Blue Devils falter, remain in top 25
The visiting Virginia Tech Hokies upset the Blue Devils this past Saturday, winning 17-16. Despite the mistake-riddled loss, Duke remains in the AP Top 25, falling six spots from No. 19 to No. 25. It is the longest the Blue Devils have remained in the top 25—four consecutive weeks—since 1955. Although the loss to the Hokies is a setback, the Blue Devils are still on track to win the ACC Coastal Division due to Florida State beating Miami 30-26 Saturday night. If Duke wins out, it will be playing for the ACC Championship in Charlotte Dec. 6.
New top dog
Florida State regained the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll after defeating Miami 30-26 Saturday night and then-No. 1 Mississippi State’s 25-20 loss at Alabama. The shift ends the Bulldogs' six-week run as the top team in the nation. The Hurricanes were winning 26-20 late in the third quarter before Jameis Winston led two successive scoring drives, the second one capped off by a 26-yard Dalvin Cook touchdown run. The Seminoles are the first team to drop out of the No.1 preseason ranking and then regain it later on since Penn State in 1995. Winston and his squad keep playing with fire, but still keep finding ways to win and are the only unbeaten Power 5 conference team remaining as a result.
Pac-12 rises
The Pac-12 South now has five teams in the AP Top 25 and the SEC West, supposedly the best division in the nation, has only four. UCLA moved from No. 14 to No. 11 after a bye. After being stunned 35-27 by unranked Oregon State, Arizona State fell from No. 7 to No. 13. Sun Devils quarterback Taylor Kelly threw two interceptions and Beavers running backs Terron Ward and Storm Woods combined for 273 yards and two touchdowns.
No. 15 Arizona rose two spots after escaping Washington 27-26 on a late Casey Skowron field goal. The Utah Utes rose five spots from No. 25 to No. 20 after outlasting Stanford in double overtime 20-17. Lastly, No. 24 USC reentered the rankings after a 38-30 shootout with Cal on Thursday night. Trojan receiver Nelson Agholor went off for 216 yards and two touchdowns to spark the win.
As contenders keep faltering, the Pac-12 is looking better and better with each passing week.
Buckeyes keep climbing
The seventh-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes rose one spot from last week and are making a case every successive week to be included in the College Football Playoff at the end of the season. The Buckeyes outlasted Minnesota 31-24 Saturday and quarterback J.T. Barrett set a couple of records along the way. Barrett combined for 389 total yards (200 passing, 189 rushing) and four touchdowns (three pass, one rush), breaking three school records previously held by Braxton Miller in the process. Barrett now has the Ohio State record for most touchdowns in a season (38), most rushing yards by a quarterback in a game (189) and longest run by a quarterback (86 yards).
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