PROVO, Utah — BYU football entered the top-25 rankings in both major national polls on Sunday following its 34-13 road victory at East Carolina on Saturday night.
The Cougars (3-0) received a No. 25 ranking from Associated Press voters and were rated one spot higher at No. 24 in the AFCA Coaches Poll. The week 5 rankings released on Sunday mark the first time this year BYU has been ranked by AP while lingering just outside the media’s top 25 all season. The Cougars have been ranked this year during four of the five polls released by the coaches, starting at No. 23 in the preseason poll and then landing at No. 25 the subsequent two rankings before an absence last week following BYU’s bye week.
This week four Big 12 teams are recognized among the top-25 teams in the country by AP voters.
Texas Tech (4-0), coming off a 34-10 road victory at previous No. 16 Utah on Saturday, is up five spots in AP to No. 12 and two places to No. 14 in the AFCA poll. The Red Raiders jumped previous AP No. 12 Iowa State (4-0), now ranked 14th, while the Cyclones remained the highest-rated Big 12 team according to the coaches, staying at No. 13.
TCU (No. 24 AP/No. 25 AFCA) also joined BYU in this week’s national rankings, with the 3-0 Horned Frogs swapping spots with the Cougars in the two major polls. Utah (3-1), who fell out of both polls following its home loss to Texas Tech, is receiving votes along with Big 12 teams Arizona State (3-1), Kansas (3-1), Houston (3-0) and UCF (3-0).
Ohio State (3-0) remains the top-ranked team in both polls, with Miami (4-0), Penn State (3-0), LSU (4-0) and Georgia (3-0) rounding out the top five in AP. Meanwhile, the AFCA voted the Nittany Lions at No. 2, followed by the Bulldogs and Tigers of the SEC with Oregon (4-0) edging the Hurricanes at No. 5.
Boasting one of the nation’s top defenses, BYU has achieved dominating wins over Portland State (69-0), Stanford (27-3) and East Carolina (34-13) this season while true freshman starting quarterback Bear Bachmeier has led a talented surrounding cast on offense and Kalani Sitake’s team has received strong performances on special teams.
The BYU defense is tied with No. 1 Ohio State for the fewest points allowed this season, having surrendered only 16 total points over three games (5.3 points allowed per game). This marks the fewest points allowed by a Big 12 team through three games of a season since TCU set the conference record with just 13 points allowed in 2012.
Last season, BYU also entered the AP poll in week 5, earning a No. 22 ranking on its way to an eventual 13-2 season and a No. 13 final ranking. Overall, the Cougars have been ranked 293 times in the AP poll since their first national ranking in 1974.
BYU travels to face Colorado for its Big 12 opener in Boulder on Saturday, September 27. The game will be televised at 8:15 p.m. MT on ESPN.