If the College Football Playoff were to start today, BYU would be included in the 12-team field. But with the possibility that the Cougars could be on the outside looking in following this weekend’s conference championship games, Robert Griffin III is already getting ahead of a potential snub.
On the latest episode of his Outta Pocket with RGIII podcast, the Fox Sports analyst was asked whether he believes BYU should still be included in the College Football Playoff if it loses to Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship Game. In answering, Griffin made it clear he thinks the Cougars should be a lock, pointing to their 11-1 regular-season record while playing in a major conference.
“Any team in the Power Four that makes it to their conference championship game with one loss should be in the College Football Playoff, period. Regardless of the result,” the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner said. “So when I see right now that BYU has been ranked at No. 11 in the AP poll, and they’ve been sitting there at No. 11 in the College Football Playoff rankings for weeks now, despite the fact that they have less losses than teams that are in front of them, Alabama being one of them… if Alabama loses in the SEC Championship Game, they’d have three losses. They shouldn’t be in the College Football Playoff.
“BYU has the coach, has the quarterback, has the fanbase, has the ability to win on offense and shut you down on defense. They are a team that is worthy of being in the College Football Playoff.”
Griffin proceeded to offer a rundown of the Cougars’ resume, measuring it favorably against No. 7 Texas A&M. According to the 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, BYU should currently be ranked no lower than No. 6, a spot that would presumably secure them a spot in the College Football Playoff regardless of this weekend’s result.
But while Griffin made a compelling football-based case for the Cougars’ playoff spot to be safe, his argument then took a sudden turn.
“Stop the persecution of the Christians, man,” he said. “Come on.”
BYU should be in the College Football Playoff.
-11-1 in a Power 4 Conference Champ Game
-#6 Strength of Record
-T-Most wins over teams with a winning record
-Better SOS than Ole Miss, Notre Dame, MiamiWins and loses matter.
Who you beat matters.Stop persecuting Christians. pic.twitter.com/csx6V1lmCs
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) December 2, 2025
Griffin, of course, is referring to BYU’s status as a private university sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with nearly 99 percent of the school’s population being members of the church. It’s unclear whether the 35-year-old actually believes that the College Football Playoff is persecuting the Cougars for their religious beliefs or if this was just a line aimed at attracting attention to his social media clip.
If it was the former, Griffin’s argument hardly holds up, as the football team that currently appears to be receiving the most favorable draw from the College Football Playoff selection committee is No. 10 Notre Dame. As for the latter, this would hardly be the first time that he’s resorted to engagement bait on social media.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.