Alabama, LSU rank 1-2 in polls
NEW YORK - Alabama and Louisiana State are back atop the Associated Press college football poll, holding down Nos. 1 and 2 the way they did most of last season.
NEW YORK - Alabama and Louisiana State are back atop the Associated Press college football poll, holding down Nos. 1 and 2 the way they did most of last season.
The Crimson Tide are No. 1 for the third straight week, and it was almost unanimous. Alabama received 58 of 60 first-place votes. LSU got the other two.
The Southeastern Conference rivals were ranked first and second for eight weeks during last season before eventually meeting in the BCS title game. The difference last year was LSU was first and Alabama second - until the Tide won the national championship game.
LSU moved up to No. 2 this week after Southern California's first loss of the season. USC slipped 11 spots to 13th after losing, 21-14, at Stanford.
Stanford jumped from 21st to ninth.
The rest of the top 10: 3, Oregon; 4, Florida State; 5, Georgia; 6, Oklahoma; 7, South Carolina; 8, West Virginia; and 10, Clemson.
The USA Today coaches poll also had Alabama and LSU 1-2, with Oregon, Florida State, and Oklahoma rounding out the top five.
Stanford's big win
David Shaw and his Stanford players spent the last nine months telling anybody who would listen that the program had enough talent and depth without Andrew Luck to be a national power for years to come.
Now they have everybody's attention.
While it's only the third game of the season, Stanford's 21-14 victory over Southern California on Saturday night showed life without Luck might not be so bad after all. The Cardinal (3-0, 1-0 Pac-12) jumped from No. 21 to ninth in the Associated Press college football poll Sunday, while the Trojans (2-1, 0-1) dropped from second to 13th.
The same formula that propelled Stanford to an improbable football power has stayed true: a powerful running game, run defense, and timely plays from the tight ends.
Irish lose Slaughter
Notre Dame's defense has taken a hit.
Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly announced Sunday that safety Jamoris Slaughter will miss the rest of the season. Slaughter tore his left Achilles tendon in a 20-3 win over Michigan State on Saturday night. The senior started the first three games this year and 19 in his career.
Matthias Farley is expected to start in Slaughter's place when No. 11 Notre Dame hosts No. 18 Michigan on Saturday night.
Kelly said plans are being made for linebacker Manti Te'o to go home to Hawaii during the team's bye week after playing the Wolverines. Te'o was sensational against the Spartans just days after the loss of his grandmother and girlfriend, who had a long battle with leukemia.