BYU jumps up to No. 12, Utah drops to No. 14 in latest AP Top 25 rankings

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SALT LAKE CITY — In a game that went past midnight and took two overtime periods before it was over, BYU came away with its first signature win of the 2022 season — a 26-20 battle over then-No. 9 Baylor.

And as such, BYU was met with a significant bump in the Associated Press Top 25 poll when the rankings were released Sunday afternoon. The Cougars moved up nine spots from its previous spot at No. 21 to No. 12.

The win for the Cougars gave early-season credence to its resume and gave voters a worthy mark to rate BYU on after starting the season relatively off the grid, despite returning almost its entire team from 2021. While just one game, it was one that BYU defensive end Fisher Jackson said would "shake up college football" and prove the Cougars mean business.

After back-to-back 10-win seasons, BYU remains a consistent force in the college football landscape; and with a win over the reigning Big 12 champion, BYU has made a case that it's ready to make the move to its new conference.

Ascending to a top-10 spot in the rankings, Baylor now drops to No. 17 in the AP poll and is now the third-highest ranked team from the Big 12. Oklahoma, which eased past Kent State, moved up one spot to No. 6; and Oklahoma State, which got a win over Arizona State, moved up three spots to No. 8. Texas, which lost to Alabama in a close contest, entered the poll for the first time at No. 21.

Utah moved down to No. 14 in the rankings, down one from last week's spot at No. 13, despite a dominating 73-7 win over Southern Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Utah bounced back from a season-opening loss to Florida in The Swamp, but the opponent did little to convince voters that Utah was worthy of moving up in the poll. It didn't help the Utes that Florida dropped a Week 2 game against Kentucky. The Gators drop from No. 12 to No. 18, and Kentucky moves up 11 spots to No. 9 — the most of any team this week.

For the second week in a row, USC remains the top team in the Pac-12 at No. 7, up three spots from No. 10 last week. Oregon checks back into the Top 25 after a 70-14 win over Eastern Washington as the only other team from the Pac-12. Oregon State and Washington State both received votes.

At the top of the rankings, Georgia edged past Alabama for the No. 1 spot with 53 first-place votes, shaking up the rankings after just two weeks of play. The Crimson Tide move down to No. 2 and are followed by an unchanged remaining three: No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Clemson.