Unbeaten BYU football moved up to No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday, receiving 20 first-place votes. The jump follows a 28-24 victory over No. 2 Notre Dame on Saturday night, marking the first time the Cougars have reached such a high ranking since winning the national championship in 1984.
The undefeated Cougars, now 6-0 and 3-0 in the Big 12, climbed from No. 8 last week into the top three of both the Associated Press and the US LBM Coaches Poll. In the AP rankings, BYU finished just behind No. 1 Miami, while trailing the Hurricanes and Ohio State in the AFCA Poll. The victory over Notre Dame in Provo marked the first-ever matchup between top-10 teams at that location.
The rankings saw significant movement after five of the top seven teams lost on Saturday. In the AP Poll, Notre Dame slid to No. 4 following its defeat by BYU, while Georgia fell to No. 5. Utah entered the top 10 in the AP Poll, and Texas Tech and Ole Miss both moved up two places to No. 7 and No. 8, respectively. In the AFCA Poll, BYU is ranked No. 3, behind Miami and Ohio State.
This season marks the third consecutive season that BYU has reached a 6-0 record, and the fourth time the program has achieved an undefeated start under coach Kalani Sitake. The Cougars entered the 2026 season ranked 15th by the coaches and tied for No. 14 in the AP preseason polls. Historically, the program has been ranked 312 times in the AP poll since 1974 and holds a 44-11 record when playing as an AP Top 25 team.
The Big 12 currently features three teams in the top 10 of both polls: BYU, Texas Tech, and Utah. Other conference teams appearing in the AP Top 25 include Houston at No. 14 and Arizona at No. 25.
