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Auburn Stuns No. 1 Georgia 27-24 on McPherson’s Kick at the Gun

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Auburn kicker Alex McPherson lines up the game-winning field goal against Georgia.

The No. 1 team in the country went down between the hedges on Saturday. Alex McPherson drilled a 34-yard field goal as time expired, and Auburn stunned Georgia 27-24 in Athens for the Tigers’ first win in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry at Sanford Stadium in 31 years.

Georgia (6-1) jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but Auburn (4-2) roared back with 24 straight points, outrushing the Bulldogs 192-113. Quarterback Byrum Brown powered the comeback, carrying 26 times for 115 yards and a touchdown while also throwing a touchdown pass on 15-of-26 passing for 150 yards.

Gunner Stockton rallied Georgia late, finishing 22-of-34 for 272 yards and two touchdowns, and his 4-yard scoring pass to London Humphreys tied the game 24-24 with about three minutes to play. But Stockton fumbled with 58 seconds left, Sylvester Smith-Reed recovered at the Auburn 44, and a roughing-the-passer penalty on Gabe Harris Jr. helped push the Tigers into range for McPherson’s winner.

The loss snapped Georgia’s nine-game winning streak in the series and knocked the Bulldogs from the top of the polls — one of five top-seven teams to fall on a historic Saturday.

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Saturday of Chaos: Five of the AP Top Seven Fall for the First Time Since 1936

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Tennessee celebrates its 26-10 win over Alabama — the signature result on a Saturday when five of the AP top seven lost.

College football has been playing with an AP poll since 1936. It had never seen a Saturday like this one: five of the top seven teams in the country — No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 Texas — all lost on the same regular-season day, and the top two teams lost on the same day for the first time since Nov. 17, 2012. For the second straight week, the nation’s No. 1 team fell to an unranked opponent, something that hadn’t happened since 1990.

The carnage: Auburn beat No. 1 Georgia 27-24 in Athens on a field goal as time expired, the Tigers’ first win there in 31 years. BYU toppled No. 2 Notre Dame 28-24 in Provo behind four total touchdowns from Bear Bachmeier, ending the Irish’s 16-game winning streak. Ohio State survived Indiana 19-15 in Bloomington, snapping the Hoosiers’ 22-game winning streak — but lost quarterback Julian Sayin to a shoulder injury. Tennessee’s defense strangled No. 6 Alabama 26-10 in Knoxville, holding the Crimson Tide to 201 yards. And Florida went into Austin and beat No. 7 Texas 27-24 behind first-time starter Tramell Jones Jr.

The survivors: No. 3 Miami needed two overtimes to escape Florida State 43-35 in a rivalry classic. No. 9 Ole Miss routed No. 13 Missouri 31-3, LSU blanked No. 16 Mississippi State 31-0, No. 10 Texas Tech hung 53 on Arizona State, and No. 15 Kentucky rallied to win 21-13 at Oklahoma. Michigan benched Bryce Underwood and still beat Penn State 21-18. Elsewhere, Utah edged Colorado 27-24, UCLA beat Wisconsin 17-7, Houston outlasted Oklahoma State 35-32, SMU topped Virginia 23-13, Wake Forest routed Cal 41-7, Oregon held off Nebraska 17-14, and Washington beat Purdue 38-26 on Friday night.

The new AP Top 25 tells the story of the shakeup: Miami is No. 1 with 40 first-place votes, BYU is No. 2 (20 first-place votes) and Ohio State No. 3 (9). Notre Dame sits fourth, Georgia fifth, Indiana sixth, followed by Ole Miss, Texas Tech, UCLA and Utah. Tennessee climbs to No. 11 and Kentucky to No. 12, while Alabama tumbles to No. 13, LSU rises to No. 18, Texas falls to No. 19 and Florida cracks the poll at No. 20. Missouri (No. 22), SMU (No. 23), Northwestern (No. 24) and Arizona (No. 25) round out the rankings.

Week 8 has a lot to live up to.

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