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With the Canes sitting with their feet up during the bye week, the team and fans were able to enjoy a weekend of college football without yelling at their TVs. Drama reigned supreme in every conference this weekend. Nothing was more eyebrow raising in the ACC than the Virginia Cavaliers 44-41 upset over the 15th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. In the other part of the state, Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators beat the Missouri Tigers 41-17. The scoreboard was predictable. Dan Mullen inciting a brawl that led to the ejection of three players was not.
Sam Ehlinger and the Texas Longhorns pulled off a thriller, upsetting the No. 6 Oklahoma State Cowboys in OT. Oklahoma State tried everything to win the game. They even crazily displayed yellow lines on the video board during Texas kicks.
With it being Halloween weekend, all of the scares and shocks in the games are reflected in this weekend’s editions of the Coaches and Top 25 AP polls.
AP Top 25
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12.Oregon Ducks
15.Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
18.SMU Mustangs
20. USC Trojans
25.Liberty Flames
Other teams receiving votes: Northwestern 106; Louisiana-Lafayette 101; North Carolina 92; Penn State 87; Tulsa 73; Army 57; Kansas State 51; West Virginia 44; Utah 44; Washington 21; Purdue 15; Virginia Tech 11; San Diego State 8; Arizona State 7; Appalachian State 6; Wake Forest 5; Michigan State 4; California 3
Coaches Poll
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14.Oregon Ducks
16.Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
18.SMU Mustangs
20.USC Trojans
Other teams receiving votes: Texas 115; Northwestern 112; Liberty 92; UL Lafayette 90; Kansas State 64; Utah 57; Penn State 56; Purdue 55; West Virginia 49; Virginia Tech 37; Appalachian State 32; Tulsa 29; Missouri 23; Boston College 20; NC State 16; Kentucky 13; Memphis 12; Wake Forest 11; Tennessee 11; Arizona State 11; Michigan State 9; California 9; South Carolina 8; Arkansas 8; Nevada 3; San Diego State 1; Central Florida 1.
Analysis
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In the ACC, Notre Dame’s 31-13 defeat of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets keeps them in line for a top 4 showdown with Clemson this weekend. Speaking of Clemson, they started off shaky against the Boston College Eagles without star QB Trevor Lawrence. Eventually, D.J. Uiagalelei and Travis Etienne starting clicking and the Tigers won 34-28.
Dropping 11 spots in the Coaches Poll and out of the AP Top 25 completely, UNC’s second loss of the season has closed the door on their ACC Championship appearance hopes. UNC led 20-13 in the beginning of the game. In the third quarter, they fell behind 41-20. They eventually lost by three points after out-gaining UVA by 100 yards.
From Justin Fields’ 318 yards and 4 TD day to another loss on Jim Harbaugh’s record in big games (3-3 in the MSU series and 3-8 against the Spartans and Ohio State), it’s clear the only team that can knock off OSU is in the SEC or ACC. The Michigan Wolverines’ loss dropped them 11 spots in the Coaches Poll. In the rest of the conference, the 0-2 Penn State Nittany Lions dropped completely out of the polls, Indiana surged after beating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 37-21, and the Purdue Boilermakers remained unbeaten by squeezing one out against Illinois Fighting Illini 31-24.
Alabama kept rolling in the win column and in the polls in their first week without Jaylen Waddle. DeVonta Smith exploded with 203 yard receiving and 4 TDs. Georgia unconvincingly beat the Kentucky Wildcats 14-3. Georgia’s passing offense will need to get it together and find a pulse before they take on the Gators this weekend.
With Kansas State and Oklahoma State losing, every team in the the Big 12 has a loss. Kansas State’s loss dropped them out of the polls completely. I think we can all agree that it will be an impossible stretch to see any team from this conference in the playoffs.
Giving some other conferences some love, Cincinnati is playing some outstanding football. They decimated the Memphis Tigers 49-10. Coastal Carolina is also riding high on the back of freshman quarterback Grayson McCall. They rolled over Georgia State 51-0. They’re now 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the Sun Belt.
Miami will be putting their top ten ranking to the test when they take on the NC State Wolfpack this Friday night on ESPN.