Reported Analysis · AP Football · Week 10
Utah Gained Ground on Notre Dame in the AP Ballots
Both teams moved up one place after major wins. Every voter who changed their relative order moved toward the Utes.
Notre Dame beat the No. 1 team Saturday. Utah emerged from the weekend with a larger ballot advantage over the Irish.
The Utes rose from third to second in the November 8 AP poll after beating BYU 28–20. Notre Dame climbed from fourth to third following its 31–24 win over Miami. Those matching one-place gains concealed a substantial change in how the same 70 voters compared the two winners.
A week earlier, 37 put Utah above Notre Dame and 33 preferred the Irish. Now Utah leads that comparison 55–15. Eighteen voters switched from Notre Dame to Utah, while none moved the other way.
Eighteen Changes in One Direction
All 37 voters who favored Utah in the November 1 poll kept that order. More than half of the 33 who had Notre Dame higher joined them. The remaining 15 retained their preference for the Irish.
| Relative Ballot Order | November 1 | November 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Utah Above Notre Dame | 37 | 55 |
| Notre Dame Above Utah | 33 | 15 |
The difference grew in the points race as well. Utah added 135 points to reach 1,675; Notre Dame gained 121 to reach 1,597. The Utes’ lead expanded from 64 points to 78. Every ballot included both teams in both polls, so the comparison reflects changed placement within an unchanged electorate.
Notre Dame still drew five first-place votes, all from voters who had put Miami first the previous week. Utah received 12, with Georgia collecting the other 53. The Irish had a small group willing to put them above everyone, but Utah won a much broader majority in the direct comparison.
The Common Opponent Gives Utah an Argument
BYU supplied a common-opponent comparison with opposite results. The Cougars beat Notre Dame 28–24 on October 17. Utah’s victory left the Utes unbeaten at 9–0 and BYU at 7–2. Notre Dame improved to 8–1 by handing Miami its first loss.
Javon Edmonds described that distinction in AP’s Sunday voter Q&A. He said he would favor Notre Dame in a head-to-head game but preferred Utah’s résumé, pointing to their results against BYU.
His submitted ballot put Utah second and Notre Dame third. He had already ranked Utah above Notre Dame the previous week, fourth versus sixth, so his explanation describes a continuing preference rather than one of the 18 switches.
Miami’s Place Was Settled More Decisively
Notre Dame’s win produced complete agreement in its comparison with Miami. All 70 voters had placed the Hurricanes higher a week earlier; all 70 now put the Irish above them. Miami fell from first to fifth, and every voter lowered it.
That is a different outcome from the Utah comparison. Beating Miami settled the order between the two teams that played Saturday. It also strengthened Notre Dame’s overall position, with 58 voters moving the Irish higher and 12 leaving them unchanged. Yet Utah gained relative support from 18 of those same voters.
Notre Dame’s argument for moving above Utah now has to address an unbeaten record and the opposite BYU results alongside its victory over Miami. The win over the previous No. 1 gives the Irish a compelling result to present. Sunday’s ballots show that Utah’s case survived it and attracted a larger majority.
Sources & Methodology
Calculations use all 70 complete ballots in the November 1 AP poll and November 8 AP poll. Exact voter IDs match across editions; every voter ranked Utah, Notre Dame and Miami in both. Pairwise order counts compare the submitted numbered positions.
Game scores, records and the common-opponent result are supported by the linked AP recaps and BYU’s official game notes. Edmonds’s account is attributed to AP’s Q&A; Poll Behavior did not interview him. All poll positions in this article are AP positions.
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Utah Gained Ground on Notre Dame in the AP Ballots
Graphic: Poll Behavior. Source. Original Poll Behavior composition; school marks remain the property of their owners.. Original school marks are retained from their documented ESPN provider assets, without redrawing or recoloring. Marks belong to their respective owners. Poll data: November 1 and November 8, 2026 complete AP ballots; Poll Behavior analysis. No photograph used.