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Utah receiver Shaky Smithson said it best shortly after he and his teammates humiliated Iowa State 68-27.

The win, he pointed out, provided no relief.

"It's only the fifth game," he said. "There is no relief at all."

If anything, all the Utes' big win over the Cyclones did was ratchet up the pressure even more on the Utes.

In a two-day span those who play and follow Utah football learned two things. On Saturday, the Utes showed they can pound the struggling Big 12 opponents just as well and even better than the top teams in the highly regarded Big 12. On Sunday, the voters showed they don't really care.

The Utes still slipped a spot in the AP poll and only held their No. 10 ranking in the USA Today coaches poll despite the losses of two teams ranked ahead of them.

What does it all mean for the Utes? They have to keep winning and probably winning big, including Saturday's game at Wyoming, to maintain their spot in the BCS hunt along with TCU and Boise State.

According to the BCS rules, teams from non-BCS conferences will earn an automatic berth into a BCS bowl game if the team is ranked in the Top 12 of the final BCS standings or is ranked in the Top 16 and is ranked higher than a champion from a BCS conference.

If two more teams satisfy those provisions for an automatic berth, the team with the highest finish receives the bid and the other is considered for an at-large selection.

The 2009 season was the first time two teams from conferences without automatic bids into the BCS played in BCS bowls, although pitting the teams against one another in the Fiesta Bowl was seen as a bit of a cop-out by some. Boise State, ranked No. 6 in the BCS standings, won that game 17-10 over the No. 4 Frogs.

The way the 2010 season is playing out, two non-BCS teams could be in BCS games again. However, the Utes' failure to gain ground in the rankings after Saturday's win is a reminder of just how tenuous a spot the non-BCS teams are in, even ones with reputations as good as the Utes'.

The Utes, of course, say they aren't paying too much attention to the poll talk.

"There is a lot of football left," Utah linebacker Chad Manis said. "It only matters where you are at the end."

Others though, are more concerned with the topic and can't wait for the initial BCS standings to be released Sunday.

Some early projections have Boise State as the top team, followed by Oregon and TCU. The Utes aren't included in any Top 10 projections. The Utes were No. 10 in the Harris Interactive poll released Sunday, which is one of the components of the BCS standings along with the USA Today coaches poll, where the Utes remain No. 10.

The other factor in the BCS standings is the computer rankings, where the strength of schedule is a bigger consideration.

The Broncos are expected to lose ground in that area as they get deeper into WAC play while teams behind it, including Oregon and Oklahoma, should gain more thanks to the strength of their conferences.

Utah and TCU fall somewhere in the middle. Air Force is helping the league with its current No. 23 ranking, but the bottom half of the league is still weak.

Boise State might not lose so much that it falls behind the MWC leader, which could conceivably leave the MWC champion waiting in the wings even if it is undefeated.

To make the best impression, the Utes have to win league games convincingly and do well out of conference. The season-opening win over Pitt, along with Saturday's victory over the Cyclones and November's game at Notre Dame, represent prime opportunities for the Utes to prove their worth and gain more votes.

After Saturday's game they have at least one backer, Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads.

"Do I think Utah belongs in the Top 10?" he asked. "Do I think they have the ability to compete against all the other teams in the BCS conferences? Absolutely. They're a very good, a very well-balanced football team."

As veterans of two BCS runs, the Utes understand that all the talk becomes moot with a loss. It's why they are so focused on each game, they say.

"We don't get bent out of shape about that," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham replied Monday when asked about the Utes' standing. "We kind of enjoy flying under the radar and doing our thing and getting better each week."

lwodraska@sltrib.com Twitter: @lyawodraska, @sltributes —

ESPN's early BCS projections

Team Rating

1. Boise State .913

2. Oregon .863

3. TCU .854

4. Oklahoma .8425

5. Ohio State .8421

6. LSU .782

7. Nebraska .777

8. Auburn .744

9. Michigan State .642

10. Alabama .634