Provo • BYU’s impressive 24-21 win over previously undefeated Wisconsin has earned the Cougars a spot in the Associated Press Top 25 College Football Rankings.
BYU landed at No. 25 after going 2-1 against three Power Five opponents to open the 2018 season — Arizona, California and Wisconsin.
It is BYU’s first appearance in the AP Top 25 since Sept. 20, 2015, and the first in coach Kalani Sitake’s three-year tenure.
Boston College and Texas A&M joined the rankings, while USC, Arizona State and Boise State fell out.
Washington, which defeated Utah 21-7 late Saturday night and hosts BYU on Sept. 29, remained at No. 10. Wisconsin fell from No. 6 to No. 18 after losing to BYU, a 22-point underdog, at Camp Randall Stadium.
Utah was still among teams receiving votes. California, which is 3-0 and handed BYU a 21-18 defeat at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Sept. 8, is also not ranked but receiving votes.
Ten months after finishing the 2017 season with a 4-9 record, BYU’s return to the national polls is somewhat startling, but the Cougars’ upset of the Badgers on national television surely impressed media members who vote in the poll.
The Cougars were among teams receiving votes in the Amway Coaches Poll, produced by USA Today. They host McNeese State on Saturday at 4 p.m. in a game that will be televised by BYUtv.
“We are going to enjoy the win,” Sitake said after the Cougars snapped UW’s 41-game home nonconference winning streak. “We won the game, so we gotta enjoy it and show the guys it is a lot of fun when you win. But we just have to get back to work as soon as we can and get ready for next week.”
