BYU football moved up to No. 8 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the US LBM Coaches Poll released on Sunday, October 4. The jump follows a 17-10 road win against TCU on Saturday, which improved the Cougars to a 4-0 record on the season.
The victory in Fort Worth marks the third consecutive year that BYU has started a season with a 4-0 record under head coach Kalani Sitake. This achievement represents the first time in the program's history that the team has achieved a streak of three consecutive 4-0 starts. Throughout Sitake's 11 seasons in Provo, the Cougars have reached a 4-0 start five times overall.
In the AP rankings, voters moved the Cougars up two places from No. 10. The top five teams in the AP poll remained unchanged, including No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Miami, and No. 5 Ohio State. The AP rankings placed Indiana at No. 7 and Alabama at No. 6, while the coaches poll ranked Indiana ahead of both Ohio State and Alabama. The AFCA poll ranked BYU at No. 8, followed by Texas Tech at No. 9 and LSU at No. 10, whereas the AP poll placed Ole Miss at No. 9 and Texas Tech at No. 11.
The Big 12 conference features five teams in the AP Top 25, including No. 12 Utah, No. 18 Oklahoma State, and No. 22 Houston. The AFCA poll ranked Utah at No. 12 and Houston at No. 19. BYU entered the 2026 season with preseason rankings of No. 15 by the coaches and a tie at No. 14 by the AP voters.
BYU is scheduled to face No. 3 Notre Dame at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Oct. 17.
