Oregon takes over top spot in poll, 7-0 IU now 13th
There is a new No. 1-ranked team in college football this week.
The Oregon Ducks take over the top spot in the Associated Press poll after they had no trouble at Purdue and former top-ranked Texas lost at home in convincing fashion to Georgia.
Speaking of the Bulldogs, they take over the No. 2 spot.
Rounding out the top five is Penn State at three, Ohio State at four and Texas at five.
Four Big Ten teams are ranked, including 7-0 Indiana at No. 13. The Hoosiers crushed Nebraska Saturday in Bloomington.
First-year IU head coach Curt Cignetti’s team has defeated every opponent by 14 or more points this season and has never trailed in a game.
This upcoming Saturday IU will host Washington and ESPN’s ultra-popular College Football Gameday will be on hand.
Right now Cignetti should be National Coach of the Year and his Hoosiers have an excellent shot at being 10-0 going to Ohio State for a Nov. 23 showdown that very well could determine the Big Ten regular-season champion.
With that said, IU will be without starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke. The senior Ohio transfer is out indefinitely after suffering a thumb injury against the Cornhuskers. He is, however, expected to return this season.
The 6-foot-5, 233-pounder from Ontario has had a fabulous season, completing nearly 75 percent of his passes for 1,941 yards with 15 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
IU’s next five games are home to Washington, at Michigan State, Michigan at home, at Ohio State and home to Purdue.
Just ahead of the Hoosiers in the AP poll is Notre Dame at No. 12.
The Irish improved to 6-1 on the season with an easy win Saturday over Georgia Tech in the Georgia Dome.
Notre Dame has a big one this Saturday as it faces No. 24 and 6-0 Navy in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The Irish are currently favored by 11 1/2 points.
A few other interesting notes about this week’s poll.
After losing at Tennessee, two-loss Alabama dropped to No. 15. It’s the first time the Crimson Tide have been ranked 15th or lower since 2010. No doubt first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer, who came from Washington and replaced legendary coach Nick Saban, is beginning to feel the heat.
Speaking of feeling the heat, defending national champion Michigan is out of this week’s top 25 after a very lackluster performance at Illinois, which resulted in a 21-7 loss. You will recall a week earlier the Illini allowed one-win Purdue to score 49 points, including 40 in the second half.
It marks the first time since Week 2 of the 2021 season that the Wolverines have not been ranked.
And yes the calls for Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore, who replaced Jim Harbaugh, to be fired are intensifying.
Perhaps the most eyeopening thing about the last poll is Army, Navy and Vanderbilt are all ranked. It is the first time since 1958 that all three schools were ranked at the same time. Vanderbilt, which earlier this season knocked off top-ranked Alabama, is No. 25.
Army is 7-0 and ranked 23rd and Navy is 6-0 and ranked 24th. This is the first time the two are a combined 13-0 since 1926.Needless to say, it’s going to be a wild remainder of the regular season as teams try to jockey for the 12 College Football Playoff spots.
