PROVO, Utah — BYU football landed at No. 12 in both The Associated Press Top 25 and US LBM Coaches Poll administered by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) on Sunday after coming out on the short end of a top-10 matchup at No. 3 Utah on Saturday.
After falling 28-20 at No. 3 Utah for only its second loss of the season, BYU (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) dropped four spots in the AFCA rankings and five places in AP to No. 12, ending a run of seven straight weeks in the top 10. Utah moved up to No. 2 in both polls this week after the home victory, while previous No. 2 Georgia claimed the top spot from Miami, who fell to No. 5 in AP and No. 6 in the AFCA after suffering its first loss of the year to Notre Dame on Saturday night.
The Fighting Irish moved up to No. 3 in both polls after coming out on the winning side of its second top-10 matchup of the last several weeks. In its previous top-10 battle, Notre Dame, then ranked No. 2, fell to then No. 8 BYU in Provo, but now has climbed back to No. 3, moving up one place in AP and jumping three rankings in the AFCA after defeating previously unbeaten No. 1 Miami in South Bend.
In addition to Miami and BYU suffering defeat in the top 10, Kentucky (previously No. 6 AP/No. 8 AFCA) and Ohio State (previously No. 10 AFCA) were both upset and fell out of the top 10 this week, with the Wildcats dropping to No. 13 in both polls and the Buckeyes falling 10 spots to No. 20 in the AFCA and No. 21 in AP.
Tennessee made the largest jump this week, entered the top 10 with a seven-rankings lift fueled by its 34-6 blowout over Kentucky on Saturday. After No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Utah and No. 3 Notre Dame, unbeaten UCLA is No. 4 in both rankings, followed by Miami at No. 5 in AP and Indiana in the fifth spot according to the coaches.
Big 12
The Big 12 has five teams in the top 25 of both major polls. After No. 2 Utah (9-0, 6-0 Big 12), Texas Tech (8-1, 5-1) entered the top 10 at No. 10 in both polls, followed by No. 12 BYU (7-2, 4-2), No. 14/16 Houston (7-2, 4-2) and No. 22/21 Arizona (7-2, 4-2). Oklahoma State (6-3, 4-2) is receiving votes in both polls, listed 28th by voters in both polls.
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 2026 season in the 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 to No. 10 in AP during a bye week.
The Cougars moved up to No. 8 in both polls after a hard-fought 17-10 road win through the rain and injuries at TCU and stayed at No. 8 following its 24-10 home win over Iowa State in a Friday night matchup. BYU jumped to No. 2 with its 28-24 victory over then No. 2 Notre Dame. After suffering a 39-31 double-overtime road setback at UCF and dropping to No. 8/9, the Cougars rebounded with a 27-20 home victory over Arizona State to earn No. 7/8 rankings before falling 28-20 at No. 3 Utah and land at No. 12.
Historically, BYU has been ranked 315 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 24 AP polls released since entering last year's AP rankings at No. 25 with a 3-0 record. BYU boasts a 45-13 record historically when playing as an AP Top 25 team.