AP Top 25: Week Six

There are good times to have a weekend off and then there are really good times to have a weekend off. Based on how things went for the other two Triangle teams this weekend, the Tar Heels lucked into a good weekend to sit back and watch the other schools play.

NC State kicked the weekend off Friday night by losing a turnover-filled game that fittingly ended with a Brennan Armstrong interception. Duke then got to enjoy the national spotlight with a Gameday in Durham and hung with Notre Dame for a long time, even have a lead late. Then they gave up a 4th and 16 run to Sam Hartman, then gave up a 30-yard touchdown run two plays later, then turned the ball over on an ugly strip sack of Riley Leonard. In the matter of a few minutes the outlook for both teams changed dramatically.

Yes, something seemed to be in the water in the Triangle so this was a good weekend to rest up.

Carolina also benefited from a couple of upset of teams ahead of them in the rankings. Utah struggled without their QB Cam Rising, losing to Oregon State while LSU suffered their second loss of the season in an offensive shootout to Ole Miss. With all that movement, let’s see how everything settled out.

AP Top 25

1. Georgia (35 first place votes)
2. Michigan (12)
3. Texas (10)
4. Ohio State (1)
5. Florida State (4)
6. Penn State
7. Washington
8. Oregon
9. USC
10. Notre Dame
11. Alabama
12. Oklahoma
13. Washington State
14. North Carolina
15. Oregon State
16. Ole Miss
17. Miami (FL)
18. Utah
19. Duke
20. Kentucky
21. Missouri
22. Tennessee
23. LSU
24. Fresno State
25. Louisville

Where is UNC?

Thanks to avoiding whatever it was that the Triangle teams had to face this weekend, the Tar Heels benefited from the two upsets ahead of them to settle at 14. A hot Washington State team leapt over the Tar Heels thanks to their win over Oregon State. They were off, mind you, but Oregon State beat Utah while Carolina’s opponents haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory. Voters clearly felt Wazzu’s 4-0 was better than Carolina’s 4-0 for now, but the Tar Heels will have a chance to impress coming up.

This week: vs. Syracuse in Chapel Hill

Biggest Winners

Oregon State and Ole Miss had the biggest charge with four spots each, both rebounding from losses last week to put up nice wins over higher ranked opponents. Their wins seemed to justify the faith put in them earlier in the season, and as mentioned, it also helped Washington State as their win over Oregon State gave them a three spot bump. Also welcome to the top 25 Louisville, giving the ACC another squad in the rankings.

Biggest Losers

LSU is in free-fall, plummeting ten spots after their defense just didn’t show up at all against Ole Miss. They have company with the fall in Utah, as voters feel the Utes don’t look really good without their quarterback and dropped them eight spots. No one else shifted more than two spots.

Conference Breakdown

• SEC: 7
• Pac-12: 6
• ACC: 5
• Big Ten: 3
• Big XII: 2
• Mountain West: 1
• Independent: 1

Marquee Matchups this Week:

• #12 Oklahoma (5-0, 2-0 Big XII) vs. #3 Texas (5-0, 2-0 Big XII), Dallas, TX, Saturday Noon ET ABC
• #20 Kentucky (5-0, 2-0 SEC) at #1 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC), Saturday, 7 PM ET, ESPN
• #10 Notre Dame (5-1) at #25 Louisville (5-0, 3-0 ACC), Saturday, 7:30 PM ET, ABC
• #23 LSU (3-2, 2-1 SEC) at #21 Missouri (5-0, 1-0 SEC), Saturday, Noon ET, ESPN

Coaches Poll

1. Georgia (59 first place votes)
2. Michigan (1)
3. Ohio State (2)
4. Texas (1)
5. Florida State
6. Penn State
7. USC
8. Washington (1)
9. Oregon
10. Alabama
11. Notre Dame
12. Oklahoma
13. North Carolina
14. Washington State
15. Ole Miss
16. Oregon State
17. Miami (FL)
18. Tennessee
19. Utah
20. Kentucky
21. Duke
22. Missouri
23. LSU
24. Fresno State
25. Louisville