Utah’s thrilling 43-42 win over USC late Saturday night not only strengthened the Utes’ case to defend their Pac-12 title, it also had Utah climbing in the major polls.
The Utes jumped five spots to No. 15 in the Associated Press poll and four spots to No. 15 in the USA Today coaches poll after Week 7’s action.
Utah, though, still trailed the Trojans in both polls: USC came in at No. 12 in both the AP and coaches polls.
The Pac-12 has two other teams in the Top 10. UCLA is No. 9 and Oregon is No. 10 in the AP poll, with the two teams swapping spots in the coaches poll.
BYU, which was still receiving votes in both the AP and coaches polls last week, did not receive a vote in either poll after losing 52-35 to Arkansas. It was the Cougars’ second straight loss.
There were changes at the top in both polls with Tennessee beating Alabama 52-49.
While Georgia and Ohio State stayed No. 1 and No. 2 in the AP poll, the Volunteers jumped three spots to No. 3, followed by Michigan at No. 4 and Clemson at No. 5.
In the coaches poll, it was Georgia at No. 1, Ohio State at No. 2, Michigan at No. 3, Tennessee at No. 4 and Clemson at No. 5.
Alabama fell to No. 6 in both polls.