Former unbeaten teams topple in Scripps Legends Poll

Despite promising starts to the season, Michigan, Georgia Tech and Illinois fell from the ranks of the unbeaten this past weekend and toppled in the Scripps Legends Poll.

No. 20 Michigan (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) saw the biggest drop in the rankings, falling 10 spots. No. 19 Georgia Tech slid six spots and Illinois dropped five spots to No. 19.

Former Ohio State coach John Cooper predicted a Michigan State upset on last week’s Scripps Legends Poll teleconference and said that Michigan was a bit overrated as a top 10 team.

“I admire what the new coaching staff at Michigan has done,” Cooper said in a phone interview on Sunday. “But it’s tough to compete week-in and week-out in the Big Ten.”

At the top of the Scripps Legends Poll, there was no movement for the third straight week. Alabama kept its No. 1 ranking, picking up two more first-place votes, with 15, after dismantling Ole Miss, 52-7.

LSU remained at No. 2, followed by Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Stanford, all of which averaged a margin of victory of nearly 36 points.

No. 6 Oklahoma State won easily at Texas and remained one spot ahead of Boise State, while No. 8 Clemson survived in a 56-45 shootout at Maryland.

Ninth-ranked Oregon stayed in the top 10 and idle Arkansas made its first appearance.

No. 14 Kansas State — led by former Scripps Legends Poll voter and current head coach Bill Snyder — continued its climb up the rankings, remaining unbeaten with a victory at Texas Tech.

No. 15 Michigan State made the biggest jump in the top 25 this week, moving up seven spots. No. 22 Auburn rejoined the top 25 after a 17-6 victory over Florida.

No. 24 Georgia and No. 25 Houston — which is still unbeaten — both made their first appearances in the Scripps Legends Poll this week.

Florida dropped from the rankings after suffering its third straight SEC loss, and Texas fell out after losing two straight. Baylor also dropped out of the top 25.

(Image courtesy of Flickr, Lil Phil)

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