Utah State Football Ranked 14th In The Nation In Associated Press Poll

Following its 62-24 Mountain West home win against San José State this past weekend, Utah State football is once again ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press (AP) Poll with 689 votes and moved up to 13th in the Amway Coaches Poll with 698 votes.
 
For Utah State, this is its second-highest ranking ever in the AP poll, trailing only the 1961 team that finished the year ranked 10th in the nation. Prior to this season, the last time USU was nationally ranked was in 2012, when that Aggie team went 11-2 and set a school record for wins as it finished the year ranked 16th in the nation. 
 
Overall, this is just the fourth Utah State team in school history to be nationally ranked in the AP poll joining the 1960, 1961 and 2012 teams. The 1960 team was ranked 18th and 19th in consecutive weeks, while the 1961 team finished the season ranked 10th and the 2012 team was ranked for four-straight weeks and finished the season 16th. One other Aggie squad has been nationally ranked as the 1978 team started the year with a 5-0 record and was 18th in the country in the United Press International (UPI) poll. 
 
Utah State started receiving votes in the polls this season following its 45-20 win at BYU on Oct. 5, as it garnered nine votes in the AP poll and 11 votes in the Coaches poll to rank 32nd and 33rd in the nation, respectively. Following its 59-28 home win against UNLV on Oct. 13, USU garnered 38 votes in the AP poll and 33 votes in the Coaches poll to rank tied for 31st and 32nd in the nation, respectively. Three weeks ago, USU was ranked 27th in the nation in both polls as it received 50 votes in the AP poll and 63 votes in the Coaches poll. Two weeks ago, USU was ranked 18th in the nation in the AP poll with 340 votes and 20th in the Coaches poll with 281 points. And last week, USU was ranked 14th in the nation in the AP poll with 586 votes and 16th in the Coaches poll with 565 votes.
 
Prior to this season, the last time Utah State received votes in either poll was on Oct. 18, 2015, following its 52-26 home win against then-No. 21 Boise State, as it received seven votes in the AP poll to rank 36th and five votes in the Coaches poll to rank tied for 34th.
 
Utah State (9-1, 6-0 MW) is off to its best start to a season since the 1961 team went 9-0-1 in its first 10 games. USU is also 6-0 in Mountain West play for the first time in its six years in the league. Overall, it is the fourth time in the last seven seasons and just the seventh time in 121 seasons of Aggie football that USU has won at least nine games.
 
On the season, Utah State is one of just 14 teams in the nation with one or fewer losses and one of nine teams that has not lost a conference game.
 
Utah State's current nine-game winning streak is tied for the fifth-longest active winning streak in the nation and tied with the 1960 team for the longest in school history.
 
During its current nine-game winning streak, Utah State is averaging 53.6 points and 536.8 yards per game (290.6 passing, 246.2 rushing), while converting 46.8 percent of its third downs (58-124) and committing just 12 turnovers (10 fumbles, 2 interceptions). Defensively, USU is allowing 20.1 points and 350.3 yards (219.7 passing, 130.7 rushing), while limiting its opponents to just 44-of-152 (.289) on third downs and forcing 24 turnovers (15 interceptions, 9 fumbles).

Utah State ranks among the top 10 teams in the nation in 16 different statistical categories and leads the nation in six of those categories, including scoring offense (51.3 points per game), scoring drives under one minute (22), kickoff returns (29.83 yards per return), turnovers forced (26), defensive three-and-outs forced (6.11 per game) and non-offensive touchdowns (8).
 
Utah State continues Mountain West play this weekend at Colorado State (3-7, 2-4 MW) on Saturday, Nov. 17, at noon. The game will be televised regionally on AT&T Sports Net (Comcast Ch. 52, DISH Ch. 414, DirecTV Ch. 683). Overall, USU has won eight of its last nine Mountain West games dating back to last season, including five of its last six on the road.
 
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