AP College Football Poll 2016: Week 5 Top 25 Rankings Announced
Wild finishes. Major upsets. Conference drama. And of course, controversy.
Ho-hum. Just another Saturday in college football.
Indeed, another wild weekend meant some changes for the Associated Press poll Sunday. Below, we'll take a look at the AP poll and analyze the biggest storylines from all the action.
Clemson and Utah remain undefeated with wins on Thursday and Friday night, respectively, but the real show began Saturday.
Alabama, Louisville, Michigan and Houston cruised. Stanford needed some late magic to survive UCLA. Washington sneaked past Arizona in overtime. Texas A&M hammered Arkansas in the second half. Florida State bounced back from last week's loss to Louisville with a big win.
But not every ranked team emerged this weekend unscathed.
Michigan State, for one, was exposed by Wisconsin. The Spartans turned the ball over four times, rushed for just 75 yards and gave up 17 third-quarter points in a 30-6 rout.
"People have been saying a lot of good things about us lately," Spartans coach Mark Dantonio told the AP, via ESPN.com. "And now we'll take some shots."
Of course, that Wisconsin brushed aside Michigan State was a surprise in itself, as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk noted:
Not only that, but Alex Hornibrook was making his first start for Wisconsin. On the road. And he handled it with aplomb.
"You've got to have respect for a guy whose first start is against a Michigan State defense," Wisconsin running back Corey Clement said, per the AP. "He's going to come out the next game and do even better. I think he's just getting his feet wet."
Perhaps, but the Badgers will face the fire next week when they travel to Michigan.
Michigan State wasn't the only team to fall in conference play. Down in the SEC, Georgia traveled to Ole Miss and went home with a 45-14 loss. For the Rebels, it was perhaps a season-saving win after they blew leads to Florida State and Alabama.
For Georgia, injury was added to insult when star running back Nick Chubb left the game with a sprained ankle.
“Don’t know the severity yet," head coach Kirby Smart said after the game, per Seth Emerson of Dawg Nation. "He couldn’t come back in the game. If he could have come back, I know he wanted to. So we’ll see how that goes the next couple days.”
Chubb was lost for the season last year with a knee injury involving damage to multiple ligaments and cartilage. Losing him again would be devastating for the Bulldogs.
The SEC was the focus for much of the day, as Tennessee overcame a 21-3 deficit against Florida to pull out a 38-28 win and remain undefeated on the season. It was a statement game for the Volunteers, as Barrett Sallee of Bleacher Report noted:
Auburn made a statement of its own, albeit a more controversial one, upsetting LSU, 18-13. LSU appeared to win the game with a final-second touchdown pass, but the replay showed that it didn't get the snap off before time expired.
"I don't know if I've ever come as close to winning a game and finishing second as today," LSU coach Les Miles told the AP, via ESPN.com.
That drama is what college football is all about.
And it will continue next week with some huge games on the schedule. Stanford travels to Washington in a battle for Pac-12 supremacy, while Wisconsin and Michigan will clash, Georgia will look to rebound against Tennessee and, in the headliner act, Louisville will travel to Clemson in a prime-time game with national championship implications.
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