Poll lookahead: Top teams make cases for No. 1
Hour by hour Saturday, each of the top teams in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll took turns stating its case for No. 1. Alabama? The Crimson Tide cruised past historic rival Tennessee, winning the program's seventh in a row in the series.
Florida State? The Seminoles took a 42-0 lead into halftime against North Carolina State, though the Wolfpack scored 17 points in the second half to draw within a more respectable 32-point margin. Oregon? The Ducks parried UCLA's attempts at the upset and pulled out away late, eventually winning 42-14.
What about Ohio State? The Buckeyes shook Penn State in a historic 63-14 defeat, handing the Nittany Lions one of the worst losses in program history. Even Baylor looked sharp, though the Bears' 59-14 win against hapless Kansas featured slightly fewer points than we've come to expect from the nation's most prolific offense.
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The only major change in this week's poll, set to be released midday Sunday, is Missouri's fall from No. 7. The Tigers, 27-24 losers to South Carolina, remain ahead of the pack in the SEC East Division; in the national championship race, however, Missouri is on the outside looking in.
Texas Tech also lost Saturday, removing a second would-be title contender from the equation at the close of October. Tech's loss will allow Oklahoma to regain its place as the second-highest-ranked team in the Big 12, setting up a key date with Baylor on Nov. 7 to likely decide the conference championship.
Despite the fact that each remained undefeated heading into Saturday, neither Missouri nor Texas Tech will be the top-ranked one-loss team in this week's poll. Stanford will remain in that spot after a 20-12 road win at Oregon State. What will be interesting to consider is whether Missouri remains ahead of one-loss Clemson, which scuffled against Maryland, and if Texas Tech remains ahead of Oklahoma State, No. 13 in last week's poll.
More changes will be seen along the poll's back end, where at least two teams are set to lose their national ranking. One is Nebraska, which lost 34-23 at Minnesota. Another is Virginia Tech, which fell to 6-2 after losing at home to Duke.
Teams moving up in the poll:
Michigan State running back Jeremy Langford (33) drives forward during the second half against the Illinois at Memorial Stadium. Michigan State won 42-3 to improve to 7-1.(Photo: Pat Lovell, USA TODAY Sports)
Michigan State will earn a ranking after moving to 7-1 with a 42-3 win against Illinois. One of Arizona State or Notre Dame is deserving of a spot among the top 25; voters could either side with ASU's overall résumé of victories or choose Notre Dame for its head-to-head win against the Sun Devils on Oct. 5.
1. Duke. The Blue Devils might not move into the poll, but this team is getting closer to a national ranking.
Teams moving down in the poll:
2. Houston. A 49-14 win against Rutgers featured - no surprise here - more opportunistic, turnover-forcing play from the Cougars' defense.
3. Ball State. The Cardinals were the first team in the FBS to reach eight wins, though they were joined by several others during the course of Saturday's action.
1. Oregon State. Losing to Stanford makes it very difficult for OSU to claim the North Division, especially with a date with Oregon still to come.
2. Penn State. Saturday's loss to Ohio State featured one of the worst defensive performances in program history.
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3. Vanderbilt. The Commodores lost any sense of momentum gained during a memorable win against Georgia on Oct. 19.
Paul Myerberg, a national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @PaulMyerberg.
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