BYU #20 in AP Poll

The just-released AP Poll has three MWC teams in the top 25, matching the Pac-10, and three more teams than BCS-AQ Big East. TCU leads the pack at #17, Utah at #19 and BYU at #20. BYU will play four teams ranked in the top 20--so much for a weak strength of schedule...

Clearly TCU has the best shot at moving up in the polls, but I still think BYU, if they can keep within 7-10 points of Oklahoma, won't drop much even in a loss. If they somehow win, lookout...

I just don't see Utah staying that high this year (and not just because I'm a BYU fan). They've got a pretty difficult schedule, including road games against Oregon, TCU and BYU. When you consider they're breaking in a new quarterback (perhaps even a true freshman) and a hurt Koa Misi, things could be difficult for the Utes in September and November.

The rest of the AP looks like this (BYU opponents in bold):

Others Receiving Votes:

• Oregon St. 122, 
• Illinois 105, 
• Pittsburgh 103, 
• Michigan St. 100, 
• Rutgers 83, 
• Texas Tech 76, 
• West Virginia 57, 
• Cincinnati 44, 
• Clemson 42, 
• Miami (FL) 40, 
• East Carolina 30, 
• Tennessee 15, 
• Arizona 13, 
• N.C. State 10, 
• Boston Coll. 9, 
• UCLA 7, 
• Auburn 7, 
• Cent. Michigan 7, 
• Northwestern 5, 
• Southern Miss 3, 
• Vanderbilt 3, 
• Missouri 3, 
• South Florida 3, 
• South Carolina 2, 
• Tulsa 1, 
• Troy 1, 
• Arkansas 1, 
• Houston 1, 
• Nevada 1