The Buckeyes eliminated the Nittany Lions from the ranks of perfection.
Two more undefeated teams bit the dust on Saturday, but one was more surprising than the other. Ohio State used their defense to smother Drew Allar and the Penn State offense in a battle of unbeaten. The Buckeyes used a Marvin Harrison Jr. score to put away their rivals to the East, 20-12. Meanwhile, the UNC Tar Heels were not ready to be punched in the mouth by the hapless Virginia Cavaliers. UVA doubled their win total (2-5) after they intercepted Drake Maye on the final drive to seal a 31-27 victory and bring the number of undefeated ACC schools to one.
UCF's upset big fell well short on this botched two-point play.
There were plenty of close calls for other undefeated schools on Saturday. Washington survived a Pac 12 after dark scare by Arizona State as the Huskies needed a pick-six to hold off the Sun Devils (1-6), 15-7. Florida State was in a dogfight with Duke but pulled away late in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma blew up a game-tying two-point conversion to avoid a shocking upset at the hands of UCF, 31-29.
Caleb Williams could not beat Utah once again.
Undefeated teams were not the only ones to battle in close games. Caleb Williams fell to 0-3 all-time against Utah, went the Utes negated a late score by the Trojans with a game-winning field goal, to stun the L.A. crowd, 34-32, and essentially end the Trojans' playoff hopes. Texas had to avoid their dreams being dashed when the Houston Cougars had a chance to tie the game late, but were unable to convert on a fourth and short. Alabama was down double-figures at the half, but rallied to roll past Tennessee to stay alive in the playoff race.
Toledo still has a chance at a New Year's Six Bowl.
The contenders for an at-large bid for a New Year's Six Bowl saw close action throughout the week. Tulane (AAC top team) held on ,35-28, against North Texas; Liberty (CUSA top team) nearly blew their game against Middle Tennessee St, 42-35, to remain undefeated; while Toledo picked up their seventh win in a showdown between the MAC's two best schools (21-17 over Miami). UNLV rallied to keep pace in the Mountain West where the surprise Rebels are trying to chase down Fresno State and Air Force. The service academy (7-0) is currently the top ranked Group of 5 school, but all eyes will be on theWeek 9 showdown between the Bulldogs and Rebels for second. Finally, Georgia State survived a late scare by Louisiana to remain the top eligible school from the Sun Belt
This coming week features 11 matchups between teams ranked in the Pool Poll Top 50, most notably between Oregon and Utah. Ohio State (Wisconsin), Oklahoma(Kansas), and Georgia(Florida) will all have to protect their perfect records against quality opponents next Saturday.
Here's a complete look at the Top 25, where the Top 3 schools are separated by 1 percent in their WA (or average rank of opponents that they have won against).
The Huskies nearly joined UNC and Penn State.
Last Week Rank: 1
Last Week: Narrowly escaped Arizona State 15-7
This Week: Stanford (2-5, No. 109)
2. Ohio State (7-0, 60.3, 0)
LWR: 5
LW: 20-12 domination of Penn State
TW: Wisconsin (5-2, 34)
3. Florida State (7-0, 60.7, 0)
LWR: 3
LW: 38-20 win over Duke
TW: Wake Forest (4-3, 63)
4. Oklahoma (7-0, 68.4, 0)
LWR: 4
LW: Survived 31-29 against UCF
TW: Kansas (5-2, 39)
The biggest blowout in the battle for Bunyan.
5. Michigan (8-0, 80.8, 0)
LWR: 6
LW: No need to sign steal against Little Brother (49-0 over MSU)
TW: Bye
6. James Madison (7-0, 85.4, 0)
LWR: 9
LW: Won 20-9 over Marshall on Thursday.
TW: Old Dominion (4-3, 72)
7. Liberty (7-0, 92.4, 0)
LWR: 8
LW: Survived 42-35 against Middle Tennesee State on Wednesday.
TW: Western Kentucky (4-3, 73)
8. Georgia (7-0, 93.7, 0)
LWR: 10
LW: Bye
TW: Florida (5-2, 44)
9. Air Force (7-0, 98, 0)
LWR: 11
LW: 17-6 over Navy
TW: Colorado State (3-4, 91)
The Tide have rolled to six straight wins since losing to Texas.
10. Alabama (7-1, 59.4, 20)
LWR: 14
LW: 34-20 win over Tennessee
TW: Bye
11. Missouri (7-1, 70, 61)
LWR: 13
LW: 34-12 over South Carolina
TW: Bye
12. Toledo (7-1, 102.1, 44)
LWR: 20
LW: 21-17 over Miami (OH)
TW: Bye
13. UNC (6-1, 50.5, 123)
LWR: 2
LW: 31-27 loss to 1-win Virginia
TW: Georgia Tech (3-4, 81)
14. Texas (6-1, 52.7, 11)
LWR: 21
LW: 31-24 over Houston
TW: BYU (5-2, 43)
The Utes are jockeying for a spot in the Pac 12 Championship.
15. Utah (6-1, 57.2, 37)
LWR: 22
LW: 34-32 win over USC
TW: Oregon (6-1, 17)
16. Oregon State (6-1, 59.3, 20)
LWR: 12
LW: Bye
TW: Arizona (4-3, 61)
17. Oregon (6-1, 70.5, 2)
LWR: 23
LW: 38-24 over Washington St
TW: Utah (6-1, 15)
18. Ole Miss (6-1, 80, 47)
LWR: 24
LW: 28-21 over Auburn
TW: Vanderbilt (2-6, 123)
19. Louisville (6-1, 80.7, 120)
LWR: 16
LW: Bye
TW: Duke (5-2, 40)
The Panthers have surprised many as they look to make the SBC Championship.
20. Georgia State (6-1, 82, 77)
LWR: 26
LW: 20-17 over Louisiana
TW: Georgia Southern (5-2, 46)
21. Penn State (6-1, 83.3, 5)
LWR: 7
LW: 20-12 loss to OSU
TW: Indiana (2-5, 114)
22. Tulane (6-1, 86.7, 28)
LWR: 27
LW: 35-28 win over North Texas
TW: Rice (4-3, 64)
23. Fresno State (6-1, 103.2, 29)
LWR: 19
LW: Bye
TW: UNLV (6-1, 24)
24. UNLV (6-1, 104.5, 2)
LWR: 29
LW: 25-23 over Colorado State
TW: Fresno State (6-1, 23)
The Irish are rested and ready to go.
25. Notre Dame (6-2, 65.5, 14)
LWR: 30
LW: Bye
TW: Pitt (2-5, 106)
Out: Miami (OH), Duke, Iowa
Waiting List: LSU, Iowa, USC, Miami (OH), Jacksonville St, Rutgers, Ohio, Kansas State, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Oklahoma State, UCLA, Kansas, Troy, and Duke
Bottom 10
Nevada won for the first time in 16 games with a victory over San Diego St.
124. Temple (2-6)
125. UConn (2-6)
126. Nevada (1-6)
127. ECU (1-6)
128. Arizona State (1-6)
129. Southern Miss (1-6)
130. UMass (1-7)
131.Kent State (1-7)
132. Akron (1-7)
133. Sam Houston State (133)
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