Thoughts on the AP Poll: Week 3

Duke crushes Kansas, moves closer to top 25

Returning to Wallace Wade Stadium after last week’s slow start against Troy, the Blue Devils (3-0) clipped the Jayhawks’ wings behind National Freshman of the Week Shaun Wilson. The dynamic true freshman racked up 245 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries as Duke coasted to an easy 41-3 victory. The Blue Devils never trailed and earned 55 votes in this week’s AP Poll, 12 more than last week. North Carolina (2-0) is now the only team standing between Duke and the top 25.

Duke will look to follow up this strong performance next Saturday against Tulane (1-2) at 12:30 p.m. at Wallace Wade Stadium and has a chance at cracking the AP Poll next week with some help.

Gamecocks hold strong, knock off Bulldogs

In arguably the game of the week, No. 24 South Carolina (2-1) prevailed 38-35 against No. 6 Georgia (1-1) thanks to two missed field goals by Bulldogs kicker Marshall Morgan—who had made an SEC record 20 straight field goals up to that point—and a late goal-line stand that kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone. Although Georgia and Heisman candidate running back Todd Gurley were coming off of a strong performance against Clemson two weeks ago, the Bulldogs struggled defensively for much of the game.

South Carolina’s chances in the SEC East were considered by many to be gone after giving up a school record 680 yards of offense to Texas A&M, but the Gamecocks responded well Saturday. The loss by Georgia dropped the Bulldogs seven spots to No. 13 while South Carolina made the biggest climb of the week in the AP Poll, jumping 10 spots to No. 14. The competitive SEC East is wide open now with Florida and Missouri vying for the crown as well.

Trojans upset by unranked Eagles

Behind a merciless ground game, Boston College (2-1) trampled the run defense of then-No. 9 Southern California (2-1) to the tune of 452 yards and five touchdowns. This was the Eagles’ first win against a top-10 team while unranked since 2002. Although Trojan quarterback Cody Kessler had a terrific game—throwing for 317 yards four touchdowns—Boston College's onslaught was too much for Southern California to overcome a week after stunning Stanford.

The third top-25 team to fall to an unranked opponent this week, then-No. 21 Louisville (2-1) and Virginia (2-1) played a game marred by turnovers. The Cardinals had four and the Cavaliers accumulated three. Louisville—down 13 in the fourth quarter—scored 14 unanswered points to take a 21-20 lead with less than 7 minutes remaining in the game.

But Cardinal receiver James Quick—who scored the touchdown that put Louisville in the lead—would go from hero to goat in just seven plays. After his touchdown, Virginia struggled to move down the field and was forced to punt. Quick fielded the punt for Louisville but fumbled the ball away and Cavalier defensive back Kelvin Rainey recovered at the Louisville 25 yard line. Four plays later, Virginia kicker Ian Frye booted the game-winning 42-yard field goal with less than four minutes remaining.

Louisville lost an astounding 232 votes and were left with just two, and Virginia earned six after snapping its 11-game ACC losing streak.