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Utah football surges, BYU stumbles in latest AP Top 25

Utah climbed four spots to No. 6, while BYU dropped from No. 2 to No. 8 in the latest AP Top 25.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) as Utah hosts Houston, NCAA football at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) as Utah hosts Houston, NCAA football at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026.

By https://s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/sltrib/684b2f12-8528-496e-97cc-4cfa23d2fc8b.jpg Jason Batacao
 | Oct. 25, 2026, 12:17 p.m.
| Updated: 12:18 p.m.

Utah has officially taken the driver’s seat in the Big 12 following its 21-13 win over Houston on Saturday.

The Utes, the last remaining undefeated team in the conference, moved up four spots to No. 6 in the latest AP Top 25 released Sunday.

It’s the highest Utah has been ranked since the 2019 season when the Utes climbed to No. 5.

BYU, meanwhile, is picking up the pieces after its double-overtime loss to UCF ended its hopes for an unbeaten season, a week after its emphatic win over Notre Dame.

The Cougars fell from No. 2 to No. 8 following the loss to the Knights — three spots behind the Irish.

It sets up a potential top-10 rivalry matchup in two weeks at Rice-Eccles Stadium — if the Utes and Cougars can get through Halloween unscathed.

Next week, Utah travels to Cincinnati fresh off a win over previously undefeated Texas Tech, and BYU hosts Arizona State.

It was another chaos-filled weekend in college football. Six ranked teams lost, three of which (BYU, Ole Miss and Alabama) were in the top 10.

The Utes and Cougars are two of six Big 12 teams in the rankings, along with No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 18 Houston, No. 22 Arizona and No. 24 Oklahoma State.

AP Top 25

  1. Miami

  2. Ohio State

  3. Georgia

  4. Indiana

  5. Notre Dame

  6. Utah

  7. UCLA

  8. BYU

  9. Kentucky

  10. Alabama

  11. Texas

  12. Ole Miss

  13. Texas Tech

  14. Wake Forest

  15. LSU

  16. Tennessee

  17. Florida

  18. Houston

  19. SMU

  20. Boise State

  21. Northwestern

  22. Arizona

  23. Missouri

  24. Oklahoma State

  25. Wisconsin

Others receiving votes: Iowa 76, New Mexico 41, Cincinnati 11, Oregon State 10, South Carolina 8, Minnesota 7, USC 7, UTSA 1, Virginia Tech 1

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