BYU is No. 9 in the College Football Playoff rankings as they prepare to take on arch-rival Utah. Of the four undefeated P4 teams in the initial CFP rankings, BYU was ranked lowest despite having a better resume than Indiana and Miami. In this article, we will look at the teams ahead of BYU in the rankings to determine which teams have the greatest chance of losing and falling below BYU in the rankings.

Every team ahead of BYU is favored to win on Saturday, although the FPI says there is only a 21 percent chance that the eight teams ranked ahead of BYU will win.

First and foremost, BYU needs to win on Saturday. The committee made one thing very clear Tuesday: BYU will not be given the benefit of the doubt in the rankings. If BYU fails to win the Big 12, the battle to secure an at-large bid could be difficult. At this point, BYU controls its own destiny and that’s something no BYU team has ever been able to say.

As the saying goes: win, baby.

Without further ado, let’s look at the teams ranked ahead of BYU in the CFP rankings and who they should face this weekend.

Oregon is a heavy favorite to win this weekend. The Ducks host Maryland at home and are favored by 25 points. The Ducks no longer have a difficult game to play in the regular season. Oregon is unlikely to face a real test before the Big Ten title game.

Want to know who is an even bigger favorite than Oregon? Ohio State. The Buckeyes host Purdue this weekend and are favored by a staggering 38 points. The biggest test for Ohio State will come later this month when they host No. 1.7 Indiana.

This is where things might start to get interesting. No. 3 Georgia already has one loss and is scheduled to face No. 16 Ole Miss on the road. The Rebels are playing good football right now and the betting line reflects it: Georgia is favored by just a field goal.

If the Bulldogs lose, they will fall behind BYU in the standings as they will suffer two losses. They would also likely fall below Alabama since they have a head-to-head loss to the Crimson Tide.

No team ranked ahead of BYU should face a tougher test than Georgia.

Miami has a fairly light schedule to close out the regular season. However, the Hurricanes haven’t exactly dominated against inferior competition this year and they face a road test at Georgia Tech.

Miami is favored by 11 points in this game. If Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King is available (he’s dealing with an injury), anything can happen.

A loss at Miami would be very good for BYU and for the Big 12. If the Hurricanes pull off this game, their only remaining test would be on the road at Syracuse to close out the regular season.

Texas hosts Florida this weekend. The Gators looked like a much-improved team over the last few weeks until their two best quarterbacks went down due to injury. It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Florida could go to Austin and beat Texas with a third-string quarterback.

No. 6 Penn State hosts Washington this weekend. The Nittany Lions are favored by two touchdowns. Penn State has had some close games against inferior opponents this season. If Bowling Green can give Penn State a game, why not Washington?

Penn State’s offense failed to score a touchdown against Ohio State. They face a Washington defense capable of creating some problems for opposing attacks.

Penn State does not play any ranked team the remainder of the season. They likely won’t have any ranked wins by the end of the regular season.

Tennessee hosts one of the worst teams in the SEC this weekend: Mississippi State. The Vols likely won’t be tested this weekend, but they will be later this month. They play at Georgia and at rival Vanderbilt.

The Hoosiers are scheduled to host Michigan this weekend. The Wolverines aren’t good this season, but they will be one of the best teams Indiana has faced. Indiana’s best win right now is probably against Nebraska.

BYU is ranked #9. Here are the teams right behind BYU that threaten to overtake the Cougars with good wins.

Notre Dame hosts a horrible Florida State team. A win against the Seminoles probably won’t be enough to push the Fighting Irish past BYU. Still, BYU fans should be rooting for Notre Dame over the next few weeks.

No. 11 Alabama goes to No. 11. 15 LSU this weekend. The loser of this game would likely be eliminated from the CFP.

Boise State is a threat to the Big 12 at this point. The entire conference is expected to stack up against the Broncos this season. The Broncos no longer have a real challenge on the schedule. They face Nevada as big favorites this weekend.