

25. Boise State 7-1

No. 9 BYU faces No. 3 Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for Noon ET on ABC.