Saturday asked two questions and answered both before midnight. Could anyone look like a national title team on the road in the SEC? Georgia did, 42-7, in Oxford, against an Ole Miss club that came in ranked 12th in last week's AP poll and never found the night. And could Miami stay unbeaten in South Bend without Malachi Toney? The Hurricanes could not.
That made Miami the fourth No. 1 knocked from the top spot this season, the most in a year since 2008. Georgia collected 53 of 70 first-place votes and is No. 1 again, after one week up there in October and an Auburn loss on Oct. 17 that never knocked the Bulldogs out of the top five. Utah climbed to No. 2. Notre Dame is No. 3. Miami slid to No. 5. Only idle Indiana stayed in the same spot.
A Mismatch in Oxford
Georgia scored on its first two possessions and led 28-0 at halftime at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Nate Frazier ripped off 46 yards on the opening play, Craig Dandridge Jr. finished that drive from 4 yards out, and Gunner Stockton found Talyn Taylor for 58 yards on the next series. Stockton later hit Ethan Barbour from 3 yards and ran it in himself from 15.
KJ Bolden intercepted Trinidad Chambliss before the half, Rasean Dinkins stripped him in the third, and Stockton hit Taylor again from 6 yards out for a 35-0 lead. Shekai Mills-Knight scored from 8 yards out with 10:43 left. Georgia answered immediately, Stockton to Taylor for 65 yards and 42-7.
Stockton completed 9 of 15 passes for 186 yards and four touchdowns. Taylor caught four balls for 140 yards and three scores. Frazier ran for 107 yards on 16 carries. Georgia piled up 295 yards on the ground and 481 in all. Ole Miss managed 252 yards. Chambliss went 18 of 34 for 170 and took five sacks.
South Bend Does What South Bend Does
A word on the numbers. In last Sunday's AP poll, Miami was No. 1 and Notre Dame was No. 4. In the first College Football Playoff rankings, released earlier in the week, Notre Dame was No. 11. That is why some recaps called the home team No. 11. Pre-game rankings here are last week's AP unless I say otherwise.
Notre Dame controlled the first half. Spencer Porath opened with a 44-yard field goal, CJ Carr hit Jordan Faison for a 27-yard touchdown, and Miami reached first-and-goal at the 1 only to get stuffed three times and settle for a field goal. Carr found Micah Gilbert from 18 yards just before halftime, 17-3, then again from 20 early in the third, 24-3.
Miami, playing without Toney after Thursday's ankle surgery, finally woke up. Darian Mensah threw 12-yard touchdown passes to Elija Lofton and Cooper Barkate to make it 24-17. Luke Talich intercepted Mensah, and Nolan James Jr. scored from a yard out, 31-17. Mensah and Barkate hooked up again from a yard out, 31-24, before Miami turned it over on downs at the Notre Dame 18, a fourth-and-6 throw to Lofton in the corner ruled incomplete. The Hurricanes' last play went backward for a 26-yard loss, the ball came out, and the Irish recovered.
Carr finished 29 of 40 for 319 yards and three touchdowns. Gilbert had nine catches for 98 yards and two scores. Mensah went 24 of 43 for 276 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
Around the Southeast
No. 16 Tennessee 34, No. 8 Kentucky 6. Daune Morris opened the scoring with a 66-yard run, DeSean Bishop finished with 109 yards and two touchdowns and went over 1,000 yards, and Tennessee rushed for 240 yards. The defense forced three turnovers. Kentucky's six-game winning streak is over.
No. 9 Alabama 31, No. 15 LSU 13, in Baton Rouge. LSU led 13-10 late in the third after Dilin Jones scored from the 5. Alabama answered with 21 unanswered points, the big play a 57-yard completion from Keelon Russell to Rico Scott, and Russell threw scoring passes to Josh Ford, Cederian Morgan and Kaleb Edwards. LSU had 457 yards and could not finish drives.
No. 10 Texas 34, No. 19 Missouri 20, at Faurot Field. It was tied 10-10 at the half. Missouri led 20-13 late in the third, and then the Longhorns scored the rest of the points. Arch Manning went 28 of 38 for 297 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Raleek Brown ran for 85 yards, caught a 23-yard scoring pass and sealed it with an 8-yard run. After a disputed late-third-quarter play on Manning, Texas kept the ball, tied it at 20 and added 14 in the fourth.
No. 23 South Carolina 17, Texas A&M 9, the Gamecocks' fourth straight win, sealed by LaNorris Sellers' 41-yard touchdown run. The Aggies' nine points came on three field goals. Oklahoma 23, No. 25 Florida 7, in Gainesville, where the Gators managed 203 yards. Tramell Jones Jr. threw two interceptions, including one in the end zone on fourth-and-3 from the 17, and Jadan Baugh's 15-yard run was the only touchdown. Florida has lost four of five since starting 4-0. Auburn 26, Arkansas 23, after 17 fourth-quarter points and a 42-yarder from Alex McPherson with 33 seconds left.
Duke beat NC State 41-3 at Carter-Finley, with Nate Sheppard running for 217 yards and three touchdowns and Andrew Pellicciotta returning a missed field goal 100 yards. Florida State rallied past Boston College 31-24. Clemson won 18-13 at Syracuse behind four Nolan Hauser field goals, including a 54-yarder, and a 22-yard fumble return by Jahiem Lawson. North Carolina beat UConn 38-21 on three touchdown passes from Billy Edwards Jr.
Elsewhere at the Top
No. 3 Utah 28, No. 7 BYU 20, at Rice-Eccles Stadium. BYU led at the half after 280 yards, then scored zero after the break and threw four interceptions. Devon Dampier threw for two touchdowns, ran for two more and caught a 29-yard pass. The win stretched Utah's streak to 15 games, the longest active streak in FBS. "This was a big win, not the big win," Morgan Scalley said. Utah is 9-0 for the first time since 2008 and now owns its highest regular-season AP ranking ever.
Unranked Oregon 41, No. 11 Ohio State 28, at Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes led 14-0 after two Bo Jackson touchdown runs, and then the Ducks scored the next 38 points. Dierre Hill Jr. ran for 75 yards and two touchdowns, and Dylan Raiola threw for 257 yards and two scores. Oregon is back in the poll at No. 18 after also beating ranked Northwestern 34-26 a week earlier. Ohio State, No. 2 two weeks ago and No. 11 after losing at USC, fell to No. 21, its lowest ranking since 2014 if you set aside the 2020 pandemic season.
No. 5 UCLA stayed unbeaten, 34-20 at Minnesota, for the Bruins' first 9-0 start since 1998. Ty Dieffenbach threw for a career-high 303 yards on eight completions, including back-to-back 75-yard touchdowns to Aidan Mizell. UCLA is No. 4, matching its highest ranking since 2001. No. 13 Texas Tech outlasted West Virginia 53-48 as Thomas Castellanos threw five touchdown passes.
No. 17 Houston beat Cincinnati 31-24 on a 51-yard run by Re'Shaun Sanford II after the Bearcats had tied it. No. 21 Iowa beat Northwestern 24-10. No. 14 Wake Forest set a school scoring record in a 77-0 win over Merrimack. No. 24 Arizona survived TCU 29-28 on Friday night on a late field goal after recovering a fumbled kick. No. 22 New Mexico beat Nevada 31-3. No. 20 Boise State won 64-38 at Colorado State. SMU beat Virginia Tech 51-28 as Kevin Jennings threw four touchdown passes, three of them to Yamir Knight. Indiana and USC both sat this one out. They play each other next Saturday.
The AP Top 25
1. Georgia (53 first-place votes), 8-1
2. Utah (12), 9-0
3. Notre Dame (5), 8-1
4. UCLA, 9-0
5. Miami, 8-1
6. Indiana, 8-1
7. Alabama, 7-2
8. Texas, 7-2
9. Tennessee, 7-2
10. Texas Tech, 8-1
11. Wake Forest, 8-1
12. BYU, 7-2
13. Kentucky, 7-2
14. Houston, 7-2
15. Southern Cal, 7-2
16. Iowa, 7-2
17. Boise State, 8-1
18. Oregon, 6-3
19. Ole Miss, 6-3
20. South Carolina, 6-3
21. Ohio State, 6-3
22. Arizona, 7-2
23. New Mexico, 8-1
24. LSU, 6-3
25. SMU, 7-2
Others receiving votes: Missouri 50, Duke 49, Oklahoma State 21, Liberty 14, Louisville 10, North Texas 2. In: Oregon and SMU. Out: Missouri and Florida.
Scotty's Top 25
Last week my first three out were Florida, Oregon and Virginia Tech. Oregon went to Columbus and won.
1. Georgia (8-1). Five touchdowns on the road against a ranked team.
2. Utah (9-0). Fifteen in a row, a Holy War win, and still unbeaten.
3. Notre Dame (8-1). Built a 21-point lead on the No. 1 team and made the plays that mattered.
4. UCLA (9-0). First 9-0 start in 28 years. Last week I had Indiana ahead of them.
5. Indiana (8-1). Idle, and still the team nobody wants in December.
6. Miami (8-1). Lost without its best receiver and still made it one score.
7. Texas (7-2). Another road win, and Manning's cleanest night of the year.
8. Alabama (7-2). Trailed in Death Valley and scored the last 21 points.
9. Tennessee (7-2). From 17th on my ballot to ninth after 34-6 over Kentucky.
10. Texas Tech (8-1). Fifty-three points, five passing touchdowns, a safety to ice it.
11. Wake Forest (8-1). Merrimack does not prove much. Eight wins do.
12. Houston (7-2). Found a 51-yard answer when Cincinnati had tied it.
13. Kentucky (7-2). I had them eighth last week. Knoxville was the test.
14. BYU (7-2). Four interceptions in Salt Lake City will drop you.
15. USC (7-2). Idle after beating Ohio State and losing to Wisconsin.
16. Oregon (6-3). Back-to-back comebacks, the second one in Columbus.
17. Iowa (7-2). Six sacks and a 96-yard kick return.
18. South Carolina (6-3). Four straight, and Sellers keeps finishing games.
19. Ole Miss (6-3). I had them 11th. Oxford was a correction.
20. Boise State (8-1). Sixty-four points on the road is a cleaner look than last week.
21. New Mexico (8-1). Followed their first ranking with a 31-3 road win.
22. Arizona (7-2). Beat TCU by a point on a recovered kick and a late field goal.
23. Duke (7-2). Forty-one to 3 on the road, still just receiving votes.
24. SMU (7-2). Throttled Virginia Tech and walked back in.
25. LSU (6-3). Lost at home after leading 13-10.
First three out: Ohio State, Missouri and Florida.
Buying, Selling, Moving
Overrated: Ohio State at No. 21. Two straight losses, the second one at home after a 14-0 start, should not still come with a ranking on branding alone. Kentucky was overrated at No. 8 last Sunday, too. The AP dropped them to 13th, which is closer.
Underrated: Duke, with 49 votes and no ranking after a 41-3 win at NC State. Oregon at No. 18 after beating ranked Northwestern on Halloween and then winning in Columbus. South Carolina at No. 20 has been better over the last month than several teams ahead of them.
Tennessee leaped from 16 to 9, the Vols' highest ranking in two years. Iowa climbed from 21 to 16. Houston, USC and Texas Tech each moved up three. Alabama and Texas each moved up two after road wins. Ohio State fell 10 spots, from 11 to 21. LSU dropped nine, from 15 to 24. Ole Miss dropped seven, from 12 to 19. Miami fell four. Kentucky slid from 8 to 13, BYU from 7 to 12. Notre Dame beat the No. 1 team and moved up only one spot, to No. 3, the lowest ranking for a top-five team that had just beaten a No. 1 since Auburn in 2013.
What It Means Down South
A week ago the SEC had 10 ranked teams. Now it has eight, after Missouri and Florida fell out, and it is still the most of any conference: Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ole Miss, South Carolina and LSU. The Big Ten has six, the Big 12 five, the ACC three. Georgia is back on top. Alabama and Texas both won on the road. Tennessee just announced itself. South Carolina is the hottest team in the league. The ACC looks healthier too, with Miami still fifth, Wake Forest 11th and SMU back at 25. Florida's problem is no longer theoretical. Four losses in five games will get you unranked.
Next Saturday
All times Eastern.
No. 15 USC at No. 6 Indiana, 3:30 p.m., CBS. No. 2 Utah at No. 22 Arizona, 7:30 p.m., FOX; Utah has not won in Tucson since 2021. No. 8 Texas at No. 24 LSU, 7:30 p.m., ABC. No. 11 Wake Forest at No. 25 SMU, noon, ESPN or ESPN2. No. 1 Georgia hosts Missouri at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.
Elsewhere in the Southeast: Auburn at Mississippi State, noon, ESPN2. Alabama at Vanderbilt, 12:45 p.m., SEC Network. Tennessee at Texas A&M, 3 p.m., ESPN. Ole Miss at Oklahoma, 4:15 p.m., SEC Network. Florida at Kentucky, 6:15 p.m., ESPN. South Carolina at Arkansas, 7:45 p.m., SEC Network. Duke at Miami, noon, ABC. Georgia Tech at Clemson, 12:30 p.m., The CW. Florida State at Pittsburgh on Friday night, 7 p.m., ESPN. Illinois visits UCLA on Friday at 9 p.m. on FOX, and No. 14 Houston is at Colorado at 10:15 p.m. on ESPN.
Missouri gets the first look at whether Oxford was a peak or a standard.