ASU players run out of the Tillman Tunnel before the Sun Devil's game against Utah on November 1. (Photo by Emily Johnson)After taking down Utah at home in overtime, ASU football has risen higher than at any point this season, coming in No. 12 in this week's USA Today Amway Coaches Poll and No. 11 in the AP Top 25.
The Sun Devils were last ranked No. 11 prior to the 2013 Pac-12 Championship game last December against then No. 7 Stanford.
Baylor comes in as the No. 10 team in the country in the AP Top 25 with 961 points. ASU is just behind the Bears with an identical 7-1 record and 831 points.
The highest ASU ranked in the Coaches Poll in 2013 was No. 13.
The Sun Devils sit just behind Ohio State in the Coaches Poll and narrowed the Buckeye's lead. A week ago, they led ASU by 105 points, a gap that has been narrowed to 47.
The Pac-12 South race had been a tightly contested battle between ASU, Utah and UA, all of whom has identical 6-1 records heading into this weekend.
Utah lost in overtime after blowing a 16-13 fourth quarter lead in Tempe and UA was throttled by a tough UCLA defense and both teams tumbled in the polls.
Utah dropped four spots to No. 22 in the Coaches Poll but only fell two spots in the AP poll, coming in as No. 20. The Wildcats suffered greatly in both polls, however, dropping six spots in each poll to No. 21 in both the Coaches and AP Top 25.
Elsewhere in the Pac-12, Oregon rose into the Top 5 after beating Stanford and is the highest ranked Pac-12 team in the polls. ULCA was this week's biggest riser in the Coaches poll, jumping seven spots to 18th. They experienced the same lift in the AP poll.
Next week, ASU will face Notre Dame in Tempe. Despite a victory over Navy, the Fighting Irish actually fell one spot in the Coaches Poll but still sit at No. 8. Notre Dame also tumbled in the AP Top 25, dropping from No. 6 to No. 8.
The only other Top 25 team ASU will face this season is UA in the season's final week. The matches with Notre Dame and UA are bracketed by games against Oregon State (4-4) on the road and Washington State at home (2-7).
AP top 10:
1. Mississippi State (45 first-place votes)
2. Florida State (15)
3. Auburn
4. Alabama
5. Oregon
6. TCU
7. Michigan State
8. Notre Dame
9. Kansas State
10. Baylor
Coaches top 10:
1. Mississippi State (40 first-place votes)
2. Florida State (22)
3. Auburn
4. Alabama
5. Oregon
6. Michigan State
7. TCU
8. Notre Dame
9. Kansas State
10. Baylor
Reach the sports editor at icbeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @ICBeck21
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