The voters in the AP and Coaches polls might not think we’re cool anymore, but the College Football Playoff committee does. (Also our mom says we’re still cool, too.) NC State is ranked 21st in the CFP’s first top 25. Alabama, Clemson, LSU, and Notre Dame are the four teams in the playoffs as of today.

Here’s the full #CFBPlayoff Top 2️⃣5️⃣ rankings for games played through October 27.



Is your team in? pic.twitter.com/CnmGi1MMVx — College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) October 30, 2018

The ACC in general is getting more credit from the CFP committee than it is from the other human polls. NC State’s case is bolstered by its decisive wins over Boston College and Virginia. And Syracuse is ranked 19th, so losing on the road in a close one to the Orange isn’t much of a ding in the committee’s eyes.

I like this interpretation much better than the reasoning elsewhere, mostly because being ranked here is good exposure, even at the tail end of it. This is also an encouraging sign for NC State’s New Year’s Six chances—the Wolfpack would figure to be in that discussion if it wins out.