SALT LAKE CITY — In the penultimate weekend of the regular season, BYU secured a vital win on the road to all but secure a spot in the Big 12 championship in the school’s third season at the Power Four level.
The job is not done for the 10-win Cougars, but there’s no denying another special season — and one that has the potential to end with a College Football Playoff bid.
Against Cincinnati, BYU’s LJ Martin rushed for 222 yards and two touchdowns to help lead the Cougars to a 26-14 win. And though it put BYU on the doorstep of a Big 12 title game appearance, the Cougars stayed put in the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings for another week.
For the second week in a row, BYU stayed at No. 11, with three 9-2 team above them inside the top 10.
Joining the Cougars from the Big 12 is No. 7 Texas Tech, who dropped one spot on a bye week, and No. 14 Utah, who also dropped one spot after a narrow come-from-behind win over a Kansas State team that rushed for 472 yards against the Utes defense.
Utah faced a 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter, but a returned 2-point try for a touchdown, a Devon Dampier passing touchdown and another score on the ground, in addition to a Lander Barton pick, helped the Utes secure the improbable win.
Arizona State remains on the outside looking in unofficially at No. 26 as the top team receiving votes. Arizona joins the Sun Devils as the only other Big 12 team to receive votes ahead of the rivalry game before the two Arizona schools.
The top four teams in the rankings remained the same, with Ohio State claiming the top spot for another week with 58 first-place votes. The Buckeyes are followed by Indiana, Texas A&M and Georgia, with Oregon moving up to No. 5 after a double-digit win over former Pac-12 USC.
To see the full rankings see below, or click here.