The AP Poll was released Sunday afternoon, and like Week 6, it saw many changes, including a new No. 1 team for the second straight week. In a week that saw five of the top eight teams lose, the highlight came in Athens, Georgia, as then-No. 1 Georgia fell to unranked Auburn on a game-winning field goal, 27-24, at home. This was the first time since 1990 that a No. 1-ranked team lost in consecutive weeks and the first time in AP Poll history that it lost on the final play in back-to-back weeks.
Meanwhile, then-No. 4 Ohio State defeated then-No. 5 Indiana 19-15 in a rematch of last year’s Big Ten Championship game. Other notable upsets in college football included then-No. 2 Notre Dame, then-No. 6 Alabama, and then-No. 7 Texas. It was the most losses in a single day by the top seven teams in AP Poll history. Because of all this chaos, some teams’ playoff hopes got a significant boost, while others are on life support. Here are my biggest takeaways from the Week 7 AP Poll.
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Week 7 AP Poll Reaction
1. Miami Is the Best Team in the Country… by Default
In a chaotic week that saw the top two teams in the country get upset, then-No. 3 Miami was the only team to avoid the upset bug, surviving against unranked Florida State 43-35 in double overtime. Because of this win, they are now the No. 1 team in the country, not because they earned it, but because Georgia and Notre Dame failed to win this week.
Miami was expected to dominate a Florida State team that entered the game 3-3, was blown out by Louisville last week, and has head coach Mike Norvell on the hot seat. Instead, it needed double overtime and two critical refereeing decisions in its favor to avoid the upset. In double overtime, Florida State looked to score a touchdown on fourth down to set up a two-point conversion to tie, but officials called it back for offensive holding. The Seminoles also had another Hail Mary call go against them when officials ruled that Miami safety Bryce Fitzgerald intercepted the ball in a battle of bodies with Florida State wide receiver Duce Robinson.
The offense played well, with quarterback Darian Mensah throwing three touchdowns on 326 yards despite his first interception of the season. Veteran playmakers Mark Fletcher Jr. and Malachi Toney combined for three of the team’s six touchdowns, and second-string running back Javian Mallory stepped up, scoring two touchdowns on 108 yards and 13 carries. However, the defense played below its standard, giving up 443 yards, 305 through the air. Despite forcing two turnovers, it gave up its most points this season, 35, and its most rushing yards, 138.
Miami deserves credit for avoiding the upset and remaining one of college football’s most consistent teams. However, this was an unimpressive win for the Hurricanes as they struggled to put away a struggling Florida State team at home. A team with national championship aspirations needs to win these games convincingly, especially at home. So far this season, Miami hasn’t done enough to justify its No. 1 ranking in a weak ACC conference, with its only good win coming against Wake Forest. Ohio State and BYU deserved the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll more than Miami.
2. Texas’ Playoff Hopes Are On Life Support
What a fall from grace for the Texas Longhorns over the past two weeks. After being ranked No. 1 two weeks ago, Texas has fallen to No. 19 in the AP Poll after back-to-back losses to Oklahoma and Florida. Now, this team has gone from a national championship contender to one whose College Football Playoff hopes are on life support.
After Oklahoma upset it last week in the Red River Rivalry, Texas had a get-right game at home against a Florida team that had lost two straight and was playing with backup quarterback Trammell Jones Jr. It looked like the Longhorns were on their way to getting a much-needed win as they held a 17-3 lead with less than a minute left in the first half. However, everything fell apart for Texas after that; Florida outscored them 24-7, the offense couldn’t sustain long drives, and the defense couldn’t make critical stops. The Longhorns finished with almost 22 minutes of possession, about 16 minutes less than Florida.
Once again, quarterback Arch Manning struggled, throwing for 176 yards and one touchdown with a 20.6 passer rating. He also cost his team the game again by fumbling on Texas’ final drive, one week after throwing a game-losing interception against Oklahoma. The offense also struggled on third down, going 2-for-10. Now, head coach Steve Sarkisian said in his postgame press conference that he is considering a quarterback change ahead of next week’s showdown with No.7 Ole Miss.
This was a massive missed opportunity for the Longhorns, as they failed to gain ground in the SEC standings after Georgia’s loss. Now, they sit 12th in the conference standings with two losses, and have less margin for error as they face three ranked opponents over the next four weeks. This team must improve significantly ahead of next week’s game against Ole Miss, or they risk missing the Playoff again, which would be a massive failure for the program.
3. BYU Puts Itself In The National Championship Conversation
What a huge win for BYU this week, as it beat then-No. 2 Notre Dame in one of the biggest wins in program history. Now, after this win and all the chaos in Week 7, it might be time to put the Cougars in the national championship conversation after rising to No. 2 in this week’s AP Poll.
BYU entered this game as huge underdogs, facing a Notre Dame team that is among the favorites to win this year’s national championship. However, the Cougars got off to a flying start, scoring three touchdowns in their first four possessions. The defense also held strong, limiting the Fighting Irish’s high-powered offense to 10 points and capitalizing on a costly fumble by Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr on the Fighting Irish’s final drive of the half. The fumble was huge: BYU went into halftime with a 21-10 lead instead of 21-13 or 21-17, which would’ve been a major turning point.
The Fighting Irish’s second-half adjustments were paying off as they forced two turnovers and scored 14 unanswered points to take the lead with less than six minutes left. However, BYU’s resilience was incredible as they retook the lead with a touchdown with 1:47 left, despite their second-half struggles. Quarterback Bear Bachmeier became the first FBS player in the past 30 years to score a rushing, receiving, and passing touchdown in the same game against an AP Top 5 opponent. Despite controversy over the final play, BYU’s defense deserves credit for preventing Notre Dame from scoring a game-winning touchdown on the final drive.
BYU played incredibly well, generating 360 yards of offense against Notre Dame’s elite defense and going 8-for-12 on third down, which helped them sustain long drives. Even when momentum swung to the Fighting Irish, the Cougars’ defense refused to let Notre Dame pull away, holding the Fighting Irish to six points off three turnovers, including one turnover on downs. With this win, the Cougars have established themselves as the Big 12 favorite and a potential sleeper in the national championship conversation.
The Last Word
Week 7 in this year’s college football season will go down as one of the most chaotic and historic slates ever. Just when we thought we had established who the real national championship contenders were, this week’s upsets reminded us why college football is so unpredictable. For the first time since the AP Poll started in 1936, five of the top seven teams lost, and now only four remain undefeated in the AP Poll.
This week also brought teams we never expected in the playoff conversation into the spotlight, including No. 12 Kentucky, who now have a strong chance to make the Playoff. Now, so many teams have every right to be in contention for this year’s College Football Playoff.
No clear favorite is emerging to win the national championship right now, as even the highest-ranked teams have shown vulnerabilities. On top of that, contenders like No. 3 Ohio State must navigate injuries, with quarterback Julian Sayin expected to miss several weeks with a shoulder injury. If Week 7 was any indication, we’re in for a chaotic and exciting finish to the regular season.
Main Image: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
