Where Utah ranks in AP Top 25 poll after impressive season-opening win

Utes placed in AP Top 25 poll following statement win at UCLA

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham celebrates the victory against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

It required a 33-point win on the road against a power conference opponent for Utah to earn a spot in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, which was released Tuesday.

A few days after thumping UCLA, 43-10, at the Rose Bowl, the Utes received just enough votes from the panel of media members to slide in as the No. 25-ranked team in the country following a hectic Week 1 across the college football landscape.

Utah entered the season unranked while coming off a 5-7 finish to the 2024 campaign, though it only took one Saturday of seeing the new-look Utes in action for the narrative surrounding Kyle Whittingham's program to change. Following their dominant performance against the Bruins on both sides of the ball, the Utes collected 227 points from the 60-person panel of votes, slotting them in between No. 24 Texas Tech (247 points) and unranked BYU (102), still looking on from outside despite beating Portland State, 69-0, in its season opener.

Arizona State led a pack of Big 12 teams featured in the poll as the No. 12-ranked team in the country, with No. 16 Iowa State, No. 24 Texas Tech and No. 25 Utah trailing the Sun Devils. TCU and Baylor joined BYU among the teams on the outside of the top 25 looking inward.

Ohio State topped the most recent AP poll after taking down then-No. 1 Texas, 14-7, at home on Saturday. The Longhorns dropped down to No. 7, behind No. 6 Oregon, No. 5 Miami, No. 4 Georgia, No. 3 LSU and No. 2 Penn State.

The US LBM Coaches Poll similarly had the Buckeyes at No. 1 in its updated rankings, which were also released on Tuesday, though it didn't feature the Utes in the top 25 despite their impressive showing from Pasadena, California, over the weekend.

Here's a look at the new AP Top 25 poll.

AP Top 25 poll (post-Week 1)

1. Ohio State (1-0) [55 first-place votes]
2. Penn State (1-0) [7]
3. LSU (1-0) [3]
4. Georgia (1-0)
5. Miami (1-0)
6. Oregon (1-0)
7. Texas (0-1)
8. Clemson (0-1)
9. Notre Dame (0-1)
10. South Carolina (1-0)
11. Illinois (1-0)
12. Arizona State (1-0)
13. Florida (1-0)
14. Florida State (1-0)
15. Michigan (1-0)
16. Iowa State (2-0)
17. SMU (1-0)
18. Oklahoma (1-0)
19. Texas A&M (1-0)
20. Ole Miss (1-0)
21. Alabama (0-1)
22. Tennessee (1-0)
23. Indiana (1-0)
24. Texas Tech (1-0)
25. Utah (1-0)

Others receiving votes:

BYU 102, Auburn 94, Georgia Tech 67, Southern Cal 64, Louisville 59, TCU 49, Missouri 42, South Florida 25, Tulane 18, Nebraska 13, Kansas St. 7, James Madison 4, Liberty 4, UNLV 4, Duke 4, Navy 2, Pittsburgh 2, Baylor 2, Virginia 2, Memphis 2.