Utah might have beaten USC on the field Saturday night, but it remained behind of the Trojans in the latest AP Top 25, released on Sunday.

The Utes rose from No. 20 to No. 15 in the new media poll after beating USC inside Rice-Eccles Stadium Saturday night 43-42. The Trojans dropped five spots, though they held firmly ahead of the Utes at No. 12.

Right back into the thick of the Pac-12 title race, Utah is currently one of four Pac-12 teams ranked inside the top 15 this week, with UCLA at No. 9 and Oregon at No. 10. The Utes will face Oregon on Nov. 19 in Eugene. Utah moves into its bye week at 5-2.

The game against USC provided one of the highlights of the season. USC put up 42 points and 556 yards of offense. Utah put up 43 points and 562 yards of offense. The difference was a two-point conversion on Utah’s final score.

Quarterback Cameron Rising punched in a fourth-down run from the USC 1-yard-line with 48 seconds to play to give Utah six points and draw the Utes within a single point of tying the game.

It gave coach Kyle Whittingham a choice. Kick the PAT — knowing Utah had missed a field goal earlier in the game — and tie the game, putting it in the hands of the defense to finally come up with a stop? Or roll with the offense from 3 yards away, play for the win, and live with the result?

Whittingham chose the latter and it worked out pretty well.

Utah will head into the bye week to rest up and make tweaks for the second half of the season. It’ll face Washington State in Pullman on Thursday, Oct. 27.

Here’s the rest of the AP Top 25 after Week 7:

  1. Georgia
  2. Ohio State
  3. Tennessee
  4. Michigan
  5. Clemson
  6. Alabama
  7. Ole Miss
  8. TCU
  9. UCLA
  10. Oregon
  11. Oklahoma State
  12. USC
  13. Wake Forest
  14. Syracuse
  15. Utah
  16. Penn State
  17. Kansas State
  18. Illinois
  19. Kentucky
  20. Texas
  21. Cincinnati
  22. North Carolina
  23. NC State
  24. Mississippi State
  25. Tulane