BYU is suddenly sitting in rare air, and the Big 12 is making noise all over the AP Top 25.
After a chaotic Week 7, the Cougars climbed from No. 8 to No. 2 in Sunday’s latest poll, powered by a 28-24 win over Notre Dame. BYU picked up 20 first-place votes and now trails only No. 1 Miami.
That ranking is BYU’s highest since its 1984 national championship season. It also comes after the Cougars went into Saturday’s game as 10.5-point underdogs against the Fighting Irish. They’re 6-0 for the third straight season.
The conference’s surge didn’t stop there.
Texas Tech jumped two spots to No. 8 after pounding Arizona State 53-25. The Red Raiders earned one first-place vote and are still unbeaten.
Utah also moved up, climbing one place to No. 10 after edging Colorado 27-24. That gives the Big 12 three teams in the top 10.
Houston made the biggest leap outside that group. The Cougars moved from No. 20 to No. 14 after a 35-32 win over Oklahoma State. At 6-1, Houston has its highest AP ranking since reaching No. 11 during the 2016 season.
Oklahoma State, meanwhile, dropped out of the Top 25 entirely after the loss. The Cowboys had spent three straight weeks in the poll before falling out.
The Big 12 still kept the same number of ranked teams by adding Arizona at No. 25. The Wildcats did not play this weekend, but they’ve won four straight since their loss to BYU.
In all, the conference now features five ranked teams: No. 2 BYU, No.
8 Texas Tech, No. 10 Utah, No.
14 Houston and No. 25 Arizona.
And the new order gets tested right away, with No. 14 Houston heading to No. 10 Utah in a major Big 12 matchup in Week 8.
In Other News...
Rece Davis Turns BYU Win Into Bigger Officiating Fight
The fallout from BYUs win over Notre Dame kept moving well after the final whistle, with ESPNs Rece Davis taking aim at the officiating mistake that ended the game with the Irish out of time for one last snap. The Big 12 later acknowledged the error, saying one second should have remained on the clock and promising a review of the replay officiating process, which only added to the sense that the finish was about more than just one result.
Davis also tied the episode into a broader conversation that has been simmering around the College Football Playoff expansion debate, using the clock mishap as another example of why the sport keeps getting pulled into bigger questions about fairness and control. For BYU, the win stands, but the way it ended has ensured the discussion will linger well beyond one Saturday night. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Got The Statement Win Fans Dreamed About
Bear Bachmeier gave BYU the kind of all-around performance that can change the way a season feels, helping the Cougars outlast Notre Dame in a 28-24 win that should resonate well beyond one Saturday. The sophomore quarterback was effective as a passer and a runner, and the offense found another steady presence in tight end Walker Lyons, who kept showing up as a reliable target when the game tightened up.
The result pushed BYU all the way to No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25, a sign of how much national respect the Cougars earned with the victory. For a team trying to prove it belongs in the top tier, the bigger question now is how this performance carries over, because statement wins only matter if they become part of a pattern. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Turned The Big 12 Race Into Something Much Bigger
A wild Saturday across college football sent the AP poll into a spin, and BYU found itself at the center of it. Five of the top seven teams lost on the same day for the first time in the history of the poll, a shakeup driven by results all over the country as Miami moved to No. 1 after a double-overtime win against Florida State and the Cougars climbed to No. 2 after upsetting Notre Dame.
The bigger picture for BYU is how much larger its season has suddenly become. What had been a strong run inside the Big 12 now comes with national relevance, especially after a slate that also saw Ohio State beat Indiana, Tennessee knock off Alabama, Florida upset Texas and Auburn topple Georgia. The rankings changed fast, and with them the spotlight on a BYU team that has turned a conference race into something far more consequential. [Read more 🡒]