LOGAN, Utah – Following its 29-24 Mountain West road win at Colorado State this past weekend, Utah State football is once again ranked No. 14 in The Associated Press (AP) poll with 667 votes and moved down to 15th in the Amway Coaches poll with 704 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. Following its 24-16 road win at Wyoming on Oct. 20, 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. USU made its first appearance in both polls following its 61-19 home win against New Mexico on Oct. 27 as it was ranked 18th in the nation in the AP poll with 340 votes and 20th in the Coaches poll with 281 points. Following its 56-17 road win at Hawai'i on Nov. 3, USU was ranked 14th in the nation in the AP poll with 586 votes and 16th in the Coaches poll with 565 votes. And following its 62-24 home win against San José State last weekend, USU was ranked 14th in the AP poll with 689 votes and 13th in the Amway Coaches Poll with 698 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 (10-1, 7-0 MW) is off to its best start to a season in school history, bettering the 1961 team that went 9-1-1 over 11 games. USU has also set a school-record with its 10 straight wins and this year's team is just the third in school history to win 10 games, along with the 2012 team that went 11-2, and the 2014 team that finished with a 10-4 mark.
Utah State is also 7-0 in Mountain West play for the first time in its six years in the league and is tied with the 2013 team (7-1 MW) for the most conference wins ever.
On the season, Utah State is one of just 10 teams in the nation with one or fewer losses and one of seven teams that has not lost a conference game. Overall, its 10 wins are tied for the fourth-most in the nation as USU is one of just 10 teams in the nation to win at least 10 games.
Utah State's current 10-game winning streak is tied for the fifth-longest active winning streak in the nation.
During its current 10-game winning streak, Utah State is averaging 51.1 points and 514.1 yards per game (278.4 passing, 235.7 rushing), while converting 45.9 percent of its third downs (62-135) and committing just 13 turnovers (11 fumbles, 2 interceptions). Defensively, USU is allowing 20.5 points and 365.9 yards (228.4 passing, 137.5 rushing), while limiting its opponents to just 50-of-165 (.303) on third downs and forcing 26 turnovers (17 interceptions, 9 fumbles).
Utah State ranks among the top 10 teams in the nation in 17 different statistical categories and leads the nation in five of those categories, including scoring drives under one minute (24), kickoff returns (29.96 yards per return), passes intercepted (18), non-offensive touchdowns (10) and defensive touchdowns (6), while ranking second in the nation in scoring (49.3 points per game).
Utah State concludes the regular season and Mountain West play this weekend with a road game at No. 21 Boise State on Saturday, Nov. 24, at 8:15 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN with Roy Philpott (play-by-play), Tom Ramsey (analyst) and Ed Aschoff (reporter) on the call. Overall, USU has won nine of its last 10 Mountain West games dating back to last season, including six of its last seven on the road.
Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
