UNDATED (AP) — Miami is now No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2002. No. 2 BYU has reached its highest ranking since its 1984 national championship season. Notre Dame and Georgia remain in the top five despite close losses. This week, five of the top seven teams lost, marking a first in the AP poll's 90-year history. Miami and BYU benefited most from the chaos, joined by Ohio State in a tightly packed top three.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Notre Dame might have deserved one more play at the end of its game at BYU. Florida State was furious over how referees saw its two Hail Mary completions for would-have-been touchdowns in double overtime against Miami. And once again, end-of-game officiating was under fire. Dramatic — and sometimes controversial — endings were the story of a wild college football Saturday, with late-game calls deciding some outcomes and potentially even having an effect on how the College Football Playoff shapes up a couple months from now.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference fined Tennessee $500,000 for allowing fans to storm the field following a 26-10 victory over then-No. 6 Alabama. The fine will be paid to Alabama in accordance with SEC policy, which provides for a $500,000 penalty for violations involving access to competition areas in all SEC-sponsored sports. It was the 11th consecutive field storming following a Crimson Tide road loss, a streak that started at Auburn in 2013. The SEC policy states that “institutions shall limit access to competition areas” for “the safety of participants and spectators alike.”
UNDATED (AP) — Miami and BYU would hold down the top two seeds on the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket based on The Associated Press Top 25 and UCLA would make its first-ever appearance in the field. The projected bracket was shuffled with Georgia’s loss to Auburn bumping the Bulldogs out of a top-four seed and the first-round bye that goes with it. First-round matchups would be No. 9 seed UCLA at No. 8 seed Texas Tech, No. 12 seed Boise State at No. 5 seed Georgia, No. 10 seed Utah at No. 7 Mississippi and No. 11 seed Tennessee at No. 6 Indiana.
UNDATED (AP) — College football has never experienced a Saturday like this. Five of the top seven teams in the AP Top 25 lost on the same day in the regular season for the first time in history. The last time anything even remotely close happened was on Jan. 2, 1989, according to Sportradar. Shakeup Saturday was driven by the Southeastern Conference, with No. 1 Georgia, No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 Texas going down as touchdown or more favorites. No. 2 Notre Dame (at No. 8 BYU) and fifth-ranked Indiana (against No. 4 Ohio State) also lost. The chaos cleared a path for No. 3 Miami to take over the top poll spot.
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Gunner Stockton’s two interceptions which matched his total for the first six games of the season were painful for the Georgia quarterback. A lost fumble with less than a minute remaining was even worse. From the very first snap, when he hit the turf helmet-first, forcing a medical timeout that meant he had to miss at least one play, Stockton suffered a game he’s rather forget in No. 1 Georgia’s 27-24 loss to Auburn. Stockton lost a fumble on a run from the Auburn 46 with 58 seconds remaining. Auburn's recovery set up the Tigers' winning field goal.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas star edge rusher Colin Simmons was helped off the field with an apparent right ankle injury early in the fourth quarter against Florida. Simmons had his 10th sack of the season earlier in the game. He appeared to roll the ankle while engaged with a blocker on a Florida run play. Simmons went down and immediately clutched at his leg. Simmons had a school-record 5 1/2 sacks in a win over Tennessee on Sept. 26.
