Louisville replaces Washington in Top 25 after UH game
Hawaii quarterback Ikaika Woolsey throws on the move during the second half of Saturday's game between the Washington Huskies and the Rainbow Warriors at Aloha Stadium.
It took Bobby Petrino one week to get Louisville into the rankings. The Cardinals’ opening 31-13 victory against Miami on Monday pushed them into the No. 25 slot as Petrino starts his second stint as Louisville coach.
Chris Petersen’s debut at Washington coach was victorious but not nearly as impressive. The Huskies slogged through a 17-16 victory at Hawaii with backup quarterback Jeff Lindquist and fell out of the rankings. The suspended Cyler Miles will return, and start, this week for Washington against Eastern Washington.
No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Alabama held their spots in the AP Top 25 released on Tuesday, though both looked to be less than juggernauts in close victories against heavy underdogs on Saturday.
Florida State struggled to run the ball behind an offensive line with four returning starters and had a difficult time getting the Cowboys off the field on third down. Still, Jameis Winston was mostly excellent and the Seminoles outgained the Cowboys 476-364. If anything, the 37-31 victory for Florida State in North Texas might tell us more about how good Oklahoma State is than it does about the Seminoles’ weaknesses.
Alabama got into a back-and-forth game against West Virginia before beating the Mountaineers 33-23 in Atlanta. The problems came mostly on the defensive side for Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide, which had problems with pass coverage.
The Crimson Tide and Seminoles should be credited for at least playing teams that have the ability to pose a threat, but the two lost support from AP voters.
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Florida State went from 57 first-place vote to 46. Alabama dropped 44 total points.
Ohio State also took on a challenging opener, and had a tough time shaking free from Navy in Baltimore. The Midshipmen’s triple-option offense and overall intensity is often vexing, even to the most talented opponent. Breaking in a new quarterback made the opener all the more challenging for the Buckeyes. T.J. Barrett had one terrible interception but went 12 for 15 for 226 yards and helped Ohio State pull away, 34-17.
“It was what I expected,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said about Braxton Miller’s replacement. “He’s a very cool, collected guy. … I thought he handled himself very well.”
Still, the Buckeyes dropped from fifth to No. 8.
UCLA also slipped after Brett Hundley and company survived a groggy offensive performance in a 28-20 victory at Virginia that kicked off at noon EDT — or 9 a.m. UCLA time. The Bruins dropped four spots to No. 11.
