Week 4 shook up the Associated Press Top 25, and the ripple effects landed squarely on BYU and Utah.
BYU spent its bye week watching the board move around it, and the Cougars slipped from No. 9 to No. 10 after Florida surged past them. The Gators, coming off a dominant win over Ole Miss, climbed from the bottom of the poll all the way to No. 8, bumping BYU back one spot.
That slide does not change the bigger picture for the Cougars, who remain the Big 12’s highest-ranked team. The next stretch, though, is no joke: BYU is staring at a nine-game run without a break. First up is TCU, a two-loss team coming off a loss to UCF on Saturday.
Utah, meanwhile, used a road win at Iowa State to keep climbing. Wayshawn Parker was the story in Ames, putting together a career day with 239 all-purpose yards. He set the tone immediately, ripping off a 54-yard touchdown on the first carry of the game and never really letting Iowa State settle in.
The Utes leaned heavily on Parker throughout the afternoon, hit a rough patch in the third quarter, then pulled away in the fourth with Parker again driving the action. For a team making its first road trip of the season, it was exactly the kind of test that tends to matter in these rankings. Utah rose two spots to No. 13, and now heads into a bye before hosting Kansas on Oct. 10 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The Big 12 also picked up another ranked team this week. Oklahoma State joined the poll at No. 19 after a 41-24 win over West Virginia, giving the conference five teams inside the Top 25.
Texas Tech remained the league’s No. 2 team at No. 12 after a slow-building win over Sam Houston, though the Red Raiders slipped one spot. Houston stayed in the rankings at No. 20 after a 42-28 win over Georgia Southern, climbing five places from the previous week.
Outside the Top 25, Cincinnati and Arizona were the Big 12 teams receiving votes.
In Other News...
BYUs Big 12 Path Suddenly Runs Through Two Huge Tests
BYU used its weekend off to catch its breath, but the break did little to simplify the road ahead. The Cougars return to Big 12 play next weekend at TCU, and the conversation around their season is already shifting toward how they handle the stretch that follows, with Iowa State waiting as another major test. With BYU still in the mix near the top of the conference picture, every week now feels like a sorting exercise, especially in a league where the standings remain crowded and a few teams still have a realistic path to the championship game.
The Cougars have given themselves a chance because of the way they have played on offense, while their defense has been good enough to keep them in the race. But the next two games will say plenty about whether that profile translates against the kind of competition that can separate contenders from the pack. Utah, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Houston remain part of the broader Big 12 conversation too, which only adds to the pressure on BYU as it heads into a run that could either strengthen its case or leave it chasing from behind. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Bye Week Brought A Telling Shift In The Top 25
BYUs bye week arrived at a useful moment, not just for rest but for perspective. While the Cougars sat out, the broader college football picture kept moving, and the latest Top 25 ballot offered a reminder of how quickly the sport can shift when teams keep stacking wins and standout performances.
Texas stayed at No. 1 in the ranking, with Miami, Notre Dame, Georgia and Ohio State filling out the top tier, a snapshot that says as much about recent form as it does about reputation. For BYU, the takeaway is less about any single slot and more about the pressure to stay in the conversation when the calendar and the standings both start tightening. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Just Got A Ranking Boost Fans Needed To See
Five Big 12 teams are in the latest AP Top 25 poll, the most the league has had since October 2025, and that kind of league-wide recognition only adds to the weekly pressure at the top. BYU sits highest among them at No. 10, with Texas Tech at No. 12 and Utah at No. 13, while Houston has moved into the mix at No. 20 as the conference continues to stack ranked teams.
Oklahoma States debut at No. 19 after ending its long Big 12 skid was the other notable shakeup, a reminder that the leagues middle can change quickly once wins start to pile up. For Houston, the ranking is useful validation, but it also keeps the focus right where fans want it: whether the Cougars can keep climbing in a crowded conference race that suddenly looks even tighter. [Read more 🡒]