Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said the seniors on his roster are looking forward to being able to "control their own destiny" when it comes to reaching the 12-team College Football Playoff -- unlike before, he said, when they "had to rely on outside help" in the four-team format.
This year, the five highest-ranked conference champions are guaranteed a spot in the CFP, which means the winners of the Big 12, Big Ten, SEC and ACC are almost certainly locks (barring some improbable circumstance in which a second Group of 5 conference champion is ranked ahead of one of them).