Ohio State and Louisville moved up behind No. 1 Alabama in the Associated Press college football poll after the most surprising Saturday of the season gave the rankings a major makeover.
Three of the top four (Michigan, Clemson, and Washington), five of the top 10, and seven teams overall in last week’s rankings lost to unranked opponents.
On Sunday, Alabama was a unanimous No. 1 for the first time this season, receiving all 61 votes. Ohio State was No. 2, a season best for the Buckeyes, and Louisville was No. 3, matching its best ranking ever.
No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Clemson each dropped two spots and No. 7 Washington fell three after losing for the first time. Wisconsin moved up a spot to No. 6.
The only teams that held onto the spots in the Top 25 that they had last week were the only unbeatens left in the FBS: the top-ranked Crimson Tide and No. 14 Western Michigan. The Crimson Tide have been No. 1 since the preseason.
And the Crimson Tide is the first unanimous No. 1 since Ohio State on Sept. 8, 2015.
Going upward was No. 12 Colorado and No. 13 Oklahoma State, each moving up four spots.
Colorado has its highest ranking since it was No. 12 on Dec. 1, 2002.
No. 9 Penn State, No. 16 LSU, No. 17 Florida State, and No. 20 Washington State all moved up three spots.
Washington State has its best ranking since finishing the 2003 season at No. 9. The Cougars (8-2, 7-0 Pac-12) routed Cal, 56-21, Saturday for their eighth stright win.
A couple of Southeastern Conference teams took the biggest falls. No. 23 Texas A&M fell 13 spots after the Aggies lost for the second straight week. Texas A&M started 6-0 but has lost three of four and three consecutive SEC games.
No. 18 Auburn dropped 10 spots after losing at Georgia, 13-7. The Tigers’ loss eliminated them from the SEC West race and helped Alabama clinch.
No. 15 Southern California climbed back in the rankings for the first time since the preseason after handing Washington its first loss. The Trojans started the season 1-3 but have won six straight behind redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Darnold.
No. 24 San Diego State is in the rankings for the second time this season.
No. 25 Troy is ranked for the first time in school history. The Trojans (8-1) won a matchup of unbeaten Sun Belt Conference teams on Saturday against Appalachian State and their only loss was by six points at Clemson.
Virginia Tech and North Carolina dropped out after losing to unranked Atlantic Coast Conference rivals.
Baylor is out of the rankings for the first time this season.
Iowa in Big Ten race?
It turns out Iowa might have a say in the Big Ten title race after all.
By stunning Michigan, 14-13, Saturday, the Hawkeyes made it possible for a two-loss team to represent the powerful East division in the conference championship game — and for the once-unthinkable prospect of a playoff without the Big Ten.
It can no longer be assumed that the annual rivalry game between the Wolverines (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) and Ohio State (9-1, 6-1) will determine the league’s playoff representative.
That’s because Penn State (8-2, 6-1), which beat the Buckeyes two weeks ago, has joined Michigan and Ohio State atop the East.
If Michigan State beats Ohio State at home next week and Ohio State beats Michigan the week after, the Nittany Lions — assuming they beat lowly Rutgers and the Spartans at home — would win the East.
Unlikely? Very much so.
But so was the idea of Iowa (6-4, 4-3), a 24-point underdog, finding itself it time to stun Big Blue.
‘‘Give Iowa credit. They tackled. They blocked. They played a very good football game. So, congratulate them and we move on,’’ Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said.
That’s exactly what Michigan needs to do, because if it wins out, it should be in the playoffs.
But the Wolverines’ resume still took a hit on Saturday.
Overshadowed by all of its big wins was the fact that Michigan didn’t have a single significant road win. Michigan State and Rutgers, the only teams Michigan had beaten away from Ann Arbor, had yet to win a Big Ten game until the Spartans throttled the Scarlet Knights on Saturday.
On a windy and chilly night in Iowa City, the Wolverines wilted.
The nation’s top-ranked scoring defense allowed Iowa to score a touchdown on fourth down on a perfectly timed screen pass.
On the biggest play from scrimmage, it let Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard run for a first down that set up the game-winning kick — after a facemask that gave Iowa 15 free yards.
Michigan’s offense, which had scored 49 points against Penn State, 78 against Rutgers and 59 against Maryland, gained just 201 yards. Wilton Speight missed a litany of deep balls, going just 11 of 26 passing and throwing a pick to true freshman Manny Rugamba late in the fourth quarter.
‘‘There’s absolutely no excuse. We've got to be a lot better than we [were Saturday],’’ tight end Jake Butt said.
Iowa’s performance kept it alive in the West race, though just barely.
Wisconsin (8-2, 5-2), by virtue of its win over Nebraska (8-2, 5-2), is in position to face whatever team the East sends to Indianapolis for the title game. The Badgers might also be in position to steal a playoff spot, should they win out and see more upsets like the ones that occured on Saturday further shake up the postseason picture.
But Iowa answered for one of its worst losses in years, a 41-14 wipeout at Penn State, with a win that was more about culture than talent.
‘‘You've only got two options. You surrender and mope and feel sorry for yourself, or you do something about it,’’ Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. ‘‘Don’t think that we weren’t thinking about that on Saturday night coming home. But it’s more about just the way we operate and what our response is going to be. And we knew this was going to be a tough task.’’
Eastern Michigan reached a major milestone in its remarkable turnaround. The Eagles are bowl eligible for the first time since 1995 after a 48-41 victory over Ball State on Tuesday night. The last time EMU actually played in a bowl was in the 1987 California Bowl. There are now 58 teams bowl eligible, with 80 slots available. There are 32 teams that can’t finish .500 and thus can’t go to a bowl unless sub-.500 teams are needed to fill open spots. Oregon (3-7) is one of those teams that can’t finish .500 after a loss to Stanford. The Ducks haven’t missed a bowl since 2004.
Surgery for Baylor QB
Baylor quarterback Seth Russell will have surgery on his fractured left ankle. The school announced the decision Sunday, but didn’t say when the senior quarterback would have the surgery that will force him to miss the regular season. Russell suffered the gruesome injury in the third quarter of Baylor’s 45-24 loss at Big 12-leading Oklahoma on Saturday . . . Oregon defensive lineman Austin Maloata was dismissed from the team after he was arrested early Sunday. Maloata was booked into Lane County Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, and possession of a controlled substance. Police say Maloata ran a red light and collided with another vehicle about 1:48 a.m. . . . Georgia State fired coach Trent Miles. The Panthers are 2-8 this season and have a 9-38 mark during Miles’s tenure.
