BYU Takes No. 1 Spot in Rece Davis' College Football Rankings After Week 7

A surprise contender emerged at the top of one AP ballot this week. Rece Davis explains his choice for the No. 1 team in the college football rankings.

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Miami scored the most first-place votes in the updated AP top 25 college football rankings coming out of last weekend’s chaos, but another Big 12 title contender was right behind in the vote tally after a signature win.

BYU edged Notre Dame in a critical four-point decision and came away with 20 votes as the best team in the country in the new poll. Among those who gave the Cougars the top nod was College GameDay host Rece Davis.

Rece Puts BYU Over Miami: Why the Cougars?

Comparing what each team did over the weekend, Davis saw a certain discrepancy. Miami needed two overtimes to take out the Seminoles, while the Cougars played a gutsy, close game against the No. 2 Irish.

“I feel like Brigham Young’s win at this point was better than Miami’s. If Miami had really handled business against Florida State, I probably would have given the Canes the nod,” Davis said on The Pat McAfee Show.

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He added: “First draft, I did have Miami No. 1. Kind of went back and forth on that, so people are probably a little bothered by it. Full disclosure, if they met on a neutral field and someone asked me to pick a winner, I’d pick Miami.”

BYU Makes a Statement

Maybe no other single win in college football looks quite as impressive right now as what BYU was able to accomplish against Notre Dame. Perhaps overlooked as a real College Football Playoff contender, the Cougars changed that narrative in one night.

Playing a physical, determined game against college football’s best defense, the Cougars definitely looked the part of a team that can make a credible run in the postseason.

Bear Bachmeier has picked up a lot of the slack on offense as running back LJ Martin remains out with an injury. Against the Irish, the Cougar quarterback had 4 total touchdowns – throwing one, catching one, running for two – and had 269 total yards.

BYU’s defense also put on a highlight-reel performance, holding a very efficient Notre Dame quarterback in CJ Carr to just 55 percent completion.

Big 12 Benefits the Most

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With the win, suddenly the Big 12 looks like a conference that can realistically put two teams into the 12-team playoff field.

BYU clearly established itself as one such contender. That’s in addition to reigning champ Texas Tech, which is still undefeated through six games and plays a winnable schedule going forward.

Utah is another insurgent to watch in the field. First year coach Morgan Scalley has the Utes perfect through six weeks for the first time since 2015 and playing some of the most efficient football in the country.