PROVO, Utah — BYU remained at No. 11 for the third straight week in both The Associated Press Top 25 and AFCA Coaches Poll released on Sunday.
The Cougars (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) defeated UCF by a 41-21 tally on Saturday to finish the regular season with 11 victories for just the seventh time in program history and mark the 14th season overall they have recorded 11 or more wins when also including postseason play. It is the third season under head coach Kalani Sitake that BYU has posted 11 wins, somthing also achieved last season at 11-2 and in 2020 at 11-1. BYU’s 20-point victory on Saturday marked the Cougars’ eighth double-digit win, and third in a row, this season and produced the team's fifth victory by 20 or more points.
BYU remains just outside the top 10, however, where it previously spent two weeks in the AP's top 10 and three weeks in the top 10 of the AFCA Poll while building an 8-0 start to the season. BYU has been ranked 303 times overall in the AP poll since the program's first national ranking in 1974.
The Cougars were also ranked No. 11 in the past two week's College Football Playoff rankings, which will be updated based on this weekend's results on Tuesday by the CFP Committee.
Only One loss in Top 10
The only loss suffered by a top-10 team this past week was previously unbeaten No. 3 Texas A&M losing to in-state rival Texas, 27-17. The Aggies fell four spots in both polls to No. 7 this week while the Longhorns jumped two places to No. 14. With that defeat, the rankings within the top 10 adjusted slightly with the same 10 teams maintaining their top-10 status.
Ohio State (12-0) and Indiana (12-0) are again No. 1 and No. 2 after finishing the regular season undefeated. Georgia (11-1) and Oregon (11-1) follow at No. 3 and No. 4, moving up one spot each, while Texas Tech (11-1) is up two rankings to No. 5 by AP while moving just one place to No. 6 according to the AFCA. The coaches preferred Ole Miss, up one, at No. 5 while AP kept them at No. 6. After Texas A&M (11-1) at No. 7, the rest of the top 10 stayed the same with No. 8 Oklahoma (10-2), No. 9 Notre Dame (10-2) and No. 10 Alabama (10-2) all winning.
Big 12
In addition to Texas Tech and BYU, the Big 12 is represented in the top 25 by No. 15 Utah (10-2) and No. 22 Arizona (9-3). The Cougars defeated both the Utes, at home, and the Wildcats, on the road, during the regular season while suffering their lone setback in Lubbock against the Red Raiders.
Big 12 Championship
BYU and Texas Tech will meet again on Saturday after the two programs tied atop the conference standings at 8-1 to earn spots in the 2025 Edward Jones Big 12 Football Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys. Last year BYU finished in a four-way first-place tie at 7-2 but didn't advance to the championship due to tiebreakers.
Fans can select this link to purchase tickets to this year's title game, which kicks at 11 a.m. CT and will be televised on ABC. The winner of the game will receive an automatic qualifying spot in the upcoming College Football Playoff.