BYU and Utah will both open the 2026 college football season in the preseason US LBM Coaches Top 25 Poll, giving the Big 12 a familiar pair near the front of the national conversation.
The first rankings of the year came out Tuesday, and BYU landed at No. 15 while Utah checked in at No. 21. That’s a notable jump for the Cougars, who started last season at No. 23 in the coaches poll, while Utah entered 2025 unranked.
Both programs backed up those expectations with strong 2025 finishes. BYU closed the year at No. 12 after going 12-2, including an 8-1 mark in Big 12 regular-season play, reaching the Big 12 championship game and beating the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Utah finished No. 14 after a 11-2 season that included a Las Vegas Bowl win and a 7-2 record in Big 12 play.
The preseason placement matches the broader buzz around both teams, with BYU and Utah viewed as contenders for the Big 12 crown and a spot in the College Football Playoff.
They’re not the only Big 12 teams in the mix, either. Defending conference champion Texas Tech is the league’s highest-ranked team at No. 12, three spots ahead of BYU, and Houston also cracked the poll at No.
- Texas Tech won the Big 12 title and reached the CFP quarterfinals last season during a 12-2 campaign, while Houston went 10-3 and was one of three Big 12 teams to finish 6-3 in league play.
A few other conference teams also picked up votes: TCU with 63, Arizona with 50, Oklahoma State with 22, Arizona State with 8 and Kansas State with 1.
At the very top, the preseason order runs Ohio State at No. 1, Oregon at No.
2, Georgia at No. 3, Texas at No. 4 and Notre Dame at No.
- The Fighting Irish will visit BYU on Oct. 17 in the biggest Big 12 nonconference game of the season.
Defending national champion Indiana is No. 6, and Miami, which lost to the Hoosiers in last year’s national title game, is No. 7.
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Noah Fifita Keeps Arizona Right In The Big 12 Hunt
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