HOKIES BACK IN POLL
Thanks to another ACC triumph with a short-handed team, Virginia Tech has returned to the AP Top 25.
After winning its second game in a row while short-handed, Virginia Tech reappeared in The Associated Press Top 25 Sunday, checking in at No. 19.
Without 21 players and two full-time assistant coaches because of coronavirus concerns or other issues, the Hokies earned a 38-31 victory at Duke behind Khalil Herbert’s school-record 358 allpurpose yards. The vote ensured that Saturday’s noon game in Chapel Hill at No. 8 North Carolina will be an all-Top 25 affair.
Virginia Tech was No. 20 in the poll and won its opener against N.C. State before more conferences’ decisions to play this fall led to voting that barely knocked them out of the Top 25 a week ago.
Oklahoma dropped out of the poll for the first time since September 2016, and No. 24 Iowa State jumped back in after a day of upsets.
There largely was stability at the top after No. 1 Clemson, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Florida all won, though the Bulldogs and Gators switched spots. Clemson received 52 first-place votes and Alabama got eight from the panel of sports writers and broadcasters.
Notre Dame was idle and held at No. 5, while No. 6 Ohio State received two first-place votes despite no Big Ten Conference games scheduled until late October.
Overall, five teams dropped out of the Top 25 after eight ranked teams lost Saturday, six to unranked opponents.
The Sooners were involved in one of those upsets, losing at Iowa State for the first time since 1960. Oklahoma’s first two-game, regular-season losing streak in 21 years snapped its string of 64 straight poll appearances.
That was the fourth-longest active streak in the country behind Alabama, Ohio State (not including the polls in which it was not eligible) and Clemson.
The Sooners will head into their Red River Rivalry game against Texas next Saturday as an unranked team for the first time since 2005.
The 22nd-ranked Longhorns managed to hold on to a spot in the rankings, falling 13 spots after losing at home to TCU.
In the coaches poll, Virginia Tech climbed five spots to No. 18.
Late Saturday
(with last week’s AP rankings)
Iowa State 37, No. 18 Oklahoma 30
AMES, Iowa — Breece Hall scored the go-ahead touchdown on an 8-yard run with 4:06 left, and Isheem Young intercepted Spencer Rattler’s pass in the end zone on Oklahoma’s final drive.
The Sooners (1-2, 0-2 Big 12), beaten at home by Kansas State last week, lost back-to-back regular-season games for the first time since 1999. They lost in Ames for the first time since 1960.
The Cyclones (2-1, 2-0) wore down the Sooners with the running of Hall, who rushed for 139 yards. Iowa State’s Brock Purdy passed for 254 yards and ran for a 2-yard touchdown to tie it at 30.
No. 4 Georgia 27, No. 7 Auburn 6
ATHENS, Ga. — Stetson Bennett threw for 240 yards and a touchdown in his first college start, Zamir White ran for a pair of scores, and Georgia romped past Auburn in the first top-10 matchup of the season.
The Bulldogs (2-0) buried Auburn with a 24-0 blitz in the first half, extending their domination of the Deep South’s oldest rivalry. Georgia kept the upper hand with a fourth straight victory over Auburn (1-1). The Bulldogs have won 13 of the last 16 meetings.
Bennett, a fourth-year junior known as “The Mailman,” delivered before a socially distanced crowd of 20,524 at Sanford Stadium. He completed 17 of 28 passes, including a 21-yard touchdown to George Pickens. Kearis Jackson hauled in nine catches for 147 yards.
Tulsa 34, No. 11 UCF 26
ORLANDO, Fla. — Zach Smith threw three touchdown passes for Tulsa, which erased an 18-point first-half deficit to snap Central Florida’s 21-game home winning streak.
The Golden Hurricane (1-1) made it two straight wins over UCF (2-1), which was plagued by penalties (18 for 124 yards) and turned the ball over three times.
UCF’s Dillon Gabriel was 28 of 51 for 330 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.
Arkansas 21, No. 16 Miss. State 14
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Feleipe Franks threw two touchdown passes for Arkansas (1-1), which intercepted three of K.J. Costello’s passes to break a 20-game Southeastern Conference losing streak.
A week after a record-breaking upset at LSU, the Bulldogs (1-1) and new coach Mike Leach hardly looked like the same team. Costello was 43 of 59 for 313 yards and one touchdown.
Greg Brooks Jr. returned an interception 69 yards for a touchdown, and the Razorbacks led 14-7 at the half.
No. 20 LSU 41, Vanderbilt 7
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Myles Brennan threw for 337 yards and four touchdowns for the defending national champion Tigers, who never trailed after losing their season opener last week to Mississippi State. LSU (1-1) extended its winning streak over the Commodores (0-2) to nine.
The Tigers outgained Vanderbilt 498266, and the defense came up with two interceptions and a pair of sacks. Terrace Marshall Jr. finished with two TDs on two catches.
Florida State 41, Jacksonville State 24
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Jordan Travis came off the bench to lead FSU to touchdowns on five straight drives as the Seminoles rallied to knock off an FCS program.
Travis completed 13 of 18 passes for 215 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown pass to Keyshawn Helton. The redshirt sophomore also added a touchdown run, one of four TD runs from the Seminoles.
FSU (1-2) trailed 14-0 in the first quarter and went scoreless on four opening drives under the direction of true freshman quarterback Tate Rodemaker.
FAU 21, Charlotte 17
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Nick Tronti accounted for three touchdowns as coach Willie Taggart collected his first win with Florida Atlantic in a Conference USA opener on Saturday night.
With FAU (1-0, 1-0) trailing 10-0, Tronti broke loose for a 49-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter, and then tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Logan Peterson.
The 49ers (0-2, 0-1) drove to the FAU 9 when time expired. Charlotte’s Chris Reynolds was 24 of 32 for 314 yards and a touchdown.