Less than a year ago, a tragic act of violence rocked Virginia’s football program.
A gunman shot three members of the team and injured running back Mike Hollins.
Just over a year later, Hollins scored three touchdowns and the Cavaliers stunned No. 10 North Carolina 31-27 to secure the program’s first top-10 road win. During his hospital stay last winter, Hollins spent time on a ventilator and underwent multiple surgeries to recover from a gunshot wound he suffered when Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. opened fire on a charter bus returning from a school trip . The incident left UVA players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry dead and shocked a community and program for months.
“Since November 13th of last year, this program has believed,” UVA coach Tony Elliott said after the game, referencing the shooting date. “Tonight was the night. We wanted to stare this lion in the face.”
UVA’s unexpected win tops our Top 10 and drops quarterback Drake Maye and the Tar Heels from the rankings – another inexplicable loss for a program that was on the cusp of a championship under coach Mack Brown. The Hoos had an all-time record of 0-29 in road games against top-10 teams.
The victory was perhaps the most notable result on a wild day in the sport that included:
– two questionable official acts that affected the outcome of the games in Houston and Iowa City. Texas survived a scare from the Cougars after failing on a fourth down that never should have happened. It seemed like Houston had gotten its first down one play earlier. And Minnesota won after a penalty nullified Iowa’s go-ahead punt return for a touchdown.
– A school (Michigan State) posted an in-game apology for posting a trivia question about Adolf Hitler on their video board (you read that right).
– Matches with final scores of 7-3, 10-7, 12-10 and 20-12.
– a third ACC loss for Clemson (this one against Miami), something not seen since 2010.
– Two surprise bowl-eligible teams before Halloween, Rutgers and UNLV, both bowling for the first time since 2014 and 2013, respectively.
– a stunning win in East Lansing for Michigan, which was doing quite well without suspended signal caller Connor Stalions.
– One school (USC) is not making a single player available for interviews, believed to be the first such incident at the school in at least 20 years. (USC lost to Utah for the fourth straight year.)
— a shocking admission from Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, whose tenure has become difficult during this six-game loss.
Coach Ryan Day and his Ohio State Buckeyes took over the No. 1 spot in the Yahoo Top 10 this week following his team’s big win over Penn State. (Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
On to the top 10!
1. Ohio State
This week: Won 20-12 against Penn State
Next week: in Wisconsin
Best win: vs. Penn State
The Buckeyes clinched the only top-10 showdown of the day. And because of that – combined with the win at Notre Dame – Ryan Day’s team rises to the top of our rankings despite many problems. Ohio State’s offense is… inefficient, inconsistent and at times incompetent. Still, the defense is one of the best in the country. Five of their seven opponents scored one or no touchdowns and no team scored more than 17 points in Jim Knowles’ group. On Saturday, Knowles’ team held Penn State to 1 of 16 on third downs.
This week: Won 38-20 against Duke
Next week: at Wake Forest
Best win: vs. LSU
The Blue Devils entered the fourth quarter with a three-point lead before the Seminoles went into “turbo mode,” as they know how. Mike Norvell’s team drove touchdowns of 96, 74 and 32 yards in the fourth quarter to remain undefeated. The Noles haven’t been perfect this year (there were scares against BC, Virginia Tech and Clemson), but as Norvell said after the game, they don’t have to be. The Noles are talented enough to win games that would have been a loss a year or two ago.
This week: Won 31-29 against UCF
Next week: in Kansas
Best win: against Texas
The Sooners survived a scare. The Knights led 23-17 with 10 minutes to play before Brent Venables’ team launched back-to-back touchdown drives. Did they look like the best team in the country? No. But Dillon Gabriel did enough against his old team to keep his new team in the top three in the country.
4.Washington
This week: Won 15-7 against Arizona State
Next week: at Stanford
Best win: vs. Oregon
A week after that thrilling win over Oregon, the Huskies sleepwalked into the fourth quarter, trailing Arizona State 7-6 with about nine minutes to play. Everything changed when Washington DB Mishael Powell returned an interception 89 yards for a touchdown on a fourth down attempt. ASU had a chance to score two points with a touchdown or four points with a field goal. Instead, the Huskies’ defense helped them to an ugly win.
5. Georgia
This week: Bye
Next week: vs. Florida (Jacksonville)
Best win: vs. Kentucky
The two-time defending champion Bulldogs have not lost in 22 months, 24 games and 686 days. Did they look perfect? No. Did they look invincible? Far from it. Did they win every game? Yes. Without their best player – tight end Brock Bowers – the Bulldogs face the Gators in the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party. Drink up!
6.Texas
This week: Won 31-24 at Houston
Next week: vs. BYU
Best win: at Alabama
The Longhorns, 23-point favorites, held on without their starting quarterback. Quinn Ewers missed the last few trips after apparently exiting with a shoulder/arm injury. With Texas still fighting for a Big 12 title and a playoff spot, Ewers’ injury is significant. A strong BYU team comes to Austin next week before the Horns travel to Kansas State. Danger!
7.Alabama
This week: Won 34-20 against Tennessee
Next week: Bye
Best win: vs. Ole Miss
Say what you will about the Crimson Tide — sure, they have holes on the O-line and struggles at QB — but Nick Saban’s team is resilient. Trailing by 13 at halftime, they stormed back, outscoring the Vols 27-0 in the final two quarters to avenge last year’s loss in Knoxville. The Tide remains atop the SEC West and will take a break next weekend before hosting LSU in Tuscaloosa in what should be a top-15 matchup.
8.Michigan
This week: Won 49-0 at Michigan State
Next week: Bye
Best win: vs. Rutgers
After a sign-stealing scandal that sparked an NCAA investigation, the Wolverines cruised to a resounding victory over their archrival and scored the most points in a game in East Lansing in program history. Do you think Michigan’s defense played well? MSU launched 10 drives in the game. Only two of them managed more than 25 yards.
9. Penn State
This week: Lost 20-12 at Ohio State
Next week: vs. Indiana
Best win: vs. Iowa
Normally a loss on Saturday drops a team out of our top 10, but the Nittany Lions barely stay in our rankings. Ultimately, coach James Franklin’s team held tight until the fourth quarter against the No. 1-ranked program (thanks to coordinator Manny Diaz and his defense). None of this changes a troubling fact: Franklin has lost seven straight to the Buckeyes.
10.Utah
This week: Won 34-32 at USC
Next week: vs. Oregon
Best win: against Florida
Oh, you thought the Utes would go quietly in their final season of Pac-12 existence? Think again! Utah coach Kyle Wittingham owns the Trojans and showed it again Saturday night in LA. Utah earned its fourth straight win over USC, the most by a Pac-12 opponent since Stanford won four straight more than a decade ago.