If last Saturday and Sunday was “Carnage Weekend” because of all of the ranked teams who were upset, I’m dubbing this one “Living Daylights” weekend because of the number of teams who received significant scares.
More Ranked Teams Scared Than Upset On This Saturday
↵Four ranked teams did actually lose, three of them to unranked opponents. No. 12 North Carolina came back, but still fell to 20th-ranked Georgia Tech. In the biggest shock of the day, No. 6 Purdue fell by eight at unranked Northwestern. No. 23 Miami lost at Virginia, who is the only team unbeaten in ACC play, while a finally healthy Ohio State team avenged their New Year’s Eve loss to 13th-ranked Wisconsin.
↵Top-ranked Texas (against archrival A&M), No. 9 Tennessee (versus No. 21 Ole Miss) and No. 16 Pitt (against Louisville) all needed overtime to earn wins at home, while second-ranked Kentucky (at Auburn), fifth-ranked Syracuse (at No. 10 West Virginia), No. 13 Kansas State (at Colorado) and 24th-ranked Clemson (at N.C. State) were tested on the road. No. 24 Florida State got a battle from Virginia Tech at home, but that one actually ended in regulation.
↵On the other hand, almost a quarter of the AP Top 25 won handily, including No. 7 Michigan State, 17th-ranked Gonzaga and No.18 BYU, all of whom took greater control of their conference races with wins Saturday.
↵What does another thrilling weekend mean? Not much really in the big picture.
↵If you ever find yourself watching the polls too much, take a deep breath and remember that the AP poll is really just for fun. The only ranking that really matters comes out on March 14th at 6 p.m. Eastern. And unlike football, more than two teams will be invited to the party.
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