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...
Baylor Just Made Colorados Early Big 12 Slide Even Worse
The Big 12 power picture keeps shifting, and Utah has plenty of reason to watch closely as the league heads into Week 5. Baylors latest result added another wrinkle to a conference race that already feels unsettled, with recent wins and losses continuing to reshape how teams are viewed after only a few weeks of play.
For the Utes, the bigger takeaway is that there are no easy reads in this league right now. Recent results have exposed some defenses, rewarded teams that can keep pace on offense, and pushed the rankings around in a hurry, which means Utahs place in the mix can change fast if the early-season momentum holds or slips. [Read more 🡒]
Wayshawn Parker Is Giving Utah Fans A Real Reason To Dream
Wayshawn Parker gave Utah plenty to feel good about in its 31-17 win over Iowa State, and the recognition followed quickly. The running back was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week after piling up 174 rushing yards, two touchdowns and five catches for 65 yards and another score, a burst of production that showcased just how dangerous he can be when the Utes get him into space.
The performance was about more than the box score, too. Parker opened with a 54-yard touchdown run on his first carry and finished with 239 yards from scrimmage, while Utah coach Morgan Scalley pointed to his blocking and the way he fit into the teams work across the board. For a program trying to build momentum in the Big 12, that kind of all-around impact is the sort of thing that can change how opponents prepare from one week to the next. [Read more 🡒]