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Methodology

Arizona State playoff odds

Arizona State makes the College Football Playoff in <0.1% of 2.5 million simulated 2026 seasons. Loading the week 11 guide…

Arizona State playoff odds and who to root for

Updated November 8, after week 9.

Arizona State is 5-4 (3-3 in the Big 12) through week 9 of the 2026 season. It makes the College Football Playoff in <0.1% of 2.5 million simulated seasons (ESPN's FPI: <0.1%), wins the Big 12 in <0.1% and wins the national title in <0.01%, with 5.9 projected wins.

That is the 50th-best playoff chance among the 138 FBS teams.

Who Arizona State fans should root for in week 11

The week 11 games that move Arizona State's playoff odds the most.

What Arizona State needs

Even at 8-4, Arizona State makes the playoff in 0.2% of seasons. The game that decides the most is at Arizona in week 13: <0.1% with a win, <0.1% with a loss. It reaches six wins and a bowl in 62.5% of seasons.

WeekOpponentWin probabilityPlayoff odds after a winAfter a loss
Week 11at UCF39.0%<0.1%<0.1%
Week 12vs Oklahoma State28.9%<0.1%<0.1%
Week 13at Arizona19.3%<0.1%<0.1%

Arizona State's playoff odds by final record

Regular seasonChance of that recordPlayoff odds
8-43.2%0.2%
7-518.3%<0.1%
6-641.0%<0.1%
5-737.5%<0.1%

Arizona State's results

week 1, beat Morgan State 70-7; week 2, lost to Texas A&M 20-48; week 3, beat Kansas 24-17; week 5, lost to Baylor 19-55; week 6, beat Hawai'i 30-12; week 7, lost to Texas Tech 25-53; week 8, beat Kansas State 28-17; week 9, lost to BYU 20-27; week 10, beat Colorado 20-10.

The Big 12 race

TeamWins the Big 12Makes the playoff
Utah49.3%90.7%
Texas Tech22.0%41.4%
BYU8.3%27.4%
Houston8.3%29.8%
Arizona5.0%13.4%
Oklahoma State4.4%4.4%
Baylor2.8%2.8%
West Virginia<0.1%<0.1%
UCF<0.1%<0.1%
Arizona State<0.1%<0.1%

The Big 12 title race: every team, the likeliest title games and how ties are broken.

Questions

Will Arizona State make the College Football Playoff?
Arizona State is 5-4 and makes the playoff in <0.1% of 2.5 million simulated seasons, with 5.9 projected wins. It wins the Big 12 in <0.1% and the national title in <0.01%.
What does Arizona State need to make the playoff?
Even at 8-4, Arizona State makes the playoff in 0.2% of seasons. The game that decides the most is at Arizona in week 13: <0.1% with a win, <0.1% with a loss. It reaches six wins and a bowl in 62.5% of seasons.
Who should Arizona State fans root for in week 11?
Colorado over Houston, worth 0.01% in playoff odds, then Oklahoma State over Texas Tech.
What is Arizona State's toughest game left?
At Arizona in week 13, with a 19.3% chance to win.
How are Arizona State's playoff odds calculated?
The rest of the season is simulated 2.5 million times. Each simulated season is rated, ranked by a model of the selection committee and played through the bracket. A game's impact is the difference in Arizona State's playoff odds between the simulations each team wins it.

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