PROVO, Utah — After improving to 4-0 on Saturday with a 17-10 road win at TCU, BYU football moved up to No. 8 in both The Associated Press Top 25 and the US LBM Coaches Poll administered by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) released on Sunday.
AP voters jumped the Cougars two places from No. 10 a week ago, while the coaches advanced BYU one spot from last week's poll. With its hard-fought win through the rain and injuries in Fort Worth on Saturday, BYU is 4-0 for the third consecutive year under head coach Kalani Sitake to achieve the first streak of three consecutive 4-0 starts in BYU football history. Overall, the Cougars have gone 4-0 five times during Sitake's 11 seasons in Provo.
Top 10
The top five teams in the AP rankings remained unchanged this week with No. 1 Texas (4-0) followed by No. 2 Georgia (5-0), No. 3 Notre Dame (5-0)—BYU's Oct. 17 opponent in LaVell Edwards Stadium, No. 4 Miami (5-0) and No. 5 Ohio State (4-1). Just in front of BYU, AP voters flip-flopped reigning national champion Indiana (5-0) and Alabama (5-0), favoring the SEC powerhouse at No. 6 this week while the Hoosiers landed at No. 7. After the Cougars at No. 8, the SEC's Ole Miss (3-1) and LSU (4-1) complete the top 10.
The AFCA rated each of the teams in front of BYU in the same order as last week. Top-rated Texas is followed by Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami, Indiana, Ohio State and Alabama, with AFCA voters ranking unbeaten Indiana ahead of both the Buckeyes and Crimson Tide. Following the Cougars at No. 8, the coaches ranked Texas Tech of the Big 12 at No. 9 and LSU at No. 10. While AP had Ole Miss at No. 9, AFCA voters saw the Rebels and the Red Raiders reverse, with Ole Miss at No. 11 by the AFCA while AP voters placed Texas Tech at No. 11.
Big 12
The Big 12 has five teams in The AP Top 25 again this week, with No. 12 Utah (4-0), No. 18. Oklahoma State (3-1) and No. 22 Houston (4-1) joining No. 8 BYU and No. 11 Texas Tech. The coaches again had four Big 12 teams in their top 25, keeping idle Oklahoma State just outside their rankings, listed 26th overall among teams receiving votes. After top-10 BYU and Texas Tech, Utah is ranked No. 12 and Houston at No. 19 by the AFCA. Other Big 12 teams receiving votes this week are Arizona (4-1), Baylor (4-1) and Kansas State (3-1).
BYU in the Polls
Last year, BYU was ranked as high as No. 8 in both the AP and AFCA polls after achieving an 8-0 start to the season. Coming off a 12-2 campaign and 2025 Pop-Tarts Bowl title, BYU entered the season in the 2026 preseason polls ranked 15th by the coaches and tied for No. 14 with USC by AP voters, which marked the second-highest preseason AP ranking for BYU in program history (No. 10 in 1985). After dropping back to No. 15 in the AP rankings following its 63-7 season-opening win over Utah Tech, BYU returned to the same slot in the AP poll where it finished last season at No. 11 following its 28-17 conference win over Arizona while the coaches rated BYU at No. 13. BYU moved up to No. 9 in both polls following its 41-23 road win at Colorado State of the Pac-12, before dropping back to No. 10 in AP last week after a bye.
Historically, BYU has been ranked 310 times overall in the AP poll since the program's first national ranking in 1974. The Cougars have been ranked in each of the last 19 AP polls released since entering last year's AP rankings at No. 25 with a 3-0 record. BYU boasts a 42-11 record historically when playing as an AP Top 25 team.