Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
In the Cards: Louisville surges to No. 3 in Top 25 after routing FSU
Louisville surged to No. 3 in The Associated Press college football poll on Sunday, matching the best ranking in school history, and Ohio State moved up to No. 2 behind Alabama.
The Crimson Tide received 50 first-place votes after coming from 21 points down to win 48-43 at Mississippi on Saturday. The Buckeyes moved up one spot after an emphatic 45-24 victory at Oklahoma.
No team made a bigger move than Louisville, which jumped seven spots and received six-first place votes after Lamar Jackson and the Cardinals beat Florida State 63-20. The Seminoles slid 11 spots to No. 13.
The Cardinals were No. 3 on Nov. 5, 2006, during coach Bobby Petrino’s first stint with Louisville.
North Dakota State didn’t make the rankings, but received 74 points after upsetting Iowa — the most points ever for a Football Championship Subdivision team. Iowa dropped out.
CHARGING BISON
North Dakota State, the five-time- defending FCS national champion, set a record for most points AP poll received by team from Division I football’s second tier. Ten FCS teams have received votes in the poll since 2007, after Appalachian State’s victory against Michigan prompted the AP to declare that voters could include teams playing in what was once called I-AA.
North Dakota State, which is 5-0 against Power Five teams since 2010, received votes during each season from 2010-14.
UP
— No. 15 Miami moved up 10 spots after winning 35-10 at Appalachian State.
— No. 10 Texas A&M jumped seven places after a 29-16 road victory against Auburn.
— No. 8 Michigan State moved up four spots after beating Notre Dame 36-28 on the road.
DOWN
— Florida State’s loss to Louisville was the third-most lopsided for a team ranked No. 2 and its drop in the poll was the largest by a No. 2 team since Southern California fell to No. 13 after losing to Stanford 21-14 on Sept. 15, 2012.
— Two weeks after vaulting into the poll, Texas dropped 10 spots to No. 21 after losing a wild game at California.
— No. 23 Mississippi and No. 25 Oklahoma both managed to stay in the rankings after dropping to 1-2 on the season. The Rebels, who opened the season with a loss to Florida State, dropped four spots. The Sooners, who lost their opener to Houston, fell 11 spots.
Six times previously teams have been ranked with 1-2 records since the poll expanded to 25 in 1989. The last 1-2 team to be ranked was Notre Dame on Sept. 12, 1999.
IN
— No. 20 Nebraska is back in the rankings for the first time since Dec. 7, 2014 after beating Oregon 35-32.
— No. 22 San Diego State is ranked for the first time since 1995.
— No. 24 Utah moved to 3-0 after beating San Jose State 34-17 on the road.
OUT
— Iowa’s loss to North Dakota State cost the Hawkeyes a place in the rankings.
— Notre Dame is out for the first time since the second half of the 2014 season.
— Oregon essentially gave its spot to Nebraska.
CONFERENCE CALL
SEC—8 Big Ten — 5 ACC—4 Big12—3 Pac-12 — 3 American — 1 Mountain West — 1
RANKED vs. RANKED
No. 11 Wisconsin at No. 8 Michigan State. The Badgers sleep-walked through a victory against Georgia State before starting a daunting stretch that includes backto-back games against the Spartans and No. 4 Michigan.
No. 19 Florida at No. 14 Tennessee. The Gators have won 11 straight meetings, but won’t have quarterback Luke Del Rio (knee).
No. 12 Georgia at No. 23 Mississippi. The Bulldogs have found their quarterback of the future and present in Jacob Eason.
No. 10 Texas A&M vs. No. 17 Arkansas at Arlington, Texas. The Aggies and Razorbacks went to overtime last season.