If you took any two games off BYU’s schedule (presumably their two weakest opponents) and replaced those wins with a 41-24 loss to Alabama and a 44-28 loss to Florida, would a 7-2 BYU be ranked higher in the CFP rankings than this 9-0 BYU team? — John H., Spokane, Wash.

You are of course referring to 6-2 Georgia, which has those two losses but is ranked five spots higher than 9-0 BYU.

Honestly, if that were the case, I’m not sure BYU would be ranked at all. It would essentially have played a traditional Group of 5 schedule, with a couple high-profile non-conference games and then the equivalent of seven Mountain West or Conference USA games. They would be judged far more so on the Power 5 games than the Group of 5 games, and those blowouts would be viewed as evidence that BYU “doesn’t belong” with the big boys.

Quite the double standard, eh? Most Power 5 teams would get blown out by Florida and Alabama, too, but if they all got summarily dismissed for it we wouldn’t have 25 teams to rank. The committee can point to Georgia’s early season rout of an Auburn team it had in the Top 25 last week as some sort of proof the Dawgs are a top-10 team … but that’s about it. Their other five wins have come against SEC teams with a combined 12-29 record. And they’re about to face 0-8 Vanderbilt.

Some elements of conference and brand bias will always be baked into college football rankings, but it’s especially glaring this season when the leagues aren’t facing each other. No. 8 Georgia is where it is because it plays in the SEC and recruits a lot of five stars. No. 15 Oklahoma State, with two more Top-25 wins than Georgia and the same number of losses, is where it is because it plays in the Big 12 and recruits mostly three stars. And BYU is stuck in no man’s land because it lacks either the benefit of conference affiliation or the respect that comes from beating Power 5 opponents, even those with a 12-29 record.

Could any of BYU, Marshall or Coastal hang with Alabama longer than ’Bama could hang with the Jets? — Sean B., Bellevue, Wash.

As terrible as the Jets may be, I’ll say the same thing I do every year when someone goes there: Alabama may well have 20-30 future NFL players on its roster, but every member of the Jets is a current NFL player. The Jets would roll. Whereas BYU, Marshall and Coastal could probably hang with Alabama for at least a half. Heck, I’d give BYU a great shot to take it well into the fourth quarter.

You know, unlike Georgia.