If BYU had beaten Arizona in 2008, would Utah have been elected no. 1 in the AP Poll?

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Five places WITHIN the top 10 and winding up in the top 5 (in Utah's case no. 2)?

Your question never asked if any other team had moved to no. 2 from so far back. In my second link, WVU moves from outside the top 10 to no. 5 in the final rankings, had they been undefeated I can only imagine they would have been higher.

Which program is better West Virginia or Utah?

[SeattleUte]

It appears in that the final poll that Utah finished with 4 more votes than Appalachian State. yikes!

As you know, I have no delusions about Utah's football history, or place in the football pantheon, unlike some here about their team.

[SeattleUte]

You do have to search far back into history to find a team that moved so many places up in the final poll.

One team matched Utah's 5 places, another went from 17 to 10.

http://www.appollarchive.com/footbal...m?appollid=972

If you keep searching far back you will find a that same West Virginia team went from 11 to 5 in the final poll just 2 year previous.
http://www.appollarchive.com/footbal...m?appollid=940

The U also did this 5 spot movement in the final poll,
http://www.appollarchive.com/footbal...?seasonid=2003

What is the better program West Virginia or Utah?

Five places WITHIN the top 10 and winding up in the top 5 (in Utah's case no. 2)?

[TripletDaddy]

You do have to search far back into history to find a team that moved so many places up in the final poll.

One team matched Utah's 5 places, another went from 17 to 10.

http://www.appollarchive.com/footbal...m?appollid=972

If you keep searching far back you will find a that same West Virginia team went from 11 to 5 in the final poll just 2 year previous.
http://www.appollarchive.com/footbal...m?appollid=940

The U also did this 5 spot movement in the final poll,
http://www.appollarchive.com/footbal...?seasonid=2003

What is the better program West Virginia or Utah?

It appears in that the final poll that Utah finished with 4 more votes than Appalachian State. yikes!

[Jarid in Cedar]

Those damn Cougars and their 5th priorities.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

This is an excellent point. The Utes were ranked 7 in the prior poll. They moved from 7 to no. 2 in the final AP poll. Has any team ever moved so far in the top ten between the final two polls? I bet not. Maybe they just had too much territory to cover to get to no. 1. On the other hand, the no. 1 team had a loss, Utah's win over Alabama in THE SUG was better than Florida's SEC championship win, and the Utes got a bunch of no. 1 votes. I have a hunch a strong BYU win over Arizona would have made the difference.

Yet another good reason for Ute antipathy for BYU.

You do have to search far back into history to find a team that moved so many places up in the final poll.

One team matched Utah's 5 places, another went from 17 to 10.

http://www.appollarchive.com/footbal...m?appollid=972

If you keep searching far back you will find a that same West Virginia team went from 11 to 5 in the final poll just 2 year previous.
http://www.appollarchive.com/footbal...m?appollid=940

The U also did this 5 spot movement in the final poll,
http://www.appollarchive.com/footbal...?seasonid=2003

What is the better program West Virginia or Utah?

[SeattleUte]

BIF, can you get a straw poll from the Utefans twentysomethings? Thanks in advance.

[SeattleUte]

Finally, a poll that makes sense.

The answer is 7.

This is an excellent point. The Utes were ranked 7 in the prior poll. They moved from 7 to no. 2 in the final AP poll. Has any team ever moved so far in the top ten between the final two polls? I bet not. Maybe they just had too much territory to cover to get to no. 1. On the other hand, the no. 1 team had a loss, Utah's win over Alabama in THE SUG was better than Florida's SEC championship win, and the Utes got a bunch of no. 1 votes. I have a hunch a strong BYU win over Arizona would have made the difference.

Yet another good reason for Ute antipathy for BYU.

[Blueintheface]

Finally, a poll that makes sense.

The answer is 7.

[jay santos]

I voted yes. Thank God BYU lost.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I don't think BYU's bowl factored into Utah's final ranking in anyway, nor would it have.

[SeattleUte]

This seems to me the only logical explanation. A TCU blow out of Boise would have helped, though.

(Not that I care; I'm satisfied with what happened, including Utes no. 1 in all the computer polls.)