For the first time ever, both BYU and Utah have each ended the football season ranked inside the top 15.
The final AP Top 25 poll of 2025-26 was released Tuesday, with the 12-2 Cougars coming in at No. 11 and the 11-2 Utes following closely behind at No. 14.
For BYU, the No. 11 ranking is tied with 2020 for the highest end of season finish under Kalani Sitake.
Utah, on the other hand, has now appeared in 10 final polls under Kyle Whittingham, though this will be the last such finish due to Whittingham’s exit for Michigan.
National champion Indiana took the No. 1 spot in the final poll, followed by No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Ole Miss, No. 4 Oregon and No. 5 Ohio State.
Big 12 champion Texas Tech came in at No. 7, with Houston (No. 22) and TCU (No. 25) representing the league in the rankings as well.
Former BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff’s Tulane squad finished at No. 18, while Michigan, in its final pre-Whittingham campaign, took the No. 21 spot.
BYU has now clinched 21 end-of-season rankings in its history, with Utah notching its 12th.
Somewhat surprisingly, Notre Dame placed a spot above the Cougars at No. 10, despite the Irish being left out of the College Football Playoff and declining the opportunity to face BYU in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Had Notre Dame and BYU been flipped in the poll, it would have been the Cougars’ first top-10 finish since 1996.
Both BYU and Utah appeared on ESPN’s “way too early” top 25 list for 2026, with the Cougars coming in at No. 11 and Morgan Scalley’s Utes at No. 25.