BYU’s leap to No. 2 in the AP Poll has put the Cougars in a spot that invites one big question: are they really the second-best team in college football, or just the team with the second-best résumé right now?
The ranking spike came Sunday, when BYU moved up from No. 8 after knocking off No. 4 Notre Dame, 28-24.
It’s the Cougars’ highest AP ranking since 1984, and it comes with plenty of support from the voters: 20 first-place votes and 1,675 points. Miami sits at No. 1 with 1,697 points and 40 first-place votes, while Ohio State is right behind at No. 3 with 1,649 points.
On paper, BYU has earned the attention. The Cougars are 6-0 and own the only undefeated record paired with a win over a top-five opponent. ESPN’s FPI strength of record has them at No. 1, and their wins include Arizona, now ranked No. 25, along with Colorado State, TCU and Iowa State.
The Notre Dame result is the headline piece of the resume. BYU entered as a 10.5-point underdog and snapped the Fighting Irish’s 16-game double-digit win streak. The ending was messy, too, with a pass hitting the turf with what seemed to be one second left, a finish that has been described as controversial by various sources.
Still, the argument against BYU landing at No. 2 leans heavily on the predictive numbers. Before beating Notre Dame, the Cougars were No. 11 in SP+ and No. 14 in FPI.
The FPI did not move them up after the win, and it rates their schedule as the 55th toughest in the country. The margins in wins over TCU and Iowa State - seven and 14 points - also don’t jump off the page when stacked against Miami’s 41-13 win at Clemson.
What’s really propping BYU up this high is the fact that everyone else near the top has stumbled in some way. Miami, the team ahead of them, needed double overtime and two slightly controversial calls on the last two plays to beat Florida State.
Ohio State is 6-1 because of its opening loss to Texas in Week 2, a result that looks worse after the Longhorns dropped back-to-back games. Indiana’s offense had a rough night against the Buckeyes in a loss.
Georgia also let a 14-0 lead slip away before losing to Auburn on a game-winning field goal.
So the No. 2 ranking is less a declaration that BYU is definitively the nation’s second-best team and more a recognition of an undefeated group that has done everything asked of it so far. The Cougars are one of the last two preseason top teams still without a loss, and that matters to voters.
The real test is coming soon. BYU still has UCF and Arizona State on the schedule before a matchup with No.
10 Utah. And if Ohio State or Georgia keep stacking quality wins against ranked opponents, either could climb back into that No. 2 spot.
For now, though, the rankings, the results and the numbers are all pointing in different directions. The season will keep forcing them closer together.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Just Landed A Rare 2027 Opener Change
Notre Dame has a little extra clarity for 2027 now, and it comes with a scheduling twist that changes the feel of the season before it even begins. The Irish will open against Kent State at Notre Dame Stadium on Aug. 28, moving the game up from the originally listed Oct. 2 date and giving the program its first home opener since 2020. It also adds a first-time opponent to the mix in a game that carries a bit of added resonance because Kent State is the alma mater of the late Lou Holtz.
For Notre Dame, the switch is less about novelty than it is about the shape of the early season, with another confirmed matchup now set in place on the calendar. It also alters the terms of the original arrangement, which included a $1.3 million guarantee payment to Kent State, underscoring how these nonconference deals can shift long before the teams ever take the field. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Fans Have A New Reason To Watch BYU This Week
No. 2 BYUs trip to UCF gives Notre Dame fans a fresh scouting opportunity, and it comes with a little extra intrigue for the Irish after the Cougars handled then-No. 2 Notre Dame earlier this season. UCF is getting ready to host a top-five team for the first time, so the Knights are treating the matchup as a measuring stick, with Scott Frost and several players talking about the lift that comes from playing at home and the challenge of going after an undefeated opponent.
For Notre Dame, the bigger draw is simple: another look at the team that already showed it can beat elite competition, this time in a different setting and against a defense trying to find ways to slow quarterback Bear Bachmeier. UCF is still looking for its first win against a top-five opponent, which only adds to the stakes, but from an Irish perspective the game is a chance to watch how BYU handles pressure on the road and whether the Cougars can keep rolling after their win in South Bend. [Read more 🡒]
CJ Carr Is Giving Notre Dame Fans A New NFL Dream
As the 2027 quarterback race has taken shape, the early buzz around Arch Manning, Dante Moore and Julian Sayin has been complicated by uneven play and injuries, leaving evaluators searching for the most complete passer in the class. That search has helped turn the focus toward CJ Carr, whose rise at Notre Dame has been built less on flash than on the kind of traits NFL teams tend to trust most: pre-snap command, accuracy and a steady feel for the offense.
Carrs showing against BYU offered another reminder of why his stock keeps climbing. He looked composed under pressure and comfortable working through the details that separate a college producer from a pro prospect, which is why some see a passer in the mold of Matt Ryan or Drew Brees. For Notre Dame fans, it is a familiar and oddly exciting place to be again, watching a quarterback develop into a national name while the bigger question is not whether he belongs in the conversation, but how high that conversation will eventually go. [Read more 🡒]