Michigan lands in AP top 5 for the first time since 2016
The Associated Press this week shuffled its top 25 football rankings again due to a handful of upsets over the weekend.
Alabama for the ninth consecutive week sits at No. 1, claiming all 61 first-place votes, followed by Clemson at No. 2 with Notre Dame, Louisiana State and Michigan rounding out the top five. Michigan is ranked in the top five for the first time since 2016.
Alabama and Louisiana State are both on byes this weekend and will clash Nov. 3 in Baton Rouge, La., in a pivotal matchup for the Southeastern Conference West division.
Florida is welcomed into the top 10 for the first time this season, sitting at No. 9. The Gators will have a chance to validate their ranking when they take on No. 7 Georgia on Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla.
Ohio State took the biggest stumble this week after falling at Purdue 49-20, dropping nine spots from No. 2 to No. 11. Washington State leaped the most at 11 spots, from No. 25 to No. 14, after taking down then-ranked No. 12 Oregon 34-20.
Appalachian State makes its first appearance ever in the top 25, debuting at No. 25. It took the Mountaineers five seasons after making the jump from FCS to FBS to join the party.
Cincinnati, Mississippi State and Michigan State fell out of the top 25 after their losses Saturday.
Other Pac-12 teams ranked in the poll besides Washington State are No. 15 Washington, No. 19 Oregon, No. 23 Utah and No. 24 Stanford. Utah is in the top 25 for the first time this season while Stanford is making a return.
The Southeastern Conference saw its number of ranked teams shrink from eight to six, but still has the most teams ranked, followed by the Big Ten and Pac-12, both with five ranked teams. C.J. Beathard of the San Francisco 49ers scrambles for a first down against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday.
SANTA CLARA – C.J. Beathard and the 49ers couldn’t shake their habit of ghastly turnovers Sunday, and it cost them not only their most lopsided loss of the season, but the 39-10 rout marked their worst defeat since 1966 to the rival Los Angeles Rams.
The 49ers (1-6) have lost five in a row largely because of their own mistakes, all due respect to the unbeaten and all-around-stellar Rams (7-0),
“We’re the reason we’re losing these games,” said running back Matt Breida, who lost a firstquarter fumble before leaving with an aggravated ankle injury.
The 49ers’ skid began in Week 3 at Kansas City. That’s where Jimmy Garoppolo sustained a season-ending knee injury and threw this franchise into darkness. With Garoppolo observing Sunday from an upstairs suite with team officials, Beathard got harassed by a Rams defense into three turnovers and a careerhigh seven sacks.
But Beathard, as if by default, remains entrenched in his role heading into next Sunday’s game at Arizona, where he will look to improve on his 1-8 record as a starter.
“By no means is 100 percent of this on C.J.” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Of course he’s got to do better, I’ve got to do better and we’ve got to do a lot better around him.”
Nine games remain and Shanahan showed no sign of giving backup quarterback Nick Mullens his first shot, adding: “C.J. is the best quarterback we have in our building.”
Overall, the Rams scored 24 points off their two interceptions and two 49ers fumbles, including a first-quarter fumble by Matt Breida against Aaron Donald, who had four sacks.
This wasn’t how the 49ers