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Salt Lake City, Utah: Utes Rise to No. 2 in AP Poll, Their Highest Regular Season Ranking Ever

Utah moved up one spot to No. 2 in the AP Top 25 after the 28-20 Holy War win over BYU, matching the program's best mark and taking its highest regular season ranking in school history.

By Orbit Post2 min read
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Salt Lake City, Utah: Utes Rise to No. 2 in AP Poll, Their Highest Regular Season Ranking Ever

Key points

  • Salt Lake City has the No. 2 team in the country.
  • Georgia was voted No. 1 for the second time this season and earned 53 of the 70 first place votes from the media panel.
  • Utah has its highest ranking since the final poll of the 2008 season.

Salt Lake City has the No. 2 team in the country. Utah moved up one spot to No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday, one day after its 28-20 win over rival BYU at Rice-Eccles Stadium, and the Utes now hold their highest ever AP ranking in the regular season.

Georgia was voted No. 1 for the second time this season and earned 53 of the 70 first place votes from the media panel. Utah received 12 first place votes and Notre Dame, up to No. 3 after its 31-24 win over Miami, received five.

A mark not seen since 2008

Utah has its highest ranking since the final poll of the 2008 season. That 2008 team finished second in the country and won the Sugar Bowl. This year's team is 9-0 for the first time since that 2008 season, and the Utes are 9-0 overall and 6-0 in Big 12 play, alone in first place in the conference.

The rise followed a second half comeback in the Holy War. Utah trailed BYU at the break, held the Cougars scoreless in the second half, and closed out a 28-20 win that kept the Utes as one of only two unbeaten teams left in the country with three regular season games to play.

The poll voters were not the only ones to move Utah up. The Utes also rose to No. 2 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, a jump of two spots, and to No. 2 in the FWAA Super 16, a jump of five spots.

What the ranking sets up

The Big 12 placed five teams in the poll: No. 2 Utah, No. 10 Texas Tech, No. 12 BYU, No. 14 Houston and No. 22 Arizona. The next test is a ranked road game. No. 2 Utah plays at No. 22 Arizona, and the Utes have not won in Tucson since 2021.

The ranking that matters most for the playoff comes next. The second College Football Playoff rankings of the season are released on Tuesday, and Utah's place in that list will show how the selection committee sees the Utes next to Georgia and the rest of the unbeaten and one loss contenders.

For now, the number next to Utah's name is one the program has reached only once before, at the end of a finished season. This time it arrives in November, with the hardest part of the schedule still to play.

Timeline

  1. Nov 7, 2026Utah beats BYU 28-20 in the Holy War at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, holding the Cougars scoreless in the second half.
  2. Nov 8, 2026The AP Top 25 moves Utah up one spot to No. 2 with 12 first place votes, the Utes' highest regular season ranking ever, behind No. 1 Georgia with 53 votes.
  3. Nov 8, 2026Utah also rises to No. 2 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and the FWAA Super 16.

Sources