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Yahoo Top 10: How much will whirlwind Saturday impact the rankings?

Ross Dellenger
Senior College Football Reporter
·7 min read
57

Less than a year ago, a tragic act of violence rocked the Virginia football program.

A gunman shot and killed three members of the team and injured running back Mike Hollins.

Just less than a year later, Hollins scored three touchdowns and the Cavaliers stunned No. 10 North Carolina, 31-27, for the program’s first top-10 road victory. While hospitalized last winter, Hollins spent time on a ventilator and underwent multiple surgeries to recover from a gunshot wound he suffered when Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. opened fire on a charter bus returning from a class trip. The incident left UVA players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D'Sean Perry dead and shook a community and a program for months.

“Since Nov. 13 of last year, this program has believed,” UVA coach Tony Elliott said after the game, referencing the shooting date. “Tonight was the night. We were going to stare that lion in the face.”

UVA’s unexpected win leads off our Top 10 and sends quarterback Drake Maye and the Tar Heels tumbling out of the rankings — yet another inexplicable loss for a program that’s been on the championship cusp under coach Mack Brown. The Hoos were 0-29 all-time in road games against top-10 teams.

The victory was maybe the most remarkable outcome on a wild day in the sport that included…

- two questionable officiating calls that impacted the outcome of games in Houston and Iowa City. Texas survived a scare from the Cougars after failing on a fourth down that should have never happened. Houston appeared to pick up the first down a play before. And Minnesota won after a penalty wiped out Iowa’s go-ahead punt return for a touchdown.

- a school (Michigan State) released an in-game apology for posting on its video board a trivia question about Adolf Hitler (you read that correctly).

- games with final scores of 7-3, 10-7, 12-10 and 20-12.

- a third ACC loss for Clemson (this one to Miami), something that hasn’t happened since 2010.

- two surprising bowl-eligible squads before Halloween, Rutgers and UNLV, both going bowling for the first time since 2014 and 2013, respectively.

- a blowout victory in East Lansing for Michigan, who managed quite well without suspended sign-stealing signaler Connor Stalions.

- a school (USC) not making a single player available for interviews, which is believed to be the first such occurrence in at least 20 years at the school. (USC lost, for a fourth straight time, to Utah.)

- a shocking admission from Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, whose tenure has become rocky during this six-game losing skid.

Coach Ryan Day and his Ohio State Buckeyes took over the No. 1 spot in the Yahoo Top 10 this week after his team's big win over Penn State. (Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Onward we go to the Top 10!

1. Ohio State

This week: won 20-12 vs. Penn State

Next week: at Wisconsin

Best win: vs. Penn State

The Buckeyes claimed the day’s only top-10 showdown. And for that — combined with that victory at Notre Dame — Ryan Day’s team rises to the top spot in our rankings despite their many issues. Ohio State’s offense is … inefficient, inconsistent and, at times, incompetent. That said, the defense is one of the best in the country. Five of their seven opponents have scored one or no touchdowns and no team has scored more than 17 points on Jim Knowles’ group. On Saturday, Knowles’ crew held Penn State to 1-of-16 on third downs.

2. Florida State

This week: won 38-20 vs. Duke

Next week: at Wake Forest

Best win: vs. LSU

The Blue Devils entered the fourth quarter with a three-point lead before the Seminoles turned on their ‘Turbo Mode,’ as they can do. Mike Norvell’s team drove 96, 74 and 32 yards for fourth-quarter touchdowns to remain unbeaten. The Noles haven’t been perfect this year (there were scares against BC, Virginia Tech and Clemson), but as Norvell said after the game, they don’t need to be. The Noles are talented enough to win the games that a year or two ago would have been a loss.

3. Oklahoma

This week: won 31-29 vs. UCF

Next week: at Kansas

Best win: vs. Texas

The Sooners survived a scare. The Knights led 23-17 with 10 minutes left in the game before Brent Venables’ team mounted consecutive touchdown drives. Did they look like the top team in the country? No. But Dillon Gabriel did enough against his old team to keep his new team inside the top three in the country.

4. Washington

This week: won 15-7 vs. Arizona State

Next week: at Stanford

Best win: vs. Oregon

A week after that thrilling victory over Oregon, the Huskies sleep-walked their way into the fourth quarter, trailing Arizona State 7-6 with about nine minutes left in the game. Everything changed when Washington DB Mishael Powell returned an interception 89 yards for a touchdown on a fourth-down attempt. ASU had a shot to go up two scores with a touchdown or four points with a field goal. Instead, the Huskies' defense propelled them to an ugly victory.

5. Georgia

This week: Bye

Next week: vs. Florida (Jacksonville)

Best win: vs. Kentucky

The two-time defending national champion Bulldogs have not lost in 22 months, 24 games and 686 days. Have they looked perfect? No. Have they looked invincible? Far from it. Have they won every game? Yes. Without their best player — tight end Brock Bowers — the Bulldogs meet the Gators in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Drinks up!

6. Texas

This week: won 31-24 at Houston

Next week: vs. BYU

Best win: at Alabama

The Longhorns, 23-point favorites, held on without their starting quarterback. Quinn Ewers missed the final couple drives after exiting with what appeared to be a shoulder/arm injury. With Texas still in contention for a Big 12 title and playoff berth, Ewers’ injury looms large. A tough BYU team comes to Austin next week before the Horns host Kansas State. Look out!

7. Alabama

This week: won 34-20 vs. Tennessee

Next week: Bye

Best win: vs. Ole Miss

Say what you want about the Crimson Tide — sure, they have holes on the O-line and struggle at QB — but Nick Saban’s crew is resilient. Down by 13 at halftime, they stormed back by outscoring the Vols 27-0 over the final two quarters to avenge last year’s loss in Knoxville. The Tide remain atop the SEC West and gets a rest next weekend before hosting LSU in what should be a top-15 clash in Tuscaloosa.

8. Michigan

This week: won 49-0 at Michigan State

Next week: Bye

Best win: vs. Rutgers

In the wake of a sign-stealing scandal that has triggered an NCAA investigation, the Wolverines rolled to a romping victory over their archrival, scoring their most points in a game at East Lansing in program history. Think Michigan’s defense played well? MSU started 10 drives in the game. Only two of them went for more than 25 yards.

9. Penn State

This week: lost 20-12 at Ohio State

Next week: vs. Indiana

Best win: vs. Iowa

Usually, a loss on Saturday drops a team out of our Top 10, but the Nittany Lions barely stay in our rankings. After all, coach James Franklin’s group kept it tight until the fourth quarter at the No. 1-ranked program (thanks to coordinator Manny Diaz and his defense). None of it changes an unsettling fact: Franklin has lost seven straight against the Buckeyes.

10. Utah

This week: won 34-32 at USC

Next week: vs. Oregon

Best win: vs. Florida

Oh, you thought the Utes were going to go out quietly in their final season of the Pac-12’s existence? Think again! Utah coach Kyle Wittingham owns the Trojans and he showed it again on Saturday night in LA. Utah got its fourth consecutive victory against USC, the most by a Pac-12 opponent since Stanford won four straight more than a decade ago.