Oregon, Iowa enter top 5; Arkansas returns
Ducks move up after win at OSU; first ranking for Razorbacks since 2016
Oregon and Iowa were the big movers in The Associated Press college football poll after road wins over top-10 opponents.
The Ducks’ victory over Ohio State earned them a promotion from No. 12 to No. 4.
Another impressive defensive performance by Iowa in the CyHawk Trophy game pushed the Hawkeyes from No. 10 to No. 5.
Arkansas, coming off a home win over old Southwest Conference rival Texas, was rewarded with its first appearance in the AP Top 25 in five years, coming in at No. 20.
Alabama remained No. 1 in the AP Top 25, which is presented by Regions Bank. The Crimson Tide received 60 of the 63 first-place votes. Georgia, which picked up the other three first-place votes, stayed at No. 2.
Oklahoma was No. 3 and followed by Oregon, Iowa, Clemson, Texas A&M, Cincinnati, Ohio State and Penn State.
Oregon’s eight-rung leap came after its 35-28 win in the Horseshoe. It marks the biggest jump for a team entering the top five since LSU went from No. 13 to No. 5 after it knocked off secondranked Georgia in October 2018.
The Ducks have their highest ranking since they finished the 2014 season No. 2 as the national runner-up to Ohio State.
Iowa, a 27-17 winner at Iowa State, allowed a total of 23 points while beating two ranked teams in succession for the first time since 1960. The Hawkeyes’ defense is always stout. The question about this team is whether it can elevate its offensive play with quarterback Spencer Petras.
As it is, the Hawks have their highest ranking since they were No. 3 on Nov. 22, 2015, after a 12-0 start.
Ohio State dropped from No. 3 to No. 9 and Iowa State from No. 9 to No. 14.
POLL POINTS: The Big Ten has five ranked teams and matches the Southeastern Conference with three in the top 10, thanks to Penn State’s move up from No. 11.
More could come in over the next couple of weeks.
Mel Tucker’s much-improved Michigan State team is 2-0 entering its road game against No. 24 Miami this week. Indiana, which fell flat in its opener against Iowa, gets a chance to show it wasn’t a one-year wonder in 2020 when it hosts No. 8 Cincinnati. Maryland likely will be 4-0 going into its Oct. 1 home game against Iowa.
IN: No. 20 Arkansas gets a third straight home game, this one against Georgia Southern, before things get real in SEC play.
No. 23 BYU, which appeared in every regular-season poll last season, returns after beating Utah for the first time in 10 meetings. Voters are buying in after taking a wait-and-see stance with a team that lost the No. 2 overall draft pick (QB Zach Wilson) and eight defensive starters.
Two solid wins to start the season, the latest against a surprisingly weak Washington, bring No. 25 Michigan back into the rankings. The Wolverines don’t hit the road until Oct. 2.
OUT: Southern California dropped out after a 42-28 loss to Stanford, which scored its most points against the Trojans in 10 years.
Texas won’t have buyer’s remorse about its looming entry to the SEC, but new coach Steve Sarkisian’s 40-21 loss to an Arkansas team picked second-to-last in the West surely had Longhorns fans gnashing their teeth.
Utah’s two-week stay in the rankings is over. Its offense has converted just 4 of 17 third downs in two games.
SATURDAY GAMES Mountain West
SAN DIEGO STATE 38, ARIZONA 14: In Tucson, Ariz., senior Jordan Brookshire threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, Greg Bell broke a 55-yard scoring run on the fourth play from scrimmage and San Diego State beat Arizona to extend the Wildcats’ losing streak to 14 games.
Brookshire, who won the starting job late in fall camp, completed 9 of 11 passes for two scores in the first half as the Aztecs took a 35-7 lead.
Brookshire finished 10 of 14 for 183 yards and Bell had 125 yards rushing in 17 carries as the Aztecs opened 2-0 for the third straight season.
San Diego State had 454 total yards, 271 rushing.
VANDERBILT 24, COLORADO STATE 21: In Fort Collins, Colo., Joseph Bulovas knows the pressure that comes with kicking an important field goal at perennial title contender Alabama.
This one carried a lot of weight, too, for his Vandy teammates: to jump start a program starved for a long-time-in-the-making win.
The graduate transfer connected on a 38-yard field goal with 19 seconds remaining, Ken Seals accounted for three scores and Vanderbilt beat Colorado State to snap an 11-game losing streak.
Seals drove the Commodores into field-goal range with help from a pass-interference penalty and a targeting call. Bulovas jumped up in excitement after making the kick, hugging his holder. His teammates soon joined in once the final horn sounded.
NO. 10 ARIZONA STATE 37, UNLV 10: In Tempe, Ariz., Arizona State’s first half was a stinker and the second half was stellar.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels ran for a career-high 122 yards and Rachaad White added two rushing touchdowns. Arizona State’s defense held UNLV to just 19 total yards in the second half and the Sun Devils were dominant with a 23-0 advantage after the break.
White had 90 yards on the ground and scored a crucial 9-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to give Arizona State a 21-10 lead. He added a 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth.
Daniels was 20 of 29 passing for 175 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The second touchdown was a 33-yarder to LV Bunkley-Shelton that put the Sun Devils (2-0) up 34-10 and capped a stretch of three touchdowns in less than seven minutes, turning a tight game into a comfortable margin.
OREGON STATE 45, HAWAII 27: In Corvallis, Ore., Chance Nolan passed for 302 yards and two touchdowns, and B.J. Baylor ran for a career-high 171 yards and three scores to lead Oregon State to a victory over Hawaii.
Nolan replaced starter Sam Noyer late in the third quarter of the Beavers’ season-opening loss at Purdue last week and provided a spark. Coach Jonathan Smith opted to stay with the hot hand against Hawaii (1-2, 0-0 Mountain West).
Nolan completed his first 13 passes as the Beavers (1-1) took a 24-7 halftime lead at the break. He finished 21 of 29 and also ran for 38 yards.