The morning after BYU ended its nine-game losing streak to rival Utah, the Cougars got another nice surprise: returning to the nation’s top 25 rankings.
BYU is ranked No. 23 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches poll after beating Utah 26-17. The Utes, meanwhile, fell out of both polls and are among teams receiving votes.
The Cougars will face Arizona State, ranked No. 19 in the AP and No. 21 in the Coaches poll, next Saturday at Lavell Edwards Stadium.
The top four are the same in both polls, with Alabama at No. 1, Georgia at No. 2, Oklahoma at No. 3, and Oregon jumping into the top 5 at No. 4 after upsetting Ohio State 35-28 on the road. Iowa is No. 5 in the AP poll, while Texas A&M is No. 5 in the Coaches poll.
In addition to Oregon and Arizona State, the Pac-12 also has idle UCLA in the polls (No. 13 in both), while USC — a 42-28 loser to Stanford — joined Utah in falling out of the polls.