BYU football’s march up the polls continues

BYU linebacker Isaiah Kaufusi (53) celebrates after the team’s 43-26 win over Houston at TDECU Stadium in Houston on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. | Jaren Wilkey, BYU photo

BYU’s toughest test to date in 2020 helped the Cougars reach new heights in the latest national rankings released Sunday.

BYU jumped two spots to No. 12 in the Associated Press poll, while moving up to a tie for 11th in the Coaches poll, after rallying with 29 unanswered points to beat Houston 43-26 on Friday.

The Cougars moved past idle Oregon of the Pac-12 and the ACC’s North Carolina in the AP poll. BYU has 875 points in the AP rankings, 12 points behind No. 11 Miami.

BYU was 13th in the Coaches poll last week and jumped into a tie this week with Miami. The Cougars trailed the Hurricanes by 36 points — 795 to 759 — in last week’s Coaches poll, but now both teams have 890 points, trailing No. 10 Cincinnati with 989. Miami beat Pittsburgh 31-19 on Saturday.

North Carolina, ranked No. 5 in last week’s AP poll and No. 6 in the Coaches, lost 31-28 to unranked Florida State and fell to No. 14 in the AP poll and No. 13 in the Coaches.

Next weekend, both the Big Ten and Mountain West Conference will begin their seasons. Five Big Ten teams are currently in the top 25 — Ohio State (No. 5 in both polls), Penn State (No. 8 in AP, No. 7 in Coaches), Wisconsin (No. 14 in both polls), Michigan (No. 18 in AP, No. 17 in Coaches) and Minnesota (No. 21 in both polls).

The Pac-12 is represented by two teams in the polls — Oregon is No. 13 in the AP poll and No. 15 in the Coaches, while USC is 24th in the AP and 23rd in the Coaches

Utah, which opens its season Nov. 7 against Arizona, continued to receive votes in both polls, 36 in the AP and 48 in the Coaches.

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