College Football Continues Its Wild Ride As #1 Miami Falls

This college football season has been a lot like the Thunderdome: two teams enter, one team leaves. We’ve seen four different #1 teams get beaten this season as Ohio State, Texas, Georgia and Miami all were upset while occupying the top spot. Meanwhile, it’s been carnage for the rankings as multiple ranked squads fall on a weekly basis.

Last week was a prime example of how brutal things have been for teams in the top 25. Five of the top 12 teams in the nation, including #1 Miami and #6 Kentucky, lost. Meanwhile, things weren’t much better for other ranked teams this week.

A total of eight ranked squads were knocked off, setting off a shuffling of the rankings in the AP poll. Let’s take a look at what we saw unfold in another wild Saturday on the gridiron ahead of Tuesday’s CFP rankings.

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Top Ten Teams That Bit the Dust

We’ll start in South Bend, where #1 Miami was lethargic for most of the game and it cost them. The Hurricanes trailed 17-3 at the half and 24-3 early in the third quarter. Miami closed the gap to seven points twice and had a chance to tie late. On 4th and 6 from the Notre Dame 18, Darian Mensah’s pass to Elija Lofton was broken up. Replay review upheld the call on the field and the Hurricanes were toast.

We saw a battle of top-10 teams in the latest chapter of the Holy War as #9 BYU took on #3 Utah. Utah led 14-3 after one quarter only to find themselves down 20-14 at the half. The Utes’ defense clamped down defensively in the second half and the offense delivered a pair of touchdowns. Utah picked off Bear Bachmeier four times in the contest and that helped carry them to the victory.

Kentucky entered Saturday a surprise in Will Stein’s first season as they were #6 in the rankings. They hung tough with #13 Tennessee for three quarters but couldn’t maintain that momentum. The Wildcats’ offense were burned by three turnovers and a pair of turnovers on downs. That gave Tennessee favorable field position inside the Kentucky 40-yard line twice. After being within 13-6 after three quarters, the Volunteers’ 21-0 bulge in the fourth quarter blew the game open. Kentucky’s closing schedule doesn’t get any easier as they face Florida, Missouri and Louisville in their final three games.

Speaking of getting smashed, #10 Ole Miss was obliterated at home by #2 Georgia. The Rebels took a 42-7 beating and in the process, the Bulldogs regained the #1 ranking in the AP poll. Meanwhile, Ole Miss didn’t score until the fourth quarter as they were trounced.

Other Ranked Teams to Fall

At this point, it might be time to stick the fork in Ohio State’s CFP hopes. After the expectations were high, the loss to Texas was something that could be overlooked. However, once Julian Sayin went down with an arm injury, things quickly turned sour.

The Buckeyes fell 30-18 to USC in Luke Fahey’s first start and then took a 41-28 beating at the hands of #23 Oregon. With three losses, Ohio State has to topple Northwestern, Nebraska and Michigan to get to nine wins. Meanwhile, they’ll need help to get into the Big Ten title game.

Florida started the year 4-0 and Jon Sumrall was being feted as the next great coach in Gainesville. Fast forward and they’ve dropped two straight and four of their last five. In addition, they scored 19 points or less in four of those games. That includes a seven-point showing in a loss to an Oklahoma team that was struggling themselves. They’ll fall out of the rankings this week.

Other ranked teams to fall included #14 LSU, who was hammered 31-13 by #5 Alabama. The Tigers went zero for four on fourth down in the game and gave up the final 21 points of the game. Meanwhile, #18 Missouri was dropped at home by #7 Texas 34-20 in their previous contest.

Teams are running out of time to stake their claim to a potential CFP spot. We’ll see what unfolds with the new rankings Tuesday night.