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SALT LAKE CITY — With two weeks remaining in the regular season, Utah football is peaking at the right time. The Utes overwhelmed a UCLA program coming off on a three-game winning streak, which allowed Utah to move up in the national rankings.
Utah moved up to No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and up to No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, up one spot from last week in both polls after defeating the visiting Bruins 49-3. Utah also got some help from Minnesota, which was previously ranked No. 7 in the AP poll, after the Golden Gophers lost to Iowa in a close matchup Saturday.
The Utes remain with an outside shot to claim one of the coveted four playoff spots as one of the top programs from the Pac-12. Utah is joined in the Coaches Poll rankings by conference-leading Oregon at No. 6. The Ducks defeated Arizona 34-6 to remain perfect in conference play and clinched the North Division title with the win.
No other teams from the Pac-12 were ranked in either poll this week, though USC and Washington are receiving votes. Oregon and Utah appear to be on a collision course to meet up in the conference championship, with a potential College Football Playoff berth on the line.
Voters in the AP poll and the Coaches Poll kept LSU as the No. 1 overall team after the Tigers defeated Ole Miss 58-37. The Tigers are one of three programs in the country that are undefeated, and they're the favorite to represent the SEC in the playoffs.
Behind LSU in the rankings is No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Clemson, No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 Alabama in both polls. The Crimson Tide, though, lost starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a season-ending hip injury as Alabama was up 35-3 over Mississippi State prior to the halftime break.
Week 13 of action features two games where both opponents are ranked in the Top 25, including a Top 10 matchup of No. 2 Ohio State welcoming to Columbus, Ohio, No. 9 Penn State in a Big Ten showdown. Another game of note is No. 4 Georgia hosting No. 24 Texas A&M.
The College Football Playoff rankings will be released on Tuesday at 5 p.m. on ESPN. If you can't see the full poll below, click here.
