Utes Ranked 19th in AP and Coaches Poll

Six games down for the Utes, six to go. The season has gone better than most Utah fans anticipated, with the team's record currently at 5-1 and 2-1 in the Pac-12. After another heart stopping win up in Corvallis this past weekend against Oregon State, the Utes find themselves a couple spots higher in the polls. Utah jumped a spot in the AP Poll, from 20th to 19th, and up from 23rd in the Coaches to 19th. With a dominant defensive effort, but a sub par offensive effort, a lot of fans were curious whether Utah would maybe drop this week, but floating around the same ranking has to please many fans.

Utah's next opponent, USC, is right behind Utah in the AP at 20th, and two spots behind in the Coaches at 21st, after a blowout victory over Colorado in Southern California. So that means we have a top-25 matchup between Utah and USC at Rice-Eccles Stadium this coming Saturday night, something Utah fans dreamed of a couple of seasons ago.

The Pac-12 has five or six teams ranked, depending on the poll, with Stanford dropping out of the polls altogether for the first time in years. UCLA found their way back in the AP Poll this week after their much needed win over Cal. That means that four of Utah's last six opponents are ranked in the top-25. The Pac-12 has put themselves back into the running for a final four spot, but continued cannibalism within the conference could harm that.

The next six weeks are a meat grinder for the Utes, and it all kicks off this coming Saturday against USC in the annual blackout game. Make sure to come in all black Saturday, and be prepared to be loud, because this is arguably Utah's biggest home game since being members of the Pac-12.

Here are the complete rankings for this week:

For a composite Top 25, visit SBNation.com