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Danny Kanell gives definitive take on seeding between Arizona State, Boise State

Chandler Vesselsby:Chandler Vessels•12/07/24•

ChandlerVessels

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Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Danny Kanell believes Arizona State should jump Boise State to receive a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff bracket. The college football analyst argued his case for the Sun Devils after their dominant 45-19 win against Iowa State to win the Big 12 Championship.

Kanell made a post on X stating that the Big 12 is a “deeper” conference than the Mountain West, which the Broncos won with a 21-7 defeat on UNLV on Friday.

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“Big 12 is better/deeper than Mountain West,” he wrote. “The MW’s 4th best team is 6-6 Fresno State. The 4th best Big 12 team is 9-3 Colorado. More importantly in (Arizona State’s) loss on the road to Cincinnati they were without Sam Leavitt.”

Currently, Arizona State is No. 15 in the College Football Playoff rankings while Boise State is No. 10. That would give the Broncos a first-round bye as the fourth-highest ranked conference champion while the Sun Devils would play the No. 5 seed in the first round.

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However, some such as Kanell believe that Arizona State has earned the right to finish above Boise State with how it closed out the year. The Sun Devils have won six straight games as running back Cam Skattebo has rushed for 494 yards and eight touchdowns in the last three contests alone.

Although the Broncos have one less loss than Arizona State, they have had a slightly easier schedule and less wins against top 25 teams. The Sun Devils rank 72nd in strength of schedule compared to 82nd for Boise State, according to ESPN.

Additionally, Boise State’s two wins against UNLV this season are the only victories it has against a ranked opponent. Arizona State also has only two wins against ranked teams in BYU and Iowa State, but was in an arguably tougher league.

Ultimately, it could come down to how much weight the committee puts on the nature in which Arizona State won the Big 12 Championship. They looked much better than Iowa State from the start, but five spots is certainly a long way to jump.

We’ll find out where both teams land when the College Football Playoff bracket is revealed at noon ET on Sunday.