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Where did BYU and Utah land in the latest AP Top 25?

BYU climbed all the way to No. 2 in the AP Top 25, while Utah cracked the top 10.

(George Frey | Special to The Tribune) BYU Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47) jumps over his teammate to go in for a touchdown during a game against Notre Dame Fighting Irish at LaVell Edwards Stadium on October 17, 2026.

(George Frey | Special to The Tribune) BYU Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47) jumps over his teammate to go in for a touchdown during a game against Notre Dame Fighting Irish at LaVell Edwards Stadium on October 17, 2026.

By https://s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/sltrib/684b2f12-8528-496e-97cc-4cfa23d2fc8b.jpg Jason Batacao
 | Oct. 18, 2026, 12:11 p.m.
| Updated: 12:42 p.m.

Party like it’s 1984, BYU fans. Or close to it.

Coming off its historic win over Notre Dame, BYU jumped from No. 8 to No. 2 in the AP Top 25. The Cougars weren’t too far from No. 1, either.

No. 1 Miami had 1,697 points to BYU’s 1,675. The Cougars received 20 first-place votes.

There’s plenty of history here.

This is just the third season BYU has cracked the top five in the AP poll — and the first since the 1996 season.

That year, quarterback Steve Sarkisian led BYU to a 14-1 record and a No. 5 ranking.

BYU also cracked the top five in 1990 on the heels of beating No. 1 Miami at home, reaching as high as No. 4.

But there’s only one other time the Cougars have been ranked this high: 1984. Cougar fans, both young and old, know all about that year.

BYU has some Beehive State company in the top 10, too. The state has two really good college football teams.

The undefeated Utah Utes moved up from No. 11 to No. 10, following their win over Colorado on Saturday night. Utah will get its chance in the spotlight next weekend when ESPN’s “College GameDay” is in town ahead of the Utes’ matchup against No. 14 Houston.

BYU and Utah both benefited from a chaotic Saturday at the top of the poll, in which five of the top seven teams lost.

That chaos set up the Big 12 nicely for the second half of the season. The conference now has three teams — BYU, Utah and No. 8 Texas Tech — in the top 10.

AP Top 25

  1. Miami

  2. BYU

  3. Ohio State

  4. Notre Dame

  5. Georgia

  6. Indiana

  7. Ole Miss

  8. Texas Tech

  9. UCLA

  10. Utah

  11. Tennessee

  12. Kentucky

  13. Alabama

  14. Houston

  15. Iowa

  16. USC

  17. Wake Forest

  18. LSU

  19. Texas

  20. Florida

  21. Boise State

  22. Missouri

  23. SMU

  24. Northwestern

  25. Arizona

Others receiving votes: Oklahoma State 128, Oregon 79, Auburn 61, James Madison 52, Mississippi State 30, New Mexico 6, Oregon State 3

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