Stanford back in poll; Appalachian State in Top 25 for 1st time
Stanford is back in the the Associated Press poll after a two-week absence — moving in Sunday at No. 24 after Thursday night’s win at Arizona State ended a two-game losing streak — and Utah also is in at No. 23, giving the Pac-12 five ranked teams.
Washington State, 25th last week, took a leap to No. 14 after Saturday night’s 34-20 win over Oregon, which fell from 12th to 19th. The Cougars and Cardinal will try to grab control of the Pac-12 North on Saturday when they meet at Stanford — both are 3-1 in conference.
The other ranked Pac-12 team, Pac-12 North leader Washington (4-1 in conference), which survived a stiff challenge by Colorado by pulling away to win 27-13, held steady at No. 15. The Huskies play at Cal on Saturday and host Stanford the following Saturday.
The new No. 25? Appalachian State, ranked in the AP poll for the first time. The Mountaineers (5-1), whose signature program win is still an upset at No. 5 Michigan in 2007, have not lost since opening with an overtime defeat at Penn State.
Clemson is back at No. 2 behind top-ranked Alabama after a 41-7 rout of then-No. 22 North Carolina State, and Ohio State’s first loss of the season. The Buckeyes were trounced 49-20 at unranked Purdue, sending OSU tumbling to No. 11.
The Crimson Tide are a unanimous No. 1, with all 61 first-place votes, for the first time this season. LSU rose a spot to No. 4, setting the stage for a top-four matchup between the Tigers and Crimson Tide in Baton Rouge on Nov. 3. Both have a bye this week.
When Appalachian State upset Michigan, the Mountaineers were an FCS power. They transitioned to the FBS, the highest level of Division I football, in 2014. Under former head coach Jerry Moore, the Mountaineers won three straight FCS (Division I-AA) championships (2005-07). Saturday night: John Baron II made three field goals, including a go-ahead 51-yarder late in the fourth quarter, to help host San Diego State beat winless San Jose State 16-13 to give the Aztecs (6-1, 3-0 Mountain West) their sixth win in a row.
Malike Roberson scored on a 1-yard run for San Jose State (0-7, 0-3) late in the third quarter to tie it 13-13. The Spartans twice moved into San Diego State territory in the fourth, but Tariq Thompson’s interception led to Baron’s final field goal before Anthony Luke and Chibu Onyeukwu stopped Roberson on 4th-and-1. Ailing Trojans: USC freshman quarterback J.T. Daniels will be unavailable at the start of the Trojans’ coming practice week while he recovers from a likely concussion.
USC head coach Clay Helton also announced that backup quarterback Matt Fink broke three ribs in the Trojans’ loss at Utah on Saturday night. With Daniels in the concussion protocol, Jack Sears will prepare to start for USC (4-3, 3-2 Pac-12) against Arizona State at home on Saturday.