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SALT LAKE CITY — Following a late-game collapse against Oregon, the University of Utah has dropped in the national rankings.
Utah dropped to No. 21 in the Associated Press Top 25 Pol and to No. 20 in the USA Today Amway Coaches Poll, falling nine spots from last week’s No. 11 ranking. The loss to Oregon Saturday also eliminated Utah from the South division regular-season title, opening up a spot for either Colorado or USC.
Washington remains the conference favorite after beating Arizona State 44-18 Saturday. The Huskies moved up to No. 6 in the AP Poll and No. 5 in the Coaches Poll, still with an outside shot of making it to the playoffs.
The Pac-12 has three other teams ranked, including Colorado at No. 9, USC at No. 12 and Washington State at No. 23 in both rankings. Stanford is not ranked in either the Coaches Poll or AP Poll, but is included in the College Football Playoff rankings. However, the Cardinal are receiving votes.
Alabama remains the No. 1 team entering the final week of the regular season. The Crimson Tide have been ranked No. 1 all season and will look to keep that as they take on rival Auburn Saturday afternoon. Behind the Crimson Tide is Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson and Wisconsin in the AP Poll and Ohio State, Clemson, Michigan and Washington in the Coaches Poll.
The College Football Playoff rankings, which is the official rankings for the remainder of the season, will be released Tuesday at 5 p.m. on ESPN, with the final rankings being released on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 10 a.m.
The final week of football has implications for many conferences, including a top 4 matchup between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Michigan Saturday. Several Top 25 teams play each other this week, including No. 1 Alabama and No. 16 Auburn, No. 21 Utah and No. 9 Colorado, and No. 13 Florida and No. 15 Florida State.
