BYU is back in the national top 10.
The Cougars landed at No. 9 in both major polls released this week, moving up two spots in the AP Top 25 and four in the AFCA coaches poll. It’s a steady climb for a team that has kept winning and kept collecting respect from voters.
The AP poll puts Texas at No. 1 for a second straight week, with Georgia at No. 2 and BYU’s upcoming opponent, Notre Dame, sitting at No. 3.
Ole Miss checks in at No. 4 after making the biggest leap among the top 10, and reigning national champion Indiana is No. 5.
Miami is No. 6, followed by Ohio State at No. 7, Alabama at No.
8, BYU at No. 9 and LSU at No. 10.
Ole Miss moved up four spots after beating then-No. 7 LSU on Saturday, while LSU slipped three places. BYU and Alabama each climbed two spots.
The coaches’ poll kept the top five unchanged from last week, with Texas, Georgia, Notre Dame, Indiana and Miami holding their places. Ole Miss rose to No. 6, followed by Ohio State, Alabama, BYU and Texas Tech at No.
- BYU posted the biggest jump in that poll, climbing four positions.
Texas Tech’s move gives the Big 12 two teams in the coaches’ top 10.
The Big 12 has a solid footprint in both polls. BYU and Texas Tech are two of four league teams in the AP Top 25, while three Big 12 teams are ranked in the coaches poll.
Texas Tech is No. 11 in the AP, Utah is No. 15 and Houston is No. 25.
Houston sits just outside the coaches’ rankings at No. 26, while Utah is also No. 15 there. West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Arizona are among the schools receiving votes in one or both polls.
BYU’s rise has been building all season. The Cougars opened the year in the 2026 preseason polls, ranked 15th by the coaches and tied for No. 14 in the AP with USC. That AP mark was the second-highest preseason ranking in program history, behind only No. 10 in 1985.
After a 63-7 season-opening win over Utah Tech, BYU slipped to No. 15 in the AP poll. The Cougars then moved back to the same spot where they finished last season, at No. 11, after a 28-17 conference win over Arizona. The coaches had BYU at No. 13 last week.
Historically, BYU has now been ranked 308 times in the AP poll since first earning a national ranking in 1974. The Cougars have appeared in every AP poll for the last 17 weeks, dating back to last season when they entered at No. 25 with a 3-0 record.
In Other News...
BYU Fans Just Got A Break For A Rare TCU Game Day
BYUs matchup with TCU on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, comes with an unusually fan-friendly twist for Cougar followers who also keep tabs on the church calendar. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. MDT, with the game slated for ESPN or ESPN2 and radio coverage on KSL NewsRadio, giving fans plenty of ways to follow along.
The timing lands on the Saturday of the Semiannual General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and this year the schedule lines up in a way that avoids the usual conflict. With no Saturday evening session anymore, BYU supporters wont have to choose between conference and the game, a small but welcome break for a program whose fan base often has to juggle both. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Suddenly Has Company In A Big 12 Rankings Fight
BYUs rise to No. 9 after beating Colorado State was part of a strong early-season showing for the Big 12, which now has four teams in the latest AP Top 25. Texas Tech, Utah and Houston stayed in the rankings as well, giving the league three teams in the Top 15 and another at No. 25 heading out of Week 3. For a conference trying to build depth at the top, that kind of spread matters as much as any one headline result.
West Virginia is the team adding a little more pressure to the mix after upsetting No. 25 Virginia and drawing significant votes of its own. The Mountaineers are still just short of the rankings, but they are close enough to make the conference picture even tighter. For BYU, its a reminder that the margin for staying among the Big 12s elite may be about to get a lot thinner. [Read more 🡒]
AJ Dybantsa Is Still Showing BYU Fans What Matters Most
AJ Dybantsa is already settling into life as a Washington Wizards rookie, but he is also making it clear that his time at BYU still matters. The former Cougars standout has started taking online classes to work toward finishing his degree in a timeline of about three to three-and-a-half years, all while juggling the demands of a pro basketball schedule and keeping up a strong academic record.
For BYU fans, it is another reminder that Dybantsas story is about more than where he was drafted or where he will make his NBA debut on Oct. 21. Being taken No. 1 overall by Washington put him on one of basketballs biggest stages, but he is still doing the quieter work that reflects what he values most, and that part of his journey may end up meaning just as much back in Provo. [Read more 🡒]