BYU moves up in AP and AFCA national rankings following win over Utah

After defeating Utah 22-21 on Saturday to improve to 9-0 on the season, BYU moved up two spots to No. 7 in The Associated Press Top 25 and one place to No. 8 in the AFCA Poll released on Sunday.

BYU moves up in AP and AFCA national rankings following win over UtahBYU moves up in AP and AFCA national rankings following win over Utah

PROVO, Utah — BYU moved up two spots to No. 7 in The Associated Press Top 25 and one place to No. 8 in the American Football Coaches Association Poll on Sunday following the Cougars' dramatic 22-21 road victory at Utah on Saturday night to improve to 9-0 on the season.

The second College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed on Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. MT/8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Cougars were ranked No. 9 in the first CFP rankings released this past Tuesday. 

BYU's AP ranking is its highest since being ranked No. 7 in 2009 after starting 2-0 by beating No. 3 Oklahoma (14-13 in Dallas Cowboys Stadium) and Tulane (54-3 in The New Orleans Superdome). BYU's No. 8 ranking in the AFCA's US LBM Coaches Poll published by USA TODAY Sports equals the program's highest rank in that poll since being ranked No. 8 four consecutive weeks during a 9-0 start in 2020.

The last time BYU received a No. 7 ranking in November was during its 14-1 Cotton Bowl season in 1996. The Cougars advanced from No. 8 to No. 7 after defeating Utah, 37-17, on Nov. 23 in Salt Lake City to improve to 12-1 before going on to defeat Wyoming in the WAC Championship game and Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl. That season BYU moved up to No. 6 for one week before finishing No. 5 in the final two polls. 

This week's AP ranking marks BYU’s 67th week being ranked in the top 10 among 287 overall appearances in the AP poll since its first national ranking in 1974. Since that season 50 years ago, BYU has ammassed 440 victories to rank No. 8 in total wins among all FBS programs in that timeframe.

The Cougars have been ranked in the last eight national polls since entering the top 25 this season at No. 22 in week five of the polls to receive a top-25 ranking for the first time since week five of the 2022 season. 

BYU's unbeaten resume through nine games marks the fifth time the program has accomplished the feat in its 100 seasons of football. Head coach Kalani Sitake has done it twice, along with the 9-0 start in 2020, matching College Football Hall of Fame coach LaVell Edwards. The legendary Edwards guided his 1979 team to an 11-0 regular-season record before a bowl loss and famously led BYU to the national championship with a 13-0 record in 1984. Gary Crowton led BYU's 2001 team to a 12-0 start on its way to a 12-2 season.

In their second season in the BIg 12, the Cougars are currently atop the league standings at 6-0 in conference play, one game ahead of Colorado at 5-1 and 7-2 overall.

BYU is one of four Big 12 teams ranked by the coaches, with one receiving votes, while three programs received that top-25 recognition from AP, with two receiving votes.  In the AFCA, Kansas State (7-2) is ranked No. 19, with two-loss Colorado at No. 20 and Iowa State (7-2) at No. 25 after back-to-back losses. In AP, the Cyclones are just outside the rankings, listed 26th, while voters placed Colorado at No. 18 and K-State at No. 20. Arizona State is receiving votes in both polls. 

This season BYU has earned its 6-0 Big 12 record with a dominating 38-9 triumph over then No. 13 K-State at LaVell Edwards Stadium, followed by a wire-to-wire 34-28 road win over favored Baylor, a 41-19 victory over Arizona and a dramatic 38-35 win over Oklahoma State in back-to-back home games before leading start to finish for a 37-24 victory over favored UCF and achieving a come-from-behind 22-21 rivalry triumph over Utah in consecutive road victories. 

BYU nonconference opponent SMU (8-1) is ranked No. 13 by the AFCA and No. 14 by AP after a bye while standing atop the ACC standings at 5-0. BYU handed the Mustangs their only loss of the season keeping their high-scoring offense out of the end zone in an 18-15 road win in week two. SMU was ranked No. 13 in the first CFP rankings released this past week.

Both major polls agreed that Oregon (10-0), Ohio State (8-1) and Texas (8-1) are the top three teams.  Previous No. 2 Georgia and No. 4 Miami fell in AP to No. 11 and No. 12, respectively, and No. 10 and No. 12 by the coaches. 

The rest of this week's top 10 in AP includes Penn State (8-1) and Indiana (10-0) rounding out the top 5 with Tennessee (8-1) at No. 6 just in front of BYU while Notre Dame (8-1), Alabama (7-2) and Ole Miss (8-2) finish out the top 10. The coaches put Tennessee at No. 4, followed by Penn State, Indiana, Notre Dame, BYU, Alabama and Georgia.  

This week the Cougars return to LaVell Edwards Stadium after playing their last two games on the road. BYU will face Kansas (3-6, 2-4) coming off a 45-36 win over then No. 17 Iowa State on Saturday. Kickoff for the Cougars and Jayhawks is at 8:15 p.m. MT and will be televised nationally on ESPN.