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Crunchy Numbers a few days early

What a wild weekend in college football, and what a successful weekend for the region's teams.

What a wild weekend in college football, and what a successful weekend for the region's teams.

At the I-A level, six of the top 25 teams in the AP poll lost, leading to Penn State's leap to the No. 6 spot in the AP and Coaches polls.

At the I-AA level, No. 1 Villanova upset Richmond, with Chris Whitney leaving no doubt about who should be the Wildcats' starting quarterback. As 'Nova improved its chances of making the playoffs, Penn's chances of winning its first Ivy League title in five years skyrocketed after Harvard and Yale lost their conference openers.

As I'm going to be off Monday and Tuesday for Rosh Hashanah, I'm writing this while watching the Eagles-Bears game. I'll be in Phillies playoffs mode starting Wednesday, though with

» READ MORE: Game 1 starting at 3 p.m.

I should be able to make the coaches' luncheon.

So here we go, and the biggest news to me is that Rutgers has now fallen below Delaware and Villanova. The Scarlet Knights opened the season at No. 42, so they've fallen 80 spots in just over a month. Wow.

I'm also a bit surprised that Villanova didn't rise above Delaware after beating Richmond, but that's probably because the Blue Hens beat Albany by 31 and the computers like big margins of victory.

Penn State (9)

Home win vs. No. 66/61 Illinois, 38-24

10/4 at No. 69 Purdue, 12:00 p.m., ESPN

Delaware (103)

Home win vs. No. 161/143 Albany, 38-7

10/4 at No. 113 Massachusetts, 3:30 p.m., CN8

Villanova (107)

Home win vs. No. 90/103 Richmond, 26-20

10/4 at No. 142 William & Mary, 1:00 p.m.

Rutgers (85)

Home win vs. No. 201/204 Morgan State, 38-0

10/4 at No. 53 West Virginia, 12:00 p.m. (Big East Regional TV, which could mean Channel 6)

Temple (124)

Home loss vs. No. 88/73 Western Michigan, 7-3

10/4 at No. 114 Miami (Ohio), 3:30 p.m.

Lafayette (162)

Home win vs. No. 153/178 Penn, 24-17

10/4 vs. No. 153 Harvard, 1:00 p.m., WBPH

Lehigh (151)

Road loss vs. No. 168/158 Princeton, 10-7

10/4 vs. No. 154 Cornell, 12:30 p.m.

Penn (153)

Road loss vs. No. 162/160 Lafayette, 24-17

10/4 vs. No. 208 Dartmouth, 12:00 p.m., CN8

Delaware State (195)

Home loss vs. No. 223/200 Central Connecticut, 28-10

10/4 vs. No. 174 Hampton, 1:00 p.m.

As for the Top 10 chart, the first Harris poll of the season came out this week, so we add that in to the mix. It's amazing how fast Alabama has risen -- and intriguing that USC is still third in the Sagarin ranking after losing at Oregon State...