A week after going 4-0 against the PAC-10, the Mountain West Conference got some more bragging rights Sunday. For the first time in the MWC’s 10-year history, it has three teams in both the AP and Coaches Top 25 polls.
TCU is the newest member of the MWC to join the poll. The Horned Frogs are 4-0 and stood on the cusp of breaking into the national spotlight even before a 48-7 route of rival Southern Methodist. TCU debuted in the Top 25 at No. 24 in the AP poll and No. 23 in the Coaches Top 25. BYU, which is fresh off its second-straight shutout8212;a first in more than 20 years for the Cougars8212;sured up its spot at No. 11 in the AP Poll and moved up to the same ranking in the Coaches Poll.
The Utes, who knocked off previously unbeaten Air Force in Colorado Springs, Colo., moved up to No. 17 in both polls and were aided losses to former-No. 15 East Carolina, No. 17 Oregon and a bye week from No. 19 Kansas.
The MWC isn’t the only non-BCS conference with multiple teams in the Top-25. Utah’s former conference, the WAC, has two teams in the polls after previously unranked Boise State shocked the aforementioned Oregon Ducks in Eugene, Ore., and moved up to No. 19 in the AP and No. 20 in the Coaches Poll. Fellow conference member and No. 25 ranked Fresno State beat Toledo 55-54 on the road to stay in both polls.
The SEC still dominates the Top-25 with four of the conference’s teams (No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 LSU and No. 8 Alabama) in the Top 10. The SEC has six teams in the Top-25 overall, with No. 21 and former conference punching bag Vanderbilt making its debut in the polls for the first time in 24 years.
The Big 12 has five teams in the Top-25, led by No. 2 Oklahoma. The Big 10 has four teams in the poll starting with No. 9 Wisconsin. None of the other three BCS conferences has more teams in the Top-25 than the MWC or the WAC. The ACC has two teams (No. 16 Wake Forest, No. 20 Clemson) and the Big East and PAC-10 only have one apiece (No. 13 South Florida and No. 1 USC, respectively).
The only other conference with a team in the rankings is Conference USA, whose previous BCS darling (East Carolina) stayed at No. 23 in the AP poll, but dropped out of the Coaches Top 25 altogether.