UCLA earns highest AP poll ranking since 2007

After blowing out Nebraska in Lincoln, UCLA moved up three spots to No. 13 in the Associated Press poll.

The last time the Bruins were ranked higher? Sept. 9, 2007, when a 27-17 win against BYU bumped the Bruins up to No. 11. Karl Dorrell’s squad unraveled the following week, being blown out at Utah, 44-6. Despite preseason hype, UCLA finished with a 6-7 record that ended with a 17-16 loss in the Las Vegas Bowl — a rematch against the Cougars.

(Note: Eathyn Manumaleuna, credited with the game-winning field goal block, is incredibly still on BYU’s roster this season.)

Jim Mora’s team looks too good and too well-coached to suffer a similar collapse, but its October visit to Salt Lake CIty may still be a bit of a trap before the brutal back-to-back at Stanford and Oregon. The Bruins lost their last two games at Rice-Eccles Stadium (in 2007 and 2011) by a combined score of 75-12.

That said, the Utes aren’t a great team and UCLA did just fine against a record crowd of 91,471 in Nebraska. A visit from Cal the following week shouldn’t pose a major looming distraction to the Bruins either.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, Arizona State debuted at No. 23 in the rankings after a controversial win over Wisconsin. Oregon and Stanford held steady at second and fifth in the country, while Washington moved up two spots to No. 17.

The full AP poll below, with Pac-12 teams bolded:

1. Alabama (59), 2-0
2. Oregon (1), 3-0
3. Clemson, 2-0
4. Ohio State, 3-0
5. Stanford, 2-0
6. LSU, 3-0
7. Louisville, 3-0
8. Florida State, 2-0
9. Georgia, 1-1
10. Texas A&M, 2-1
11. Oklahoma State, 3-0
12. South Carolina, 2-1
13. UCLA, 2-0
14. Oklahoma, 3-0
15. Michigan, 3-0
16. Miami (FL), 2-0
17. Washington, 2-0
18. Northwestern, 3-0
19. Florida, 1-1
20. Baylor, 2-0
21. Ole Miss, 3-0
22. Notre Dame, 2-1
23. Arizona State, 2-0
24. Wisconsin, 2-1
25. Texas Tech, 3-0