Cougars Crack the Top 10 at No. 9 in the AP Poll

PROVO -- Following an impressive 14-13 victory over No. 3 Oklahoma, the Cougars leaped from No. 20 to No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25, and from No. 24 to No. 12 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll.

With the win over the Sooners, the Cougars are now 149-44 when nationally ranked in the Top 25. BYU has won 18 of its last 21 games while being ranked, dating back to 2006.

The Cougars’ No. 9 national ranking in the AP Top 25 is the highest since earning the same ranking on Oct. 12, 2008, after defeating New Mexico 21-3. That same week BYU was ranked No. 8 in the USA Today /ESPN coaches poll.

Two other MWC teams are also ranked in the top 25 in both polls with TCU coming in at No. 16 and Utah No. 17 in both polls.

The Cougars (1-0) will take on Tulane (0-1) on Saturday, Sept. 12, in the Superdome in New Orleans. The Green Wave suffered a 37-13 loss in its season opener against Tulsa on Friday, Sept. 4. The series is tied 1-1 after a Tulane win at the 1998 Liberty Bowl (41-27) and a BYU win on Aug. 25, 2001 (70-35).

Saturday’s game will be broadcast live to a national television audience on ESPN2, beginning at 2:30 p.m. Central. Terry Gannon will provide play-by-play coverage, with David Norrie giving analysis.