The top-ranked teams in the AP and Coaches Polls took care of business on Saturday, handling their business convincingly along the way. The marquee matchups of the evening -- Alabama vs. Florida and Wisconsin vs. Nebraska -- weren’t close at all, with the Crimson Tide and Badgers each pounding a worthy foe to cap the night.
College Football Rankings Preview: Alabama, Wisconsin Notch Impressive Wins
We look ahead to Sunday’s AP and Coaches Poll by looking back at Saturday’s games. Wisconsin and Alabama each notched impressive wins, and should move up as a result.
Will Alabama move up with a resume-building win? How far will Wisconsin rise with a big win over Nebraska? We’ll find all that out and more on Sunday morning as the newest polls are released.
In the meantime, here’s a look back at some of the games that mattered.
No. 1 LSU 35, Kentucky 7. Yes, it's just Kentucky, but the LSU defense continues to look scary good and Tyrann Mathieu is playing out of his mind for the Tigers.
No. 2 Oklahoma 62, Ball State 7. Wasn’t a contest at all as the Sooners stepped on the gas pedal in the second quarter and never looked back.
No. 3 Alabama 38, No. 12 Florida 10. Trent Richardson was a workhorse and the Alabama defense was dominant yet again. LSU and Alabama are playing some superb football, and probably should be one-two in the polls.
No. 4 Boise State 30, Nevada 10. The Broncos went untested again this week, but a win over Nevada counts for something considering last year’s debacle.
No. 6 Stanford 45, UCLA 19. UCLA came to play, but Andrew Luck and the Cardinal had none of it. Stanford hasn't been convincing this year, but will hang around anyway.
No. 7 Wisconsin 48, No. 8 Nebraska 17. Russell Wilson has been a game-changer, and the Badgers welcomed Nebraska to the Big Ten with a rout. Wisconsin could -- and probably should -- leap-frog Stanford.
Auburn 16, No. 10 South Carolina 13. The Gamecocks still can’t find consistent quarterback play and paid for it on Saturday. Somehow, Auburn managed to make one less mistake than South Carolina in a game filled with bouncing balls and turnovers.
No. 13 Clemson 23, No. 11 Virginia Tech 3. Can’t see a way Clemson doesn’t end up in the top-10 on Sunday. For the third time in as many weeks, the Tigers handled a ranked opponent, adding to a resume that has to be considered one of the best in the nation.
No. 18 Arkansas 42, No. 14 Texas A&M 38. Welcome to the SEC, Aggies. For the second-straight week, Texas A&M saw a large halftime lead evaporate as the defense powered down and face-planted to end the game.
Kansas State 36, No. 15 Baylor 35. Suddenly, Robert Griffin III shows he's human, and the Bears should drop as a result.
No. 17 Texas 37, Iowa State 14. This game was never close, with Texas dominating throughout. The Longhorns’ revenge tour continued, and they should move up as a result.
No. 19 Michigan 58, Minnesota 0. A solid win by the Wolverines should have them moving up, as well.
SMU 40, No. 20 TCU 33. The Horned Frogs’ defense looks anything but vaunted and Saturday’s loss will likely knock them out of the rankings.
No. 21 Georgia Tech 45, NC State 35. not a blowout, but Georgia Tech keeps on rolling.
No. 22 West Virginia 55, Bowling Green 10. Good bounce-back win by the Mountaineers, who showed off a running game all of a sudden.
No. 24 Illinois 38, Northwestern 35. Not sure what would've happened had Dan Persa not been sidelined with an injury, but Illinois squeaked out the win at the last-second, and should hang around the top-25.
No. 25 Arizona State 35, Oregon State 20. The Beavers haven’t been good at all, but Arizona State let them hang around throughout before putting them away in the second half. Was the win convincing enough to keep the Sun Devils inside the top-25?
Last Week’s Polls
Here’s the AP Poll from the previous week. The new poll will be released sometime around noon EDT on Sunday.
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
| 1 | LSU (42) | 4-0 | 1471 |
| 2 | Oklahoma (12) | 3-0 | 1422 |
| 3 | Alabama (5) | 4-0 | 1413 |
| 4 | Boise State (1) | 3-0 | 1280 |
| 5 | Oklahoma State | 4-0 | 1209 |
| 6 | Stanford | 3-0 | 1205 |
| 7 | Wisconsin | 4-0 | 1177 |
| 8 | Nebraska | 4-0 | 991 |
| 9 | Oregon | 3-1 | 985 |
| 10 | South Carolina | 4-0 | 950 |
| 11 | Virginia Tech | 4-0 | 883 |
| 12 | Florida | 4-0 | 820 |
| 13 | Clemson | 4-0 | 744 |
| 14 | Texas A&M | 2-1 | 734 |
| 15 | Baylor | 3-0 | 659 |
| 16 | South Florida | 4-0 | 585 |
| 17 | Texas | 3-0 | 466 |
| 18 | Arkansas | 3-1 | 434 |
| 19 | Michigan | 4-0 | 417 |
| 20 | TCU | 3-1 | 338 |
| 21 | Georgia Tech | 4-0 | 298 |
| 22 | West Virginia | 3-1 | 280 |
| 23 | Florida State | 2-2 | 239 |
| 24 | Illinois | 4-0 | 179 |
| 25 | Arizona State | 3-1 | 112 |
Here’s the USA Today Coaches’ Poll from last week. The latest poll should be out right around the same time as the AP Poll.
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
| 1 | Oklahoma (32) | 3-0 | 1434 |
| 2 | Alabama (7) | 4-0 | 1404 |
| 2 | LSU (20) | 4-0 | 1404 |
| 4 | Stanford | 3-0 | 1225 |
| 5 | Boise State | 3-0 | 1223 |
| 6 | Oklahoma State | 4-0 | 1172 |
| 7 | Wisconsin | 4-0 | 1156 |
| 8 | Nebraska | 4-0 | 1040 |
| 9 | South Carolina | 4-0 | 976 |
| 10 | Virginia Tech | 4-0 | 935 |
| 11 | Oregon | 3-1 | 914 |
| 12 | Florida | 4-0 | 817 |
| 13 | Texas A&M | 2-1 | 681 |
| 14 | South Florida | 4-0 | 631 |
| 15 | Clemson | 4-0 | 598 |
| 16 | Baylor | 3-0 | 528 |
| 17 | Texas | 3-0 | 525 |
| 18 | Arkansas | 3-1 | 432 |
| 19 | Michigan | 4-0 | 414 |
| 20 | TCU | 3-1 | 364 |
| 21 | Georgia Tech | 4-0 | 333 |
| 22 | Illinois | 4-0 | 181 |
| 23 | West Virginia | 3-1 | 158 |
| 24 | Florida State | 2-2 | 157 |
| 25 | Michigan State | 3-1 | 153 |
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