Big wins vault Oregon, Iowa into poll’s top five
Oregon and Iowa were the big movers in The Associated Press college football poll after road victories Saturday over top-10 opponents.
The Ducks’ victory over No. 3 Ohio State earned them a promotion from No. 12 to No. 4.
Another impressive defensive performance by Iowa in the Cy-Hawk Trophy game pushed the Hawkeyes from No. 10 to No. 5.
UCLA, which was idle, moved up three spots to No. 13, while USC, which was ranked 14th, dropped out of the Top 25 following its loss to Stanford
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. 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 second-ranked Georgia in October 2018.
The 2-0 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 Hawkeyes have their highest ranking since they were No. 3 on Nov. 22, 2015, after a 12-0 start.
Ohio State dropped to No. 9 and Iowa State from No. 9 to No. 14.
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 oneyear wonder in 2020 when it hosts No. 8 Cincinnati. Maryland likely will be 4-0 going into its Oct. 1 home game against Iowa.
BYU 23, NO. 21 UTAH 17 >> Jaren Hall threw three touchdown passes and totaled 241 yards of offense, helping the Cougars beat the Utes on Saturday night in Provo.
Tyler Allgeier added 109 yards on 27 carries as the Cougars snapped a ninegame losing streak against the Utes. It was BYU’s first victory over its rival since 2009.
BYU ran for 231 yards, becoming the first team to gain at least 200 rushing yards against Utah since Texas also rushed for 231 yards in the 2019 Alamo
Bowl.
Micah Bernard ran for 146 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries to lead Utah.
NO. 23 ARIZONA STATE 37, UNLV 10 >> Quarterback Jayden Daniels ran for a career-high 122 yards, Rachaad White added two rushing touchdowns and the Sun Devils defeated the Rebels on Saturday night.
White had 90 yards on the ground and scored a crucial 9-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to give Arizona State a 2110 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.
OREGON STATE 45, HAWAI’I 27 >> Chance Nolan passed for 302 yards and two touchdowns, and B.J. Baylor ran for 171 yards and three scores to lead the Beavers past the visiting Rainbow Warriors on Saturday night.
Nolan replaced starter Sam Noyer late in the third quarter of the Beavers’ season-opening loss at Purdue and provided a spark. Coach Jonathan Smith opted to stay with the hot hand against Hawaii (1-2).
SAN DIEGO STATE 38, ARIZONA 14 >> 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 the Aztecs beat host Arizona on Saturday night 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.
Running back CJ Verdell’s three-touchdown performance helped Oregon upset Ohio State on Saturday afternoon. 380 yards and four touchdowns, including a pair to Josh Kelly, who finished the night with three catches for 127 yards. The defense produced 10 tackles for a loss, three sacks, a forced fumble and an interception. Fresno State opened the season Aug. 28with a 45-0 victory over UConn before coming up short, 31-24, at Oregon.
— James H. Williams