BYU football: Cougars slip a spot in rankings
The Cougars, who defeated Utah State, 34-14, on Friday night, fell to No. 9 in the AP poll and No. 8 in the coaches' poll. They remained No. 9 in the Harris Interactive poll.
In the AP poll, BYU switched places with Southern California, which bounced back from last week's stunning loss to Oregon State to crush Oregon, 44-10. In the coaches' poll, Texas Tech, which blasted Kansas State, 58-28, moved into the Cougars' position at No. 7, bumping BYU back one spot.
The Bowl Championship Series releases its first rankings of the season on Oct. 19. The BCS standings formula consists of three components, each weighted equally — the coaches' poll, the Harris Interactive poll and an average of six computer rankings.
Prior to the 2008 season, the last time BYU was ranked in the top 10 in both polls was 2001, when the Cougars were ranked as high as No. 7 in the coaches' poll and No. 8 in the AP poll. The last time BYU was ranked in the top 10 and fell after winning was Dec. 2, 2001, when the Cougars slid from No. 7 to No. 8 in the coaches' poll after edging Mississippi State, 41-38, in overtime in Starkville, Miss. That same year, BYU dropped from No. 8 to No. 9 in the AP poll after beating Utah, 24-21, in Provo.
"Every team we play is out there to beat us. They want to win against us," wide receiver Austin Collie said after the victory over Utah State. "For a team to start hooting and hollering and start shouting when they're down by (34) just because they scored a touchdown, that means something. Every team in our conference is out to beat us. We're the king and they want to take us off our throne."
New Mexico opened the season with losses to TCU and Texas A&M before handing Arizona its only loss of the season. The Lobos were blown out at Tulsa, then beat New Mexico State and Wyoming.
"We can't take them lightly. They're a good football team," Collie said. "They've always been a good football team in our conference. It's very important that we come out to practice this week and prepare even harder than we did this last week."
"We're looking forward to conference play," said quarterback Max Hall. "I think we're going to really bear down and focus this week and make sure we have a great week of practice. New Mexico is next."
"We're always excited to play conference games," said defensive lineman Brett Denney. "We've got a lot of great teams in this conference. We've got a great team with New Mexico. We've got an extra day this week to prepare for them. We're going to make the best of it."
Denney added that Utah State's spirited fourth-quarter performance will assist the Cougars in the long run.
"This game is going to help us because we learned a lot. When we watch the film on Monday, we'll learn a lot more and see the things that we did. We definitely have a lot to learn. We haven't arrived yet. We have a lot of work to do still."
Cougars on the air
No. 9 BYU (5-0, 1-0 MWC) vs. New Mexico (3-3, 1-1)
Saturday, 4 p.m.
TV: The mtn.
Radio: 1160 AM, 102.7 FM
E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com
Recent comments
SoCalUtahFan,
Here is a formula for you. Take the average rank…
Fully Invested | Oct. 7, 2008 at 12:23 a.m.
I really don't like BYU playing USU or Hawaii or playing the PAC…
Cupcakes | Oct. 6, 2008 at 10:19 p.m.
May I expand your comparisons...
Utah (overall sos 49)
2 wins…
Re: Utah vs BYU | Oct. 6, 2008 at 8:46 p.m.
