Top 25 Crashout: College Football's Instant Winners, Losers Ranked After Week 7

Five of the AP Top seven lost on the same Saturday for the first time in the poll’s 90-year history, and not a single team held its previous ranking in one of the biggest shakeups to the college football rankings in some time.

The result was a complete reshuffle, a new No. 1, and several programs left scrambling. Here are the clearest winners and losers from one of the most chaotic weekends in recent memory and heading into another critical weekend.

Winner: Miami Claims the Throne

Top 25 Crashout: College Football's Instant Winners, Losers Ranked After Week 7 — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

They may have needed double overtime and one very controversial last play, but the Hurricanes did against Florida State what many other teams didn’t do: survive.

Miami still hasn’t faced an opponent that was ranked at the time they played this season, but its perfect record and the carnage elsewhere proved decisive for pollsters to award it 40 first-place votes, moving to No. 1 for the first time since 2002.

Winner: BYU and the Big 12's Playoff Hopes

Bear Bachmeier delivered one of the most complete performances of the season, throwing for a touchdown, rushing for two more, and even catching a score as No. 8 BYU stunned No. 2 Notre Dame, taking the No. 2 ranking for itself for the first time since the school’s 1984 national championship season.

In the process, the Cougars seriously elevated the Big 12, which now has a real opportunity to get two teams into the College Football Playoff as a result.

Texas Tech would naturally be the other, which looked confident in dismantling Arizona State, and it’s possible that the Red Raiders and Cougars play for the Big 12 title with playoff berths more or less secured.

Loser: Ohio State Gets a Critical Win, But at What Cost?

In the most anticipated Big Ten matchup of the day, Ohio State ended Indiana’s 22-game winning streak with a physical 19-15 victory. Already with one loss, the Buckeyes desperately needed to leave Bloomington without another one.

They did, but with a giant catch: quarterback Julian Sayin left the game with an injury to his throwing shoulder, putting the future of this offense in serious doubt against a tough schedule. Road dates against USC and Nebraska await, and Oregon and Michigan visit Columbus.

Jeremiah Smith can do almost anything on the field, but the stud receiver can only do what he does if he has a good quarterback throwing to him. That remains to be proven.

Winner: Tennessee Dominates Alabama

Playing this kind of defense and running the ball with authority puts Tennessee in position to do something special in the SEC.

DeSean Bishop carried for 159 yards and 2 scores and the Vols forced 4 turnovers and held a potent Alabama attack to just 10 points and 2 yards per carry.

Alabama dropped seven spots to No. 13 after consecutive losses. Tennessee climbed to No. 11 and injected itself into both the SEC and playoff conversations. If they can get more from the quarterback position, the Vols can make a run.

Winner: Florida’s Road Upset Saves Its Season

Backup quarterback Tramell Jones Jr., making his first career start, threw two touchdown passes as Florida erased a 14-point deficit and beat No. 7 Texas 27-24 in Austin.

The Gators’ defense put together an inspired performance, sacking Arch Manning five times and forced a late fumble that sealed the win. The SEC’s worst secondary coming in allowed just 173 passing yards in a huge turnaround.

Florida snapped a two-game skid, earned its first road victory over a top-10 opponent since 2012, and re-entered the AP poll at No. 20. Texas plummeted 12 spots to No. 19.

Winner: Auburn’s Walk-Off Stunner Between the Hedges

Unranked Auburn trailed by 2 touchdowns early, then scored 24 unanswered points and completed a 27-24 upset of No. 1 Georgia on Alex McPherson’s 34-yard field goal as time expired.

Byrum Brown ran for 115 yards and a touchdown while Georgia turned the ball over three times, including a critical late fumble by Gunner Stockton. The Tigers ended Georgia’s long streaks against both Auburn and unranked teams and gave new coach Alex Golesh a massive shot in the arm.

Loser: Georgia’s Costly Home Collapse

There was some concern that Georgia might be gassed after an emotional and physical win at Alabama the weekend before. Even Kirby Smart admitted his team may have been spent from last Saturday’s win that propelled them to No. 1 in the polls. He was right.

Favored by more than three touchdowns at home, Georgia committed three turnovers and watched a late rally fall short. The Bulldogs tied the game with under three minutes remaining only to fumble near midfield, setting up Auburn’s game-winning kick.

Georgia fell from No. 1 to No. 5 after just one week atop the rankings. It’s far from a real crisis point, but they could stand to make some adjustments in this rushing offense.

Loser: Arch Manning, Not Who We Thought He Was

Going back to when he was a high school recruit, there were already critics who wondered if the quarterback’s No. 1 ranking was because his jersey said Manning. Those critics are doing a victory lap after he turned in another bewildering performance.

So much so that even Steve Sarkisian has publicly speculated that major changes could be coming to this offense. “Everything is going to be evaluated,” he said. “Everything means everything.” At this point, Arch Manning has been evaluated. He looks like a very average quarterback.

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