http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/survive-advance-college-football-sort-25661182?singlePage=true

GOING UP

Then there is BYU.

The Cougars moved up one spot in the rankings to No. 20, improving to 4-0 for the first time since 2008 by beating Virginia 41-33.

A modest rise, but the Cougars' perfect record is worth noting because their place in college football's new landscape is unique.

BYU is in its fourth season as a football independent. Not being a member of the Big Five, means the Cougars are lumped with the so-called Group of Five conference teams that includes the American Athletic Conference, Mountain West, Sun Belt, Mid-American and Conference USA. But BYU is not eligible for the automatic bid to one of the big New Year's bowls that goes to the highest-ranked champion from those conferences, as determined by the selection committee

A 12-0 BYU team, even with a schedule that lacks some pop, stands a good chance to land an at-large spot in one of the big games. Especially this season when there will be as many as five at-large spots in the games that don't host semifinals.

Slip to 11-1, and the Cougars could be off to the Miami Beach Bowl to face a team from the American on Dec. 22. Nice spot for a winter vacation, but not so satisfying for a potential top-15 team.

The bigger question is can a 12-0 BYU team crack the top four and reach the national semifinals? Only twice during the BCS era did a team from outside the automatic-qualifying leagues (TCU in both 2009 and '10) crack the top four in the final standings. That included some Boise State and Utah teams that won BCS games.