Ten of the 25 ranked teams in a wild week of college football, creating turmoil all over the rankings.
Clemson wins an instant classic
Louisville and Lamar Jackson entered one of the toughest stadiums in college football and nearly escaped with a win. After trailing 28-10 at halftime, Jackson kicked it into another gear and led the Cardinals on five consecutive scoring drives, culminating in a 36-28 lead late in the fourth quarter. But Clemson standout Deshaun Watson led the team on two touchdown drives to put the Tigers up 42-36 with just more than three minutes remaining. Louisville came up one yard short on a crucial fourth down inside Clemson's five-yard line in the final minute and fell to its first loss. Despite the defeat, Lamar Jackson totaled more than 450 yards to maintain his status as a Heisman contender, and Louisville—which dropped from No. 3 to No. 7—would still have a strong case to make the College Football Playoff if they win the rest of their games. The unbeaten Tigers replaced the Cardinals at No. 3 after passing their toughest test of the regular season.
Titans of the Big Ten
Another week featured another win for both No. 2 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan. The Buckeyes trounced Rutgers 58-0—accumulating 669 yards of total offense and allowing only 33 passing yards—and the Wolverines fended off No. 8 Wisconsin in a tight 14-7 game, with the game-winning touchdown coming on a 46-yard pass from Wilton Speight to Amara Darboh with 7:56 remaining. The Badgers dropped three spots to No. 11 with the loss. Both Ohio State and Michigan advanced their claim for the status as the best team in the conference in very different ways, adding to the hype for their end-of-season showdown in Columbus, Ohio, that could determine the winner of the Big Ten East division.
Throw and a Prayer
No. 11 Tennessee’s recurring strategy of playing dead before coming alive in the nick of time claimed another victim in No. 25 Georgia this weekend. After trailing 17-0 in the second quarter, the Volunteers stormed back to take a 28-24 lead late in the game following a costly fumble by Bulldogs quarterback Jacob Eason. Eason made up for it with a 47-yard touchdown heave to put Georgia up 31-28 with only 10 seconds remaining. But an excessive celebration penalty combined with an offsides call placed Tennessee on the Bulldogs' 43 yard-line for one last chance. The Volunteers scored on a Hail Mary from quarterback Joshua Dobbs to Jauan Jennings as time expired, completing their fourth double-digit comeback win in their last five games and moving into the top 10 at No. 9. Tennessee is one of college football’s hardest teams to understand, but matchups against No. 1 Alabama and No. 8 Texas A&M in the next two weeks should finally show just what the Volunteers are made of.
Washington is for real
Prior to its marquee matchup against No. 7 Stanford Friday night, No. 10 Washington’s best win was a 35-28 nail-biter last week against Arizona following an easy nonconference schedule. There were few indicators to show the Huskies were anything special. But following a 44-6 thrashing of the Cardinal on the back of an efficient offense and a defense that contained Stanford star Christian McCaffrey, Washington showed it has the mettle of a top-five team in the nation. The Huskies jumped to No. 5 in this week's poll and sent the Cardinal tumbling to No. 15. Although there is only one more ranked team on the Washington's schedule—when it plays at No. 24 Utah Oct. 29—there are plenty of tough Pac-12 opponents standing between the Huskies and a chance at the Pac-12 title and a potential College Football Playoff berth.
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