Week five marked the beginning of October and the start of conference play all around the nation. This week brought its fair share of upsets and exciting finishes that changed the AP Poll:
Duke gathers 31 votes after defensive battle
In a low-scoring, soggy matchup against a hard-nosed Boston College team, the Blue Devils found a way to win behind the leg of senior Ross Martin. The Duke offense could not manage to put a touchdown on the scoreboard but quarterback Thomas Sirk collected 195 yards through the air without recording a turnover. Freshman T.J. Rahming had five receptions in the game for 75 yards and proved to be Sirk's best downfield option. Duke will look to stay strong on defense while hoping for improvement on offense as the team heads up to West Point for a meeting with Army.
Dramatic finish in Death Valley
Heading into the fourth quarter up 21-3, it appeared that No. 12 Clemson was well on its way to victory in front of its rain-soaked fans. But Notre Dame and quarterback DeShone Kizer would not relent and cut the margin to 24-16 late in the fourth quarter. Needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to send the game to overtime, the Fighting Irish drove down the field only to fumble at the Tigers' 12-yard line. Granted a second opportunity to try to tie the game, Kizer led his team down the field and into the end zone to make the score 24-22 with under a minute to go in the contest. But on the ensuing two-point conversion, the Fighting Irish quarterback could not find the end zone and was stopped a yard short by defensive tackle Carlos Watkins as Clemson escaped with a hard-fought victory.
The victory by the Tigers was their first statement win of the season and moved them to No. 6 in this week's poll. Notre Dame fell to No. 15 after dropping its first contest of the season.
Shake up in the SEC
The SEC hierarchy became more jumbled after a series of marquee matchups caused chaos in the polls. For the first time in six years, Alabama was an underdog as they headed up to Athens, Ga., to meet Georgia and Nick Saban’s team made a statement. The Crimson Tide dominated in a 38-10 win, with maligned Alabama quarterback Jake Coker passing for 190 yards and a touchdown while rushing for another and star tailback Derrick Henry contributing 148 yards and a touchdown. Defensive back Eddie Jackson also returned an interception for a touchdown as the Crimson Tide got off to a fast start and never looked back. With the loss, Georgia fell 11 spots to No.19 in this week's poll while Alabama returned to its familiar home in the top 10 at No. 8.
Meanwhile, No.3 Ole Miss also dropped 11 spots to No.14 after getting pummeled 38-10 by No. 25 Florida behind a near-flawless performance from Gators quarterback Will Grier. Grier completed 24 of 29 with 271 yards and four touchdowns while his Rebels counterpart, Chad Kelly, completed just 26 of 40 passes with one touchdown and one interception. Florida continues its surge up the polls in Coach Jim McElwain’s first season manning the headset in Gainesville and moved to No. 11
UCLA upset by Arizona State; Pac-12 up for grabs
After looking sharp in the first quarter of the season No. 7 UCLA was outplayed on both sides of the ball by Arizona State in a 38-23 loss late Saturday night. True freshman quarterback Josh Rosen was limited to seven yards per attempt and threw an interception as well, but could not overcome his team's big 29-10 deficit. The Sun Devils dominated time of possession and outgained the Bruins by more than 100 yards en route to a stunning road victory. With Oregon’s fall from the top 25 and this loss by UCLA dropping them to No. 20 in the poll, as well as accompanying losses by USC, Arizona and Stanford in previous weeks, the Pac-12 appears to be up for grabs. Bolstered by quality wins against Oregon and Michigan, Utah became the top-ranked Pac-12 team in this week's poll at No. 5 and received seven first-place votes. USC, Stanford, UCLA and undefeated California are also ranked in this week's rankings.
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