College Football AP Top 25: Winners and losers of Week 9

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Drue Tranquill #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates with teammates after recovering a fumbled punt in the second quarter of a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

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BLACKSBURG, VA – OCTOBER 21: Defensive end Trevon Hill #94 of the Virginia Tech Hokies celebrates a defensive stop against the North Carolina Tar Heels with defensive back Mook Reynolds #6 in the first half at Lane Stadium on October 21, 2017 in Blacksburg, Virginia. (Photo by Michael Shroyer/Getty Images) /

Winner: Virginia Tech Hokies (No. 14 up to No. 13)

Remember when I said that Notre Dame might be the most overlooked team in college football? Well, Virginia Tech could be a close second.In fact, the Hokies won their sixth game of the season on Saturday afternoon to become bowl eligible, and made it look easy.

Now 6-1 with a lone loss to Clemson, Virginia Tech is focused on making a run at the ACC Coastal division title. Fortunately, the Hokies control their own destiny as the first-place team, Miami, is on the schedule for Nov. 4 and the second-place team, Georgia Tech, is the following week. If Virginia Tech can win out, it’ll have a shot at the playoff with an ACC Championship Game win.

That’s still a long way off, though. The Hokies just need to take care of business every week, and they did just that against hapless North Carolina on Saturday. The Tar Heels fell to 1-7, but not before Virginia Tech dropped 59 points and held them to just seven.

Josh Jackson didn’t have his best game, but he didn’t need to. He completed 10-of-20 passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns, but the defense really showed off. In fact, the Hokies finished with 13 tackles for loss, six sacks, two interceptions and a fumble recovery, all while holding North Carolina to 172 total yards.

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