Alabama remains unanimous No. 1, Liberty back in
Oregon, Northwestern drop; Texas, Auburn, North Carolina out
Alabama is the unanimous No. 1 again in the Associated Press college football poll as the top eight teams held steady for the fourth week in a row.
The Crimson Tide got 62 firstplace votes for the second consecutive week and are followed by No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Clemson.
Southeastern Conference teams Texas A&M and Florida are fifth and sixth, respectively. Unbeaten Cincinnati is seventh and undefeated Brigham Young is eighth.
The changes came after that, with Miami inching up to No. 9 and Indiana returning to the top 10.
No. 25 Liberty (9-1), which routed Massachusetts 45-0 Friday, is back after a week out.
Oregon’s first loss dropped the Ducks 12 spots to No. 21. Northwestern fell five spots to No. 16 after losing at Michigan State.
Texas, Auburn and North Carolina dropped out of the rankings after each lost for the third time.
Late Saturday
(with last week’s rankings) Michigan State 29,
No. 11 Northwestern 20
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Matt Coghlin broke a tie with a 48-yard field goal with 3:35 left as Michigan State handed Northwestern its
first loss.
The Wildcats (5-1 overall and in the Big Ten) were coming off a 17-7 victory over Wisconsin that put them in contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff. That prospect likely was dashed with the loss to MSU, but they remain in control of the Big Ten West.
The Spartans (2-3, 2-3) lost a 17-0 lead, but went back ahead by forcing three turnovers in the fourth
quarter and making the most of two big kicks by Coghlin.
No. 5 Texas A&M20, LSU 7
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Isaiah Spiller ran for 141 yards and a touchdown and Buddy Johnson returned an interception for a score for the Aggies against LSU (3-4).
Texas A&M (6-1, No. 5 CFP) extended its winning streak to five games in its first contest since Nov.
7. The Aggies couldn’t play the last two weeks because of a coronavirus outbreak.
TJ Finley threw for 118 yards and had an interception in the second quarter for LSU before he was benched for Max Johnson after Buddy Johnson’s “pick six” in the third quarter.
No. 13 Georgia 45,
South Carolina 16
COLUMBIA, S.C. — James Cook ran for 104 yards on just six carries, and three other Georgia backs had at least 77 yards to help the Bulldogs (6-2) overpower the depleted Gamecocks (2-7). Nearly 20 Gamecocks couldn’t play because of injuries or COVID-19 issues.
After throwing for 401 yards in his first start last week, Southern California transfer JT Daniels was 10 for 16 for 139 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Georgia led 21-0 after its first three possessions and before South Carolina had a first down.
Georgia Tech 56, Duke 33
ATLANTA — Jeff Sims threw three touchdown passes and ran for 108 yards, setting season highs, and the Yellow Jackets beat the turnover-plagued Blue Devils as each team returned from long layoffs.
Led by Sims, a freshman, Georgia Tech (3-5, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) ended a three-game losing streak.
Chase Brice threw two scoring passes for Duke (2-7, 1-7), but the Blue Devils had five turnovers, including four lost fumbles.
Memphis 10, Navy 7
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Riley Patterson’s 26-yard field goal with 10:53 remaining broke a 7-7 tie for the Tigers (6-2, 4-2 American) against the Midshipmen (3-5, 3-3).
Both touchdowns came in the first quarter, with Nelson Smith’s 22-yard run putting Navy ahead before Brady White’s equalizing 14-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III.