In a week that featured two games between top-10 opponents, there were few surprises, resulting in little change at the top of the rankings.
Lamar Jackson is unimpressive against Duke
Although Heisman frontrunner Lamar Jackson and Louisville were heavily favored in their matchup with the Blue Devils Friday night, the game came down to a late roughing the kicker penalty on Breon Borders, negating a missed field goal by Louisville kicker Evan O'Hara with two minutes remaining. As a result, the Cardinals were granted an automatic first down and eventually scored a touchdown to take a 24-14 lead. Jackson only recorded one passing and one running touchdown, tallying 325 total yards. Louisville's defense was strong, only allowing 129 passing yards and 110 rushing yards to the Blue Devils, but Duke stayed in the game by controlling time of possession and converting 8 of 16 third-down opportunities. The Cardinals remained at No. 7 this week.
Clemson narrowly avoids an upset against N.C. State
In a game that was close throughout, the Tigers escaped and defeated the Wolfpack in a 24-17 overtime thriller. Clemson was hurt by its four turnovers, including Deshaun Watson's first career interception returned for a touchdown, which came on the first play after halftime to help N.C. State even the score at 10. Despite only giving up one offensive touchdown, Clemson's defense was subpar, allowing 397 total yards. The Wolfpack had a chance to win the game on the last play of regulation, but kicker Kyle Bambard pushed a 33-yard field goal wide right, his third miss of the game on four attempts. After Clemson scored a touchdown on its first possession of overtime, N.C. State quarterback Ryan Finley threw an interception to Marcus Edmond to end the game. Clemson's struggles against an unranked opponent caused it to fall one spot to No. 4 this week.
Buckeyes escape with critical road win
In the biggest game of the week between two top-10 teams, Ohio State rallied on the road to top Wisconsin 30-23 in overtime. After the Buckeyes scored a touchdown on the first possession of overtime, the Badgers' final drive stalled at the Ohio State 4-yard line. The Buckeyes trailed 16-6 at halftime, but quarterback J.T. Barrett tallied three total touchdowns in the second half and overtime to keep his team undefeated. Wisconsin did not go down quietly after Barrett's go-ahead touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, mounting a six-minute touchdown drive to retake a 23-20 lead, but Ohio State sent the game to overtime with a late field goal. The Buckeyes stayed at No. 2 behind Alabama in this week's poll, and the Badgers dropped two spots to No. 10.
North Carolina returns to top 25
The Tar Heels conquered the Hurricanes Saturday 20-13 in Miami, returning to the top 25 for the first time since Week 5. Defensive end Malik Carney sealed the deal for UNC, forcing Hurricane quarterback Brad Kaaya to fumble with 1:27 remaining. Miami dropped out of the rankings from No. 16, while North Carolina re-entered as No. 22. Tar Heel quarterback Mitch Trubisky completed 33 of 46 passes for 299 yards and threw two touchdowns to help his team jump out to a 20-3 halftime lead, and Kaaya only completed 16 passes and failed to find the end zone.
Alabama dominates Tennessee, remains atop rankings
In a matchup between No. 1 Alabama and No. 9 Tennessee, the Crimson Tide had no problem taking down a top-10 opponent on the road in a 49-10 rout. Quarterback Jalen Hurts was a problem for the Volunteers' defense, recording 143 yards in the air and 132 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Crimson Tide running backs Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris combined for 203 rushing yards as well. Tennessee's offense was unable to find its groove, gaining only 163 total yards against the stifling Alabama defense and helping propel the Crimson Tide to a blowout with an interception returned for a touchdown in the first quarter.
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