PROVO, Utah — BYU moved up two spots in both the major national polls released on Sunday after concluding the regular season with double-digit victories for the third time in the last five seasons, and 19th time overall in program history.
After earning its 10th victory with a 30-18 win over Houston late Saturday night, the Cougars received a No. 17 ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 and a No. 18 rating in the AFCA's US LBM Coaches Poll published by USA TODAY Sports. The Cougars were ranked No. 19 and No. 20 last week in the two major polls.
In their second season in the Big 12, the Cougars (10-2) finished league play in a four-way tie atop the league standings at 7-2 along with Arizona State (10-2), Iowa State (10-2) and Colorado (9-3). All four teams won on Saturday. Conference tiebreakers among the four teams advanced the Sun Devils and the Cyclones as the two teams to meet in Saturday's Big 12 Championship game in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The same four Big 12 teams are ranked in the two major polls this week. In addition to BYU, Arizona State advanced two spots to No. 12 and No. 13 in AP and the AFCA, respectively, while Iowa State moved up one place to No. 16 in both polls. Colorado, meanwhile, received a No. 20 ranking from AP voters and a No. 22 rating from the coaches. Kansas State, after losing at Iowa State on Saturday, is recieving votes in both polls.
Overall, voters agreed on the top six teams this week with lone unbeaten Oregon (12-0) again at No. 1, followed by Texas (11-1), Penn State (11-1), Notre Dame (11-1), Georgia (10-2) and Tennessee (10-2) — each up one place after previous No. 2 Ohio State (10-2) was upset by Michigan on Saturday. The Buckeyes are now No. 7 in AP, while the coaches give that spot to the ACC's SMU (11-1), a team BYU defeated 18-15 in Dallas earlier this year to give the Mustangs their lone loss of the season. Indiana (11-1) and Boise State (11-1) round out the top 10 in both polls.
This week's AP ranking marks BYU’s 290th overall appearances in the AP poll since its first national ranking in 1974. Since that season 50 years ago, BYU has ammassed 441 victories to rank No. 8 in total wins among all FBS programs in that timeframe. The Cougars have been ranked in the last 11 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.
Noteworthy Success
In leading BYU to a third season with 10 or more victories in the last five years, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake was named AFCA Region 4 Coach of the Year. Sitake currently boasts the ninth-best winning percentage among FBS coaches with a 44-18 (.710) record since 2020. Only three FBS coaches have had more seasons with double-digit wins in that span, with Georgia's Kirby Smart, Ohio State's Ryan Day and Brian Kelly at Notre Dame and now LSU posting four seasons with 10 or more wins. In all, Sitake is one of eight active FBS head coaches with three seasons of 10-plus wins over the last five seasons, and one of five to do so at the same school.
BYU was just one of 18 schools among the 134 FBS teams to register double-digit victories in the 2024 regular season. The Big 12 touts three teams with 10 or more victories (Arizona State, BYU, Iowa State), tied with the SEC and behind just the Big Ten who produced four 10-win teams at the conclusion of the regular season.
During a 9-0 start to the season that saw the Cougars ranked as high as No. 6 in the CFP rankings, No. 7 by AP and No. 8 by coaches, BYU went 6-0 in Big 12 play before suffered its first loss of the season to Kansas after a quick-kick punt hit a BYU defender to set up a 3-yard KU go-ahead score in a 17-13 heartbreaking loss to the Jayhawks at home as part of KU becoming the first team in NCAA history with a losing record to defeat three straight nationally ranked opponents. The next week the Cougars fell 28-23 at nationally ranked Arizona State, where reciever Chase Roberts hauled in 49-yard Hail Mary from Jake Retzlaff on the last play of the game but was stopped short of the game-winning score at the 2-yard line.
BYU followed up the back-to-back close setbacks with a double-digit victory over Houston on senior night in LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday. The Cougars started league play 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, who has not lost since on its way to finishing 6-3 in the league standings. BYU also achieved a 41-19 victory over Arizona and a dramatic 38-35 win over Oklahoma State in back-to-back home games, before consecutive road wins leading start to finish in 37-24 victory over favored UCF and earning a 22-21 rivalry triumph over Utah in Salt Lake City.
CFP and Bowl Announcements
The Cougars were ranked No. 9, No. 6, No. 14 and No. 19 in the first four CFP rankings released this season. The fifth College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed on Tuesday evening on ESPN in advance of the final CFP rankings and 12-team playoff bracket being announced on Sunday, Dec. 8, following conference championship games this weekend. Bowl matchups will also be announced on Dec. 8.