We Speak Sports

BYU Women Take Over No. 1 in National Cross Country Poll

BYU is the new No. 1 in the USTFCCCA women’s cross country poll after beating NC State head-to-head at Pre-Nationals.

Published

9 hours ago

October 22, 2026

BYU women's cross country runners racing

The BYU women’s cross country team is the new No. 1 in the country. The Cougars took over the top spot in the Week 5 USTFCCCA national coaches’ poll released Tuesday, collecting all 11 first-place votes and 330 points.

NC State, the team BYU beat head-to-head last Friday, sits second with 316 points. West Virginia is third with 309, followed by Florida (293), Northern Arizona (282), New Mexico (270), Oklahoma State (254), Notre Dame (253), Alabama (250) and Colorado (243). Clemson was the week’s biggest mover, jumping from No. 23 to No. 14 after a strong Pre-Nationals run.

The Cougars earned the top ranking the hard way. Racing without star Jane Hedengren, who was ill, BYU still edged NC State 84-88 at the Pre-Nationals Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana. Taylor Rohatinsky led the way in ninth place in her season debut, and seven Cougars finished in the top 30.

It is the third straight season BYU has carried the No. 1 ranking into the postseason. Next up is the Big 12 Championships on Oct. 31 at Oklahoma State, where the Cougars will chase a fourth straight conference title. The next national poll arrives Nov. 2, and the NCAA Championships return to Terre Haute on Nov. 21.

Photo: BYU Athletics

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Royal Jones

We Speak College Football

Saturday of Chaos: Five of the AP Top Seven Fall for the First Time Since 1936

Published

32 minutes ago

October 22, 2026

Royal Jones

Tennessee celebrates its 26-10 win over Alabama — the signature result on a Saturday when five of the AP top seven lost.

College football has been playing with an AP poll since 1936. It had never seen a Saturday like this one: five of the top seven teams in the country — No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 Texas — all lost on the same regular-season day, and the top two teams lost on the same day for the first time since Nov. 17, 2012. For the second straight week, the nation’s No. 1 team fell to an unranked opponent, something that hadn’t happened since 1990.

The carnage: Auburn beat No. 1 Georgia 27-24 in Athens on a field goal as time expired, the Tigers’ first win there in 31 years. BYU toppled No. 2 Notre Dame 28-24 in Provo behind four total touchdowns from Bear Bachmeier, ending the Irish’s 16-game winning streak. Ohio State survived Indiana 19-15 in Bloomington, snapping the Hoosiers’ 22-game winning streak — but lost quarterback Julian Sayin to a shoulder injury. Tennessee’s defense strangled No. 6 Alabama 26-10 in Knoxville, holding the Crimson Tide to 201 yards. And Florida went into Austin and beat No. 7 Texas 27-24 behind first-time starter Tramell Jones Jr.

The survivors: No. 3 Miami needed two overtimes to escape Florida State 43-35 in a rivalry classic. No. 9 Ole Miss routed No. 13 Missouri 31-3, LSU blanked No. 16 Mississippi State 31-0, No. 10 Texas Tech hung 53 on Arizona State, and No. 15 Kentucky rallied to win 21-13 at Oklahoma. Michigan benched Bryce Underwood and still beat Penn State 21-18. Elsewhere, Utah edged Colorado 27-24, UCLA beat Wisconsin 17-7, Houston outlasted Oklahoma State 35-32, SMU topped Virginia 23-13, Wake Forest routed Cal 41-7, Oregon held off Nebraska 17-14, and Washington beat Purdue 38-26 on Friday night.

The new AP Top 25 tells the story of the shakeup: Miami is No. 1 with 40 first-place votes, BYU is No. 2 (20 first-place votes) and Ohio State No. 3 (9). Notre Dame sits fourth, Georgia fifth, Indiana sixth, followed by Ole Miss, Texas Tech, UCLA and Utah. Tennessee climbs to No. 11 and Kentucky to No. 12, while Alabama tumbles to No. 13, LSU rises to No. 18, Texas falls to No. 19 and Florida cracks the poll at No. 20. Missouri (No. 22), SMU (No. 23), Northwestern (No. 24) and Arizona (No. 25) round out the rankings.

Week 8 has a lot to live up to.