For the first time since 2021, BYU has captured a top 10 spot in the AP poll rankings at No. 9.
The Cougars refuse to lose. They continue their torrid 8-0 start to the season including 5-0 in conference play. The result? Top dogs of the Big 12.
4⃣ #Big12FB teams ranked in this week's @AP_Top25 pic.twitter.com/O522Gbh29N
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 27, 2024
After starting the year unranked, BYU will be ranked for the sixth straight week since its 38-9 victory against Kansas State in week four. Since 2000, the Cougars have now appeared in the top 25 in 13 seasons, which includes appearing in the top 10 for six of those seasons.
During media availability on Monday, coach Kalani Sitake discussed how his team is staying focused amid the growing national media hype surrounding the team.
“We’ve got to stay humble, stay hungry,” Sitake said. “Nobody talked about us in August, so why do we care that they’re talking about us now? We still haven’t done much, man. I’ve said before that we still have got to play better football.”
Sitake and the Cougars are aware of the media noise from their perfect season, but they know they have improvements they can still make. They did not care about the low projections from before the season, so they should not care now and keep their focus on their opponent week-to-week.
BYU is enjoying a bye this week before taking on Utah, which has lost four consecutive games, on Nov. 9 at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Kickoff will be at 8:15 p.m., and the game will be televised by ESPN.
With two-thirds of the season done, it is realistic to say that College Football Playoff Selection Day, on Dec. 8, may likely include BYU as one of those selections, but only time will tell.