Danny Kanell made a new call at the top of his weekly college football rankings, and it came with a fresh No. 1.
After Utah beat BYU and Notre Dame knocked off Miami, the Utes moved into the top spot in Kanell’s latest top 12 on Sunday. Miami had been No. 1 a week earlier, but Kanell slid the Hurricanes down after their loss in South Bend.
“It’s the best because it has no bias,” Kanell wrote on X before putting Utah first, UCLA second and Georgia third. Notre Dame, Indiana and Miami completed his top six.
Utah’s rise has been building for weeks. The undefeated Utes were No. 7 after Week 4, climbed to No. 5 after Week 8 and sat No. 2 behind Miami after Week 9. Saturday night finally pushed them to the front of the line.
The latest jump came after another demanding stretch for Utah. The Utes beat then-No.
14 Houston 21-13 on Oct. 24, followed that with a 49-25 road win at Cincinnati, and then took care of No. 7 BYU in the first Holy War played with both teams in the AP top 10.
Utah also owns the nation’s longest winning streak at 15 games.
Kanell’s rankings look different from the College Football Playoff selection committee’s first release. The committee had Utah No. 3 behind Miami and Georgia, with UCLA at No.
- Kanell had the Bruins all the way up at No. 2 after their 34-20 win at Minnesota.
Robert Griffin III also had Miami, Utah and UCLA at the top of his own list after the committee’s opening rankings came out.
Devon Dampier was at the center of Utah’s win over BYU. The quarterback accounted for all four touchdowns at Rice-Eccles Stadium, going 14 of 26 for 177 yards and two touchdown passes to Braden Pegan while also rushing 20 times for 89 yards and two more scores. He also caught a 29-yard pass from Creed Whittemore on fourth-and-1.
“I don’t care if there’s two people on me,” Dampier said of the trick play. “I’m gonna find a way to go catch it.”
Utah grabbed a 14-0 lead before the game was five minutes old, but BYU answered with 20 straight points and carried a 20-14 lead into halftime. From there, the Utes’ defense took over. Utah shut out the Cougars after the break and intercepted Bear Bachmeier four times.
Trey Reynolds delivered one of the biggest plays of the night, picking off a third-and-goal throw at the 2-yard line with 4:39 remaining. Nate Ritchie sealed BYU’s final possession with another interception.
The numbers were tight in some areas and lopsided in others. BYU outgained Utah 391 to 330, but the Utes won the turnover battle by two and averaged 5.25 points per scoring opportunity to BYU’s 2.60, according to GameOnPaper.
“The reason I believe that we won today is our guys made it about us, not about them,” Utah head coach Morgan Scalley said.
Scalley is 9-0 in his first season after taking over for Kyle Whittingham, Utah’s all-time winningest coach, who stepped down last December and now coaches Michigan. Whittingham left after Utah offered a one-year deal that gave Scalley long-term roster and staffing authority. Scalley played safety on Utah’s undefeated 2004 team and served as defensive coordinator from 2016 through last season.
Utah still has three regular-season games ahead, starting with a trip to Arizona on Nov. 14.
The Utes then go to TCU on Nov. 21 before finishing the regular season against West Virginia on Nov. 28.
The Big 12 championship game is scheduled for Dec. 4 in Arlington, Texas.
The committee’s second rankings come out Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET, and Utah will enter them 6-0 in Big 12 play with a top-10 win over BYU on its résumé.
In Other News...
Utah Just Gave Utes Fans New Rivalry Bragging Rights
Devon Dampier helped Utah take control of the latest edition of the Holy War, and the Utes defense did the rest in a 28-20 win over BYU at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Dampier accounted for four touchdowns, while Utahs secondary came up with four interceptions and the defense held BYU scoreless in the second half, a combination that gave the home crowd plenty to celebrate in a game that carried the usual rivalry edge.
The result also carried extra weight beyond the standings, drawing reaction from national media and former players who know what this matchup means around the program. For Utah, it was the kind of performance that can resonate well past one Saturday night, especially with the Utes sitting in a strong spot in conference play and the rivalry win adding another layer to the seasons momentum. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Let A Rivalry Statement Slip Away In The Worst Way
Utah finally got the kind of night it had been chasing in this rivalry, turning a fast start into a 28-20 win over BYU at Rice-Eccles Stadium and snapping a three-game skid against its biggest in-state foe. The Utes had the early edge, lost some of their grip in the second quarter, then settled back in after halftime with the kind of defensive edge that has long defined this matchup when it tilts Utahs way.
Devon Dampier was at the center of it, giving Utah production as a passer, runner and even as a receiver while helping keep the offense moving when the game tightened. For a team that had been waiting to reassert itself in this series, the victory carried more than just one win in the standings. It also left BYU with the frustration of a statement game slipping away after Utah took control again in the second half. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Week Brings Out Everything Utah Fans Love About This Rivalry
Before the latest BYU-Utah meeting, the scene around the stadium looked like a familiar celebration of everything this rivalry has come to mean. Fans showed up early to tailgate, trade barbs and soak in the kind of school pride and tradition that has defined this matchup for generations, with both sides treating the day like more than just another game on the schedule.
The atmosphere carried the weight of a rivalry that always seems to bring out the most invested version of each fan base, and this one was no different. Utah had the edge when the teams finally took the field, but the bigger story was the buildup itself, a reminder that this annual clash still delivers the kind of energy and anticipation that makes it stand apart on the college football calendar. [Read more 🡒]