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LOS ANGELES — For BYU and Utah, the weekend could have gone better.
The two Power Five teams suffered their second losses of the season and hurt their chances to pick up some national attention along the way. As a result, BYU found itself on the outside looking in of the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings, while Utah remained in the standings — though not by much.
BYU kept its game close against fellow independent school Notre Dame in Las Vegas in the Shamrock Series, but ultimately couldn't get the yards it needed in a critical fourth down late in the game and fell to the Fighting Irish 28-20. As such, the Cougars dropped out of the rankings from its previous spot at No. 16 with two losses this season.
Though the Cougars fell out of the rankings, they continue to receive votes.
Utah had a prime opportunity to take a step forward as one of the top teams in the Pac-12 but ran into a better, undefeated UCLA team that kept Utah's defense on its toes for much of the day en route to a 42-32 win in the Rose Bowl. It was another missed opportunity for the Utes this season, and one that dropped them all the way to No. 20 in the rankings, nine spots from its previous spot at No. 11.
The Utes remain one of four teams ranked in the Top 25, with USC maintaining its top spot in the conference at No. 7 following a 30-14 win over Washington State. Behind the Trojans in the rankings is No. 11 UCLA, who moves up seven spots from No. 18 after its win over Utah, and No. 12 Oregon. Washington, who was previously ranked, dropped out after a 45-38 loss to Arizona State on Saturday, but continue to receive votes.
No other teams from the Pac-12 are receiving votes this week.
At the top of the rankings this week, previous No. 1 Alabama was replaced by Georgia after the Crimson Tide staved off defeat from Texas A&M. With the narrow win, Alabama moved down to No. 3. The Bulldogs received 32 first-place votes this week, beating out new No. 2 Ohio State with 20 first-place votes.
Following the Crimson Tide in the rankings is No. 4 Clemson, which moved up one spot, followed by No. 5 Michigan.
