BYU won't lobby for Playoff, builds its case on field

Given how it has performed thus far and the manageable remaining schedule, the possibility of Brigham Young going 12-0 is going to be a hot topic with regard to the College Football Playoff.

But don't expect BYU to make a big public push or deluge the selection committee with propaganda as the wins pile up.

"They said, 'Don't lobby,' " BYU athletics director Tom Holmoe told Paste BN Sports. "Our record and team has to speak for itself with the complete picture of everything."

Though there's still a long way to go, and BYU could certainly face tricky games Oct. 9 at Central Florida, Oct. 24 at Boise State or Nov. 29 at California, an undefeated Cougars team would be an interesting test case for how the committee will look at schedule strength.

Though BYU's schedule is solid, it's not great, and even a 41-7 victory against Texas in Week 2 may not have great value given the Longhorns' difficulties. And it leaves open the possibility that BYU could be 12-0 and end up in the Miami Beach Bowl opposite the highest-ranked available team from the American Athletic Conference.

Because the Cougars are independent, they are not eligible for the "Group of Five" bowl bid that will place the highest-ranked champion among the American, Mountain West, Conference USA, Sun Belt and Mid-American Conference into either the Peach, Cotton or Fiesta Bowl.

For BYU to get in one of those major bowl games, it would have to be ranked high enough by the selection committee to get an at-large slot in one of those bowls. There could be as many as five at-large bids available this year — in some years, it will be fewer depending on which bowls are in the semifinal rotation — which means BYU would have to be at least in the top-10 to have a realistic shot.

Still, Holmoe doesn't want the discussion to be about the playoff calculus this early.

"We don't really look at it in that regard," he said. "We have a team that's playing well at this point in time with some really good leadership and good coaches and players. I feel good about things. But there's a lot of attention because of being undefeated, having won a few games and people thinking they want to fast forward to the end of the season."

GALLERY: GAMES TO WATCH IN WEEK 5