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SALT LAKE CITY — With a 37-30 loss to Arizona, Utah sustained its second loss of the season, and missed an opportunity to represent the Pac-12 in the College Football Playoffs and possibly a shot at the Pac-12 Championship game.
The loss also forced the Utes out of the Top 10 in the national rankings. Utah dropped to No. 18 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and to No. 18 in the Amway USA Today Coaches Poll. Utah was previously No. 10 in the AP Poll and No. 13 in the Coaches Poll.
Over the weekend three teams ahead of Utah in the AP rankings — Baylor, Stanford and LSU — fell victim to opposing teams. A win against Arizona would have likely propelled the Utes into a favorable spot in the rankings ahead of bowl season. With Stanford losing as well, it's likely that the Pac-12 will not be represented in the College Football Playoffs, save a complete breakdown of the top teams.
The Pac-12 had a rough weekend as all three of its ranked teams lost. Stanford remains the highest ranked team from the conference at No. 15/15, with Utah coming up at No. 18/18. UCLA, which was No. 18 previously, fell out of the rankings as a result of its loss to Washington State. No. 22/24 USC, No. 23/22 Oregon, and No. 24/23 Washington State, though, moved into the rankings with wins over Colorado, Stanford and UCLA, respectively. UCLA is the only other Pac-12 school receiving votes in the polls.
In the AP Poll, Clemson remains the No. 1 team for the second consecutive week. Clemson received 34 first-place votes and is followed by Ohio State, who received two first-place votes, Alabama, Oklahoma State and Notre Dame.
The College Football Playoff rankings will be released Tuesday at 5 p.m. MST on ESPN.
