After the first shake-up of the college football season, the Southeastern Conference grabbed six of the top seven spots in the AP Top 25 — a first in the 88-year history of the rankings — and Notre Dame tumbled all the way to No. 18 on Sunday after being stunned at home.
Georgia received 54 out of a possible 63 first-place votes to keep a firm hold on No. 1. No. 2 Texas jumped a spot after dominating defending national champion Michigan on the road and received four first-place votes. The Longhorns have their best ranking since finishing second in 2009.
The Wolverines were down to No. 17.
No. 3 Ohio State from the Big Ten Conference slipped a spot. Then it was four more SEC teams. Alabama held steady at No. 4 and Mississippi moved up a spot to No. 5.
Missouri moved up three spots to No. 6 and Tennessee made a big jump from No. 14 to No. 7 after routing North Carolina State in Charlotte.
With the SEC bigger (16 teams) — and seemingly better — than ever given the additions of Texas and Oklahoma — the circumstances were right for an early season takeover like never before.
Not only is six of the top seven teams from one conference a record for a poll, but never before had a single league held as many as five of the top seven places.
Those teams will start playing each other in the coming weeks so it is unlikely the SEC can keep this up, but it's a stark example of what's possible in the superconference era.
Especially after the first huge upset of the college football season. Notre Dame's 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois marked the first time a top-five team lost to an unranked team since the 2022 season, when Purdue knocked off then-No. 2 Iowa on Nov. 5, 2022.
The Huskies' victory, the first top-five win for a Mid-American Conference team in league history, landed Northern Illinois at No. 25 in the rankings. NIU is ranked for the first time since 2013 and is the first team from non-Power Four conference to be ranked this season.
Rounding out the top 10 were No. 8 Penn State and No. 9 Oregon of the Big Ten and No. 10 Miami. The Ducks slip two spots after a wild, comeback victory against Boise State.
Northern Illinois is one of four teams to move into the rankings this week for the first time this season, most notably Nebraska at No. 23.
The Cornhuskers are ranked for the first time since 2019 after easily handling Colorado at home. That was a brief stay. After starting that season ranked No. 24, the Huskers lost in Week 2, fell out the rankings and have been gone ever since.
The last sustained season in the rankings for Nebraska was 2016, though even that season ended with the Huskers unranked. They have not finished a season ranked since 2012. That's what second-year coach Matt Rhule and freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola are aiming for.
Just a reminder: Nebraska still owns the record for the longest streak of poll appearances with 348 under coach Tom Osborne from 1981-2002. The second-best streak is Alabama's active 264 straight weeks ranked.
The turnover came from the bottom of the rankings, where Kansas, Iowa, Georgia Tech and North Carolina State all fell out after losses.
No. 21 Iowa State essentially switched places with its Cy-Hawk rivals by beating Iowa.
Last week, Georgia Tech made its first appearance in the AP Top 25 since 2015, snapping one of the longest active droughts among power conference teams. The Yellow Jackets lasted only a week after losing at Syracuse, but another Atlantic Coast Conference team snapped its own lengthy drought.
No. 24 Boston College is ranked for the first time since 2018.
The only other time a conference had four of the top five teams was the SEC on Oct. 19, 2014, when Mississippi State was No. 1, Ole Miss was third, Alabama was fourth and Auburn was fifth.
SEC — 8 (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 16).
Big Ten — 6 (Nos. 3, 8, 9, 11, 17, 23).
Big 12 — 5 (Nos. 12, 13, 14, 20, 21).
ACC — 4 (Nos. 10, 19, 22, 24).
MAC — 1 (No. 25).
Independent — 1 (No. 18).
No. 20 Arizona at No. 14 Kansas State, Thursday. A Big 12 game that's not actually a Big 12 game. This is a nonconference matchup that already was set before realignment.
No. 24 Boston College at No. 6 Missouri, Saturday. An unexpectedly ranked ACC-SEC matchup.
Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP
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Georgia head coach Kirby Smart reacts on the sideline during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee Tech Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Sunday underscored how much of a week-to-week league the NFL can be with several underdogs pulling off upsets.
None was larger than the Raiders, 8 1/2-point underdogs, rallying from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to defeat the Ravens 26-23.
And now the 0-2 Carolina Panthers, who are making a quarterback change, come to town. This time, Las Vegas (1-1) is a 5 1/2-point favorite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, and the onus is on the Raiders to not overlook a desperate opponent in a potential trap game.
If coach Antonio Pierce's comments Monday were any indication, that shouldn't be a problem.
“We've got a lot of things that we need to correct,” he said. “It was a win yesterday, but there were a lot of things in that first quarter that were ugly, in that first half that were ugly and in that third quarter that were ugly. We're not worried about the Panthers. We've got to fix the Raiders.”
Pierce is right. It was an impressive fourth quarter, but he knows the Raiders can't rely on such rallies to overcome a number of deficiencies that include a running game that still hasn't gotten started and a conversative offensive game plan that finally opened up in the fourth.
Given the Raiders' talent at the skill positions, opening with a more wide-open game plan should be easier to correct. Whether they have what they need in the running game is uncertain.
But if both areas don't get fixed, what the Raiders accomplished Sunday likely is not sustainable.
“Fourth quarter," Pierce said, "is what it needs to look like for all four quarters."
The Raiders haven't had a no-doubt-about-it successful first-round pick since taking running back Josh Jacobs in 2019. It looks as if tight end Brock Bowers has broken that skid.
He followed his six-catch, 58-yard debut against the Chargers by hauling in nine passes for 98 yards at Baltimore. No rookie has had a better start to his Raiders career than Bowers, whose 15 receptions are better than Amari Cooper's 12 in 2015.
The Raiders have had no success running the ball. Entering Monday, they rank last in the NFL in yards rushing per game (49.0) and per carry (2.51). It would be easy to blame Zamir White, who in taking over for Jacobs — who signed with the Packers — and has rushed for 68 yards on 3.1 per carry through two games.
But to lay it all on White is short-sighted given the offensive line has given him — and the other running backs — almost no room to run.
“It isn’t Zamir,” Pierce said. "We've got to start up front. The big boys up front got to block. Bottom line. They know it. We are going to talk about it here in a few minutes.”
Here's an idea: Keep throwing Davante Adams the ball. That's exactly what Gardner Minshew did Sunday and it's a major reason the Raiders won. Adams caught nine passes for 110 yards and the tying touchdown with 3:54 left, which he set up by drawing a pass interference penalty that moved the ball to the 1-yard line. In the fourth quarter and the game on the line, Adams caught four passes for 86 yards.
The Raiders had 126 yards and nine first downs in the fourth quarter at Baltimore. They gained 430 yards and had 23 first downs in the other seven periods combined. It goes back to Pierce's point that the Raiders have a lot of issues, especially offensively, that one quality quarter shouldn't overshadow. Part of the issue was the unwillingness of first-year offensive coordinator Luke Getsy to take shots down the the field. He finally did in the fourth quarter, and that needs to be more common.
Linebacker Divine Deablo injured his hip in the fourth quarter and rookie left guard Jackson Powers-Johnson, who first had an undisclosed injury and then an illness, still has not played this season. Pierce said he did not have an update on either player.
49 — The number of consecutive games the Raiders lost when behind at least 10 points in the fourth until Sunday's comeback. Washington with 88 and Houston with 51 have the longest active streaks.
The Raiders play their first home game when the Panthers visit on Sunday.
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Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew (15) celebrates after running back Alexander Mattison scored a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams, left, catches a touchdown pass against Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (44) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew (15) celebrates after the Las Vegas Raiders defeated the Baltimore Ravens in an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
