Utes Move Up In AP Top 25 After Gutsy Win In Pullman

Oct 30, 2022, 11:54 AM | Updated: Nov 2, 2022, 11:54 am

Utah Utes players honor two former players, Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe, just before the start of the fourth quarter as Utah and Oregon State play at Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Utah won 42-16. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

(Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

BY MICHELLE BODKIN

Utah Utes Insider

SALT LAKE CITY- Sometimes ugly gets the job done and that’s probably the best way to describe Utah’s win on Thursday night. With several starters either beat up or out for the game, the Utes pulled off a gutsy performance in Pullman that while not pretty, earned the respect of the AP Top 25 voters who moved Utah up two spots to No. 12.

POLL ALERT: Tennessee and Ohio State tied at No. 2; sets up Vols' 1-2 showdown with top-ranked Georgia.

See the AP Top 25 presented by @RegionsBank: https://t.co/7dTTUiT9QR pic.twitter.com/kjBhEcqYVZ

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) October 30, 2022

Utah will hopefully have a few games to rest up in the coming weeks before their big matchup with No. 8 Oregon in Eugene on November 19. Up next the Utes will host Arizona at home at 5:30 p.m. MT on Pac-12 Networks. They will follow that up by hosting Stanford the week after.

NEW: See where the Utes ranked in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season

A Look Around the Pac-12

The Pac-12 enjoying a much-needed up-year when it comes to the AP Top 25. They currently have four teams ranked in the upper half of the poll with No. 8 Oregon, No. 9 USC, No. 10 UCLA, and No. 12 Utah. The Pac-12 added a fifth member to their overall total with Oregon State creeping in at No. 24.

12 in the AP Poll pic.twitter.com/hQPoaCPL0S

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 30, 2022

The top four teams in the AP are in a heated battle to determine the Pac-12 Champion in Las Vegas in December that likely won’t be settled till November 19 when Utah visits Oregon and USC goes to UCLA.

The Pac-12’s top four will also be keeping a close eye on the first round of College Football Play-off standings that come out on Tuesday. All four teams are likely to be ranked high in that poll as well which determines who competes for a national title. The Utes are out of that race; however, Oregon and USC are very much alive depending on what happens in the last four weeks of the season.