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