Utah football holds firm in AP Top 25 poll following conference championship week

Utes remain in the top 15 of the media's rankings

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham and his program ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The Utah football team will go into its impending bowl game as the No. 15 team in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after holding firm in the rankings from the national media on Sunday.

Not every squad that was idle during conference championship week remained in the same spot from the previous poll, though, which could be an indicator of how the College Football Playoff selection committee slots its top 25 on selection Sunday.

Miami, which did not play in the ACC championship game, moved up into the top 10 while the SEC and Big 12 runner-ups (Alabama and BYU, respectively) each dropped one poll position following a couple of lopsided results in those conference championship games.

The Crimson Tide lost 28-7 to Georgia, while the Cougars got blown out by Texas Tech, 34-7, on Saturday. The Bulldogs ascended to No. 2 behind Indiana, which earned the No. 1 spot for the first time in program history following its 13-10 win over Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game.

BYU was on the outside looking in following the most recent CFP rankings, meaning the Cougars needed to beat the Red Raiders to clinch an automatic spot in the 12-team playoff. A 27-point defeat meant BYU was in line to make a top-end bowl game, like the Alamo Bowl, ahead of Sunday's postseason reveal.

Utah will surely be tuned into the College Football Playoff selection show (10 a.m. MT, ESPN) to find out which bowl game it'll be invited to for its final game of the 2025-26 season.

AP Top 25 Poll (post-conference championship week)

1. Indiana (13-0, 9-0 Big Ten) [66 first-place votes]
2. Georgia (12-1, 8-1 SEC)
3. Ohio State (12-1, 9-0 Big Ten)
4. Texas Tech (12-1, 8-1 Big 12)
5. Oregon (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten)
6. Ole Miss (11-1, 7-1 SEC)
7. Texas A&M (11-1, 8-1 SEC)
8. Oklahoma (10-2, 6-2 SEC)
9. Notre Dame (10-2)
10. Miami (10-2, 6-2 ACC)
11. Alabama (10-3, 7-1 SEC)
12. BYU (11-2, 8-1 Big 12)
13. Vanderbilt (10-2, 6-2 SEC)
14. Texas (9-3, 6-2 SEC)
15. Utah (10-2, 7-2 Big 12)
16. USC (9-3, 7-2 Big Ten)
17. Tulane (11-2, 7-1 AAC)
18. Michigan (9-3, 7-2 Big Ten)
19. James Madison (12-1, 8-0 Sun Belt)
20. Virginia (10-3, 7-1 ACC)
21. Arizona (9-3, 6-3 Big 12)
22. Navy (9-2, 7-1 AAC)
23. North Texas (11-2, 7-1 AAC)
24. Georgia Tech (9-3, 6-2 ACC)
25. Missouri (8-4, 4-4 SEC)

Schools Dropped Out

None

New to the poll this week

None

Others Receiving Votes

Houston 82, Iowa 74, Tennessee 61, New Mexico 21, Duke 18, Boise State 16, UNLV 10, South Florida 10, SMU 8, Arizona State 6, Louisville 6, UConn 5, Washington 4, Pittsburgh 3, Kennesaw State 3, Illinois 2, Iowa State 2, Western Michigan 1, TCU 1.