Duke dominates Army, returns to top 25
The Blue Devils pounced on the Black Knights early with a 27-0 halftime lead and never looked back in a dominating 44-3 victory Saturday. Duke's defense turned in yet another solid performance and held Army's triple-option attack to just 113 total rushing yards. Quarterback Thomas Sirk complemented the defense effort with a mistake-free outing and made big throws when needed to keep drives alive. With the victory, Duke moved to 5-1 on the season and reentered the top 25 for the first since Week 11 of last season, coming in at No. 25. The Blue Devils will head into their bye week tied with Pittsburgh atop the ACC Coastal Division with the meat of their conference schedule right around the corner.
Utah survives in late-night battle against California
No. 5 Utah won a battle of unbeatens late Saturday night 30-24 behind the running of Devontae Booker and a defense that forced five interceptions from highly-touted quarterback Jared Goff. The Utes struggled to capitalize on turnovers all night, but came up with big plays when needed to secure the victory. With possession of the ball and his team down six, Goff had a chance to be the hero with a potential game-winning drive. But on fourth and five from the Utah 21-yard line, the potential first-round pick's pass fell incomplete.
With the victory, the Utes continued their climb up the rankings and moved up one spot to No. 4, receiving 16 first-place votes. The Golden Bears fell to No. 23 after their fist defeat of the season.
Michigan extends shutout streak in impressive victory
Led by first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh, the Wolverines stayed hot and won their fifth consecutive game 38-0 against Northwestern. Michigan built an early 21-0 first quarter advantage behind a raucous home crowd that proved to be too much for the Wildcats to handle. The cushion proved to be more than enough for the Wolverines defense which held Northwestern to just 168 yards of total offense and 2-of-13 on third down. With another shutout in the books, Michigan now holds a 189-minute shutout streak, the program's longest in 35 years. The Wolverines moved up six spots to No. 12 as a result of their latest rout.
Harbaugh will hope that his team's stout defense and soaring confidence can carry them once again when they battle No. 7 Michigan State next Saturday at home. The Spartans fell three spots after holding off Rutgers on the road to remain unbeaten.
Big 12 contests go down to the wire
The always-exciting Big 12 treated fans to a pair of exciting contests this weekend as then-No. 10 Oklahoma was shocked by unranked Texas and then-No. 2 TCU survived against Kansas State. The Longhorns came into this year's rendition of the Red River Rivalry battered and bruised after an embarrassing 43-point defeat a week ago. But Texas used a strong start and key plays from freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard to come away with the victory and give something for head coach Charlie Strong to cheer about. Oklahoma fell to No. 19 after failing to show up in a big game once again.
The Horned Frogs appeared to be on their way to another easy victory when they jumped out to a 14-7 lead in the first quarter. But the explosive Kansas State offense scored on four consecutive possessions and took a commanding 35-17 lead into halftime. A late touchdown pass from Trevone Boykin to star wide receiver Josh Doctson would seal the deal for TCU who moved to 6-0 on the season. Despite the victory, the Horned Frogs fell one spot to No. 3 as Baylor jumped up to No. 2 after a 66-7 romp of Kansas.
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