Utes move into the top 10 of the AP football poll
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Idaho State Bengals quarterback Matt Struck (8) hits the ground as he is surrounded by Utah Utes defensive tackle John Penisini (52) Utah Utes defensive tackle Leki Fotu (99) and Utah Utes defensive end Mika Tafua (42) as the University of UtahÕs RunninÕ Utes host Idaho State Bengals in Salt Lake City, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019.
Utah’s 31-0 win over Idaho State was good enough to give the Utes their earliest top-10 ranking in the AP Top 25 in the program’s history.
The Utes (3-0) are No. 10 in the poll published Sunday, having changed places with idle Michigan (2-0). Utah also was No. 10 in the rankings of Sept. 27, 2015, after beating Michigan, Utah State, Fresno State and Oregon.
Utah is among six Pac-12 teams in the rankings, including four opponents on their 2019 schedule: No. 19 Washington State, No. 22 Washington, No. 23 California and No. 24 Arizona State. No. 16 Oregon could meet the Utes only in the Pac-12 championship game.
USC, formerly No. 24, dropped out of the rankings after a 30-27 overtime loss to BYU in Provo. BYU received enough votes to become the equivalent of No. 32. Utah will meet USC in Los Angeles on Friday.
In the Coaches Poll, Utah switched spots with Penn State, becoming No. 11. Michigan remained No. 10.
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