BYU’s rise in the AP Top 25 picked up real momentum Sunday, and the Cougars now sit in a spot they haven’t occupied all season: No. 11.
That jump came after a convincing second-half performance Saturday against Arizona, but it was also helped by a messy weekend for several teams sitting above BYU. The Associated Press released its updated poll on Sunday, and the Cougars climbed from No. 15 to No. 11 after moving past Oregon and Oklahoma, both of whom lost. BYU also moved ahead of Texas Tech and USC, teams that had been slotted in front of them before the latest update.
The ranking makes BYU the highest-rated Big 12 team in the country. Texas Tech comes in at No.
13, Utah is No. 16 and Houston checks in at No. 22.
Oklahoma State is just outside the top 25 after upsetting Oregon. Texas Tech and Houston are set to meet Saturday, which gives one of them a chance to strengthen its case in the weeks ahead.
There’s still room for BYU to keep climbing, too. At least one team above the Cougars is guaranteed to take a loss Saturday, since No.
7 LSU and No. 8 Ole Miss meet in a matchup that will send one of them down the board.
For BYU, though, the path forward is straightforward: keep winning the games it should win. The Cougars are favored by multiple scores over Colorado State this weekend. They should also enter the first conference road game of the season against TCU as favorites, and they will certainly be favored over Iowa State.
If BYU handles those chances, it would set up a top-10 showdown with Notre Dame in October.
ESPN FPI gives BYU a 58% chance to reach that game unbeaten. Notre Dame is expected to arrive undefeated as well, and the Fighting Irish are already sitting in the top three of the AP Poll. There’s a real possibility Notre Dame is ranked No. 1 or No. 2 when it comes to Provo.
If the Cougars keep taking care of business over the next three games, the stage could be set for one of the biggest games, if not the biggest game, in the history of LaVell Edwards Stadium.
In Other News...
BYU Showed Something Different In The Second Half At Arizona
Down at halftime in Tucson, No. 15 BYU came out of the break looking like a different team and finished with a 28-17 win over Arizona. The Cougars leaned on a strong rushing drive to open the second half, got meaningful production from players such as Kyler Kasper and Tausili Akana, and began to tilt the game with a steadier, more physical approach after the intermission.
Arizona still had a chance to flip the pressure back onto BYU before the Cougars defense shut the door with a key fourth-down stop. From there, BYUs pass rush started to squeeze the Wildcats late, and the Cougars spent the final stretch controlling the flow instead of chasing it, a meaningful shift for a team that had to answer a few questions after the break. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Keeps Winning Big Games Even When The Start Looks Familiar
For a while, it looked a lot like one of those nights when BYU would have to grind through familiar frustration before finding its footing. The Cougars still came away with a Big 12 win over Arizona, and the familiar part of the story was how much the game changed after halftime. Kelly Poppingas defense settled in and Aaron Rodericks offense found better answers after a slow start, giving BYU the kind of second-half control that has started to define these bigger nights.
Tommy Prassas also ended up in the middle of the decisive sequence late, when a key fourth-quarter tackle helped seal the result. It was another reminder that BYU keeps finding a way in these matchups, even when the opening stretch suggests the game might go another direction. The win was Kalani Sitakes sixth straight over Arizona, which says plenty about how often the Cougars have been the team making the right adjustments when these teams meet. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Arizona Win Put A Promising New Core On Display
BYUs win over Arizona offered a useful snapshot of how the Cougars are starting to piece together a new-look core on both sides of the ball. The second-half surge was powered by a defense that kept tightening the screws, with Tausili Akana making his presence felt, Uluave and Cannon DeVries adding key support, and the offense finding enough balance to pull away. It was the kind of performance that suggests the roster is settling into a clearer identity early in the season.
The more interesting part for BYU is how many different names are starting to matter in meaningful spots. Isaiah Glasker emerged as a steady target in the passing game, and Kyler Kaspers scoring impact showed how quickly the receiving group can tilt a game when it gets rolling. Akanas production up front only adds to the sense that this team may have more emerging pieces than expected, which makes the next stretch of games worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]