With the college football season under way, the second AP Poll had some minor shake-ups after a week of action.
Duke remains unranked, topples Tulane
In their season opener, Duke easily handled Tulane 37-7 behind balanced offense and a strong defensive performance. The Blue Devils won the time of possession battle 36-24 and never trailed in the contest. Redshirt junior Thomas Sirk looked completely in control of the read-option offense and passed for 289 yards and also contributed 68 yards on the ground. Duke's defense was also solid—pitching a shutout for the first three quarters—and came up with a huge, diving interception in the third quarter that halted a rare Tulane drive. The Blue Devils will look to continue their winning ways Saturday against N.C. Central.
Crimson Tide roll past Wisconsin
Entering the season, No. 3 Alabama faced two major questions on offense—who would seize the starting-quarterback job and could anyone replace the production of Amari Cooper? Although the Crimson Tide will continue to try and answer these questions throughout the season, there is no questioning the importance of running back Derrick Henry to the team. The junior turned in an impressive performance racking up 147 rushing yards on just 13 carries and delivered three touchdowns in the team's 35-17 victory. Coupled with a stellar performance from their vaunted defense, Alabama jumped out to a 28-7 third-quarter lead and pulled away late.
The Badgers also entered the season with uncertainty and were looking to replace the production of running back Melvin Gordon. Wisconsin turned to junior Corey Clement who was stifled by the Crimson Tide defense and finished with just 16 yards on the ground. Although quarterback Joel Stave looked sharp and threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns in the loss, the Badgers appeared overmatched throughout the contest.
The loss dropped the Badgers out of the poll while Alabama climbed one spot to No. 2.
Aggies deliver strong performance against Sun Devils
Unranked Texas A&M defeated No. 15 Arizona St. 38-17 at NRG Stadium in the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff. Although the Aggies were favored coming into the contest, the Sun Devils were expected to be one of the top contenders in the Pac-12. The Aggies came away with the victory behind huge performances from Christian Kirk—who had 106 receiving yards and a touchdown—and Tra Carson who finished with 96 rushing yards and a touchdown. After struggling mightily a year ago, the Texas A&M defense—led by new defensive coordinator John Chavis and sophomore Myles Garrett—only gave up 17 points to Arizona State's high-powered offense. The Aggies skyrocketed to No.16 in the Top 25 with the win and were part of a record-breaking 10 SEC teams that were ranked in the poll. On the other hand, the Sun Devils are now unranked.
Northwestern stuns Stanford
Northwestern relied heavily on its defense and rushing game to take down No. 21 Stanford 16-6 in front of its home crowd. Sophomore running back Justin Jackson led the way for the Wildcats with 134 yards on 28 carries and helped keep the Wildcats in manageable third down situations. Northwestern converted 12-of-22 third-downs compared to the Cardinal who finished 3-of-15. Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan was off the mark all afternoon and finished with just 155 yards passing along with an interception. With the defeat, Stanford fell out of the Top 25 and was dealt a severe blow to their playoff chances.
TCU struggles but survives in win against Minnesota
The second-ranked Horned Frogs struggled to find a rhythm offensively, but were still able to eke out a 23-17 victory against a tough Minnesota team. Heisman-contender Trevone Boykin passed for 246 yards and one touchdown. The Golden Gophers totaled 341 yards on offense but only managed 17 points due to two costly turnovers. The Horned Frogs were able to recover two fumbles—one deep in Minnesota’s territory and one with the Gophers threatening to score that helped swing the game in their favor just when it appeared that momentum was swinging the home team's way. TCU dropped one spot to No. 3 and will look to get its offense back on track next week against Stephen F. Austin.
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