College football’s Associated Press Top 25 broke a 90-year precedent in Week 7 when five of the poll’s top seven teams lost on the same Saturday, something that had never happened in a regular season since the poll debuted in 1936.
No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 Texas all lost Oct. 17. No. 3 Miami survived Florida State 43-35 in double overtime and is in line to take over the top spot for the first time since 2002.
Georgia, Notre Dame and Indiana lose
Unranked Auburn erased a 14-0 deficit with 24 straight points and won 27-24 at Sanford Stadium when Alex McPherson hit a 34-yard field goal as time expired. The top-ranked team in the poll had won 93 consecutive home games against unranked opponents before Saturday, and quarterback Gunner Stockton’s late fumble set up the winning kick.
“We like to say the Dawgs don’t beat the Dawgs, but they found a way to beat themselves today,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said.
BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier threw a go-ahead touchdown pass with 1:47 left, and the Cougars stopped Notre Dame at the goal line for a 28-24 win in Provo that ended the Fighting Irish’s 16-game winning streak. The Big 12 later admitted officials made a costly mistake in the final seconds.
Ohio State ended Indiana’s 22-game winning streak with a 19-15 win in Bloomington, handing Indiana coach Curt Cignetti his first loss at Memorial Stadium after a 19-0 start. Receiver Nick Marsh caught an apparent go-ahead touchdown on fourth down late, but his left foot landed out of bounds.
“It was there for the taking,” Cignetti said. “You’ve got to be able to take that thing.”
What happened to Alabama and Texas?
Georgia, Alabama and Texas hadn’t all lost on the same Saturday since Oct. 26, 1996, and the Crimson Tide and Longhorns each dropped a second straight game. No. 14 Tennessee forced four turnovers and held Alabama to 201 total yards in a 26-10 win at Neyland Stadium.
“We’re going to have our backs against the wall here,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said.
Florida, playing with backup quarterback Tramell Jones Jr., erased a 17-3 deficit with 24 straight points and beat Texas 27-24 in Austin. A strip-sack of Arch Manning with under two minutes left ended the Longhorns’ comeback attempt and dropped them to 4-2.
“We’re going to evaluate everything from an offensive perspective,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “Part of that is play calling.”
Miami’s path to No. 1
Miami (6-0) avoided joining the list by beating Florida State 43-35 in double overtime at Hard Rock Stadium. Receiver Malachi Toney caught 11 passes for 154 yards, scored on a 3-yard pass from Darian Mensah in the second overtime and threw the two-point conversion to Cooper Barkate. A holding flag then erased a Seminoles touchdown, and officials ruled their final heave an interception.
The Hurricanes last held the No. 1 ranking in 2002, and whoever takes over Sunday will be the third different No. 1 in three weeks. Texas and Georgia lost to unranked teams while ranked No. 1 in consecutive weeks, which hadn’t happened since 1990.
Ohio State (6-1), BYU (6-0), Ole Miss (5-1), Texas Tech (6-0) and Utah (6-0) are also in line to climb. Ole Miss routed No. 13 Missouri 31-3, Texas Tech beat Arizona State 53-25 and Utah held off Colorado 27-24.
Ohio State’s road win over the defending national champion gives the Buckeyes the best victory among the teams contending for the top spot, while Miami and BYU remain the only unbeaten teams in that group.
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