BYU suffers crushing blow to College Football Playoff hopes after losing to UCF

The BYU Cougars were riding high after a 28-24 win over the No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Week 7. 

BYU jumped all the way up to No. 2 in the polls, but Week 8 was a much different story. On Saturday, the UCF Golden Knights stunned BYU with a 39-31 win in double overtime at Acrisure Bounce House in Orlando. As a result, BYU's hopes of making the College Football Playoff took a gigantic hit. 

Where BYU sits in ESPN's latest CFP projections 

Heather Dinich of ESPN had her updated CFP projections. While BYU slipped to No. 4, there is a big reason why this loss could prove costly when it comes time for the Selection Committee to make a decision. 

"The loss to unranked, three-loss UCF is something that would stand out to the committee, although the members would also consider that it was in double overtime on the road after an emotional home win against Notre Dame. The twist is that BYU's loss is worse than Notre Dame's loss. Some committee members might be swayed more by whom the Cougars lost to than whom they beat, and that they didn't have much control in either game," Dinich wrote.

Last year, it was between Miami and Notre Dame for the final spot, and this loss by BYU could put them in a similar situation. UCF lost to Pittsburgh, Houston and Oklahoma State, but the Golden Knights are also near the bottom of the Big 12 Conference, so this isn't a "good loss" by any means for BYU. 

BYU faces Arizona State in Week 9 before a top-25 showdown at Utah, and that game will be huge for both teams' hopes of making the College Football Playoff.