BYU stays put ahead of big matchup, with Utah moving up in AP Top 25 rankings

SALT LAKE CITY — Only nine teams in the FBS remain undefeated this season, and two reside in the state of Utah.

Both BYU and Utah claimed victory for another week, extending their records to 5-0 on the season. But did their recent wins have an impact on the makeup of the Associated Press Top 25 rankings?

Here’s a look at where the two teams landed in the latest rankings ahead of Week 7 games.

BYU Cougars

No LJ Martin, no problem for the Cougars.

BYU relied on sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier to get the job done Friday night in a 24-10 win over Iowa State at LaVell Edwards Stadium to remain undefeated.

Bachmeier threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for a team-high 109 yards on nine carries to will the Cougars to victory for another week.

But he wasn’t alone as Legend Glasker finished with a team-high 99 yards receiving and a touchdown after a limited showing a week prior in Fort Worth.

It all amounted to the Cougars staying put in the rankings, with BYU checking in again at No. 8 in the latest top 25. For another week, the Cougars remain the highest ranked team in the Big 12.

The Cougars now turn their attention to a top-10 matchup at home against No. 2 Notre Dame, who beat Stanford 58-7 on Saturday.

The highly-anticipated matchup will also feature ESPN College GameDay on campus for what should be an entertaining weekend in Provo.

Utah Utes

For a moment Saturday, Utah looked like it would sleepwalk to a victory over Kansas after jumping to a quick 14-0 lead in a highly-efficient start coming off the team’s bye week.

But a combination of errors by Utah and a surging Kansas team left the game in doubt until Utah pulled away to a 41-24 victory in the second half behind another strong performance from running back Wayshawn Parker.

It wasn’t the cleanest of games for the Utes, but it was another win to preserve the undefeated start — the best start for Utah since the 2015 season. Utah has also scored 30+ points in each of its games this season, which is the first time since 1994.

The 17-point win bumped the Utes up in the rankings, with Utah moving up one spot to No. 11 ahead of a road meeting against Colorado — and a matchup against a familiar face in Isaac Wilson at quarterback.

Utah remains just one spot behind Texas Tech, who was on a bye week, in the rankings this week as the third-highest spot in the Big 12. Utah had been closing the gap for a few weeks on the Red Raiders.

Big 12 teams

With nine undefeated teams left this season, a third of them exist in the Big 12 — with Texas Tech joining BYU and Utah. The three teams make up the top of the conference standings, with Texas Tech now No. 10 this week after a bye.

Oklahoma State, which suffered a Week 1 loss to Tulsa, stayed put at No. 18 this week after a 42-28 win over UCF at home. Oklahoma State remains the fourth-highest ranked team in the conference.

Also seeing a bump in the rankings from the Big 12 is Houston, who moved up two spots to No. 20 after a 35-16 road win over Kansas State on Saturday.

The Big 12 continues to have five teams ranked inside the top 25.