PROVO, Utah — After improving to 9-2 on Saturday, BYU moved up to No. 13 in The Associated Press Top 25 and stayed at No. 15 in the USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll released Sunday.
AP voters advanced the Cougars one ranking after their 34-17 win in Statesboro over Georgia Southern, just behind Oregon (9-2) and Michigan State (9-2), who fell seven and five spots, respectively, to No. 11 and No. 12 after lopsided losses.
Georgia (11-0) again paces the field in the top spot followed by Ohio State (10-1), who received a three-place boast after its dominating win over the then seventh-ranked Spartans. No. 3 Alabama (10-1) and No. 4 Cincinnati (11-0) each took one step back in this week’s poll thanks to the Buckeyes’ ascent in the top five. Given the void left by Oregon, the fifth spot belongs to previous No. 6 Notre Dame (10-1).
The rest of the top-10 teams each advanced two spots with Michigan (10-1) at No. 6 this week followed by Oklahoma State (10-1), Ole Miss (9-2), Baylor (9-2) and Oklahoma (10-1).
Utah (8-3) was rewarded eight rankings to No. 16 after its win over Oregon, while the coaches jumped the Utes six places to No. 19 this week.
The coaches kept Alabama at No. 2 behind consensus No. 1 Georgia with Ohio State receiving the third spot, up one after flip-flopping with now No. 4 Cincinnati. Spots five through eight mirror AP before Oklahoma is given the nod over Baylor at No. 9 even with the No.10 Bears owning the head-to-head upperhand.
BYU was one of four teams to not move up or down in the AFCA poll this week. No. 12 Iowa (9-2) and No. 14 Texas A&M (8-3) are the two teams ranked ahead of BYU by the coaches that are rated behind BYU in AP at No. 17 and No. 14, respectively.
BYU, who was ranked No. 14 in the latest College Football Rankings, will learn on Tuesday where the CFP selection committee places the Cougars in their newest rankings following this past weekend's college football results.
BYU has been ranked in one of the major national polls during 10 of the last 11 weeks this year since first entering the national rankings in the second poll of the regular season following its win over Utah.
At 9-2, BYU has a 5-1 record against Power 5 opponents this year with USC of the Pac-12 still on the schedule this Saturday in the Coliseum (7:30 p.m. PT on ESPN). To date, the Cougars boast P5 wins over nationally ranked Utah and Arizona State as well as Virginia, Washington State and Arizona.