Reported Analysis · AP Football · Week 9
Utah Widens Its AP Poll Lead Over BYU Before the Holy War
Both teams rose this week, but Utah's lead grew from 88 to 182 points. The Utes rank higher on 65 of 70 ballots, up from 51 last week.
Utah and BYU both climbed in Sunday's AP poll, but the Utes widened the lead they established a week earlier. Utah rose to No. 3 and BYU to No. 7 ahead of their November 7 meeting at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Utah's advantage grew from 88 to 182 points. Sixty-five of the 70 voters ranked the Utes higher, up from 51 on October 25. Two weeks ago, every voter had BYU ahead.
Utah widens its poll lead over BYU. Real November 9, 2024 rivalry action appears behind the headline, with both school marks. 65 of 70 AP voters rank Utah higher in the November 1, 2026 poll, up from 51 of 70 last week.
| AP Edition | Utah Rank | BYU Rank | Utah Higher | BYU Higher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 18 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 70 |
| Oct. 25 | 6 | 8 | 51 | 19 |
| Nov. 1 | 3 | 7 | 65 | 5 |
Utah Took the Lead Last Week
The first shift followed BYU's 39–31 double-overtime loss at UCF and Utah's 21–13 win over Houston on October 24. Utah moved from tenth to sixth in the next poll; BYU fell from second to eighth. Most voters had already reversed the pair before this weekend began.
Utah then beat Cincinnati 49–25 to reach 8–0. BYU beat Arizona State 27–20 and improved to 7–1. Both rose in the aggregate rankings, but the preference for Utah widened again.
Utah gained 127 points, going from 1,413 to 1,540. BYU gained 33, from 1,325 to 1,358. That more than doubled their gap, from 88 to 182 points. The change was not simply BYU losing ground across the panel while Utah advanced.
BYU Rises as Utah's Lead Widens
Forty-seven voters raised BYU this week, 12 lowered it and 11 left it in the same place. Utah rose on 59 ballots, fell on none and stayed put on 11. The Utes' gains were broader, even as a majority of the panel also moved the Cougars up.
Top-five support separates them more sharply than their inclusion counts, which remain unanimous. Fifty-seven voters put Utah in their top five, compared with 17 for BYU. These groups can overlap because a voter can rank both that high. Utah's placements run from first to eighth; BYU's range from second to 11th.
Each place gained is worth one additional AP point on a ballot that already includes the team. The larger point total therefore reflects the sum of the Utes' placements across the panel. The 65–5 direct comparison answers a separate question: how often did an individual voter put Utah ahead of BYU? It shows that their order is widely shared, rather than depending on a few unusually favorable Utah votes.
A Rivalry Tests the New Order
BYU remains seventh with unanimous Top 25 inclusion, so Utah's advantage has developed alongside substantial support for the Cougars. Their meeting now gives BYU a direct opportunity to challenge the order that emerged after its UCF loss. Utah enters rivalry week with an advantage that is larger and more widely shared than it was a week ago.
Sources & Methodology
Direct comparisons use the October 18, October 25 and November 1 AP football editions. The same 70 voter IDs appear in all three, and all rank both Utah and BYU each time. Higher means the better numerical placement on that voter's ballot. Week-to-week movement and point gains compare October 25 with November 1. Top-five groups are not mutually exclusive. Official game centers and recaps establish the intervening results; Utah's linked announcement establishes November 7 at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Its older rank labels describe the announcement date, not the current poll.
Published ballot evidence: October 25 rankings, November 1 rankings and all November 1 ballots. Calculations use the accepted published snapshots, not projected or reconstructed ballots.
Graphic photograph: Sgt. Ian Tracy / Utah Army National Guard. Archive date: 2024-11-09. Utah–BYU game action at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 9, 2024. Archive photograph. Native crop, proportional scale and graphic overlays preserve the original people and uniforms. U.S. government work (public domain in the United States). The appearance of U.S. Department of War (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement.
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Utah Widens Its AP Poll Lead Over BYU Before the Holy War
Graphic: Poll Behavior; photograph by Sgt. Ian Tracy / Utah Army National Guard. Source. Original Poll Behavior composition. Underlying photograph: U.S. government work (public domain in the United States). Independent school trademarks remain with their owners.. Utah–BYU game action at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 9, 2024. Archive photograph. Native crop, proportional scale and graphic overlays. The appearance of U.S. Department of War (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement.
Archive photo (2024-11-09): Sgt. Ian Tracy / Utah Army National Guard. U.S. government work (public domain in the United States). Native crop, proportional scale, shading and typography overlays. Original people and uniforms preserved. The appearance of U.S. Department of War (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement.