Dame was idle, and No. 2 Michigan still had not begun their season. No. 3 Miami opened with a 51-3 domination of Wisconsin, No. 4 Nebraska beat Northern Illinois 48-17, and No. 5 Auburn shut out Pacific 55-0. The top five remained the same in the next poll. September 16: For the fifth consecutive year, there was a regular-season game between the AP’s top two teams. And for the second year in a row Notre Dame was the winner of that matchup, as the No. 1-ranked Fighting Irish defeated No. 2 Michigan 24-19 thanks to Rocket Ismail’s two kickoff returns for touchdowns. Meanwhile, No. 3 Miami beat California 31-3, No. 4 Nebraska won 42-30 over Utah, and No. 5 Auburn defeated Southern Mississippi 24-3. The top five in the next poll were No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Auburn, and No. 5 Michigan. September 23: No. 1 Notre Dame defeated Michigan State 21-13, No. 2 Miami won 38-7 at Missouri, and No. 3 Nebraska shut out Minnesota 48-0. No. 4 Auburn was idle. No. 5 Michigan needed a late touchdown and a buzzer-beating field goal to beat No. 24 UCLA 24-23, and the Wolverines fell out of the top five in the next poll. No. 6 Colorado did not play this weekend, but they met with a tragedy as quarterback Sal Aunese (who was also coach Bill McCartney’s son-in-law) died of stomach cancer. The Buffaloes moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Auburn, and No. 5 Colorado. September 30: No. 1 Notre Dame beat their third straight Big Ten opponent, winning 40-7 at Purdue. Michigan State had to play a top-two team for the second week in a row, and the Spartans fell 26-20 to No. 2 Miami. No. 3 Nebraska defeated Oregon State 35-7, but No. 4 Auburn lost 21-14 at No. 12 Tennessee. Just days after Aunese’s funeral, No. 5 Colorado traveled to Seattle and won 45-28 over No. 21 Washington. No. 6 Michigan beat Maryland 41-21 to move back into the top five: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Colorado, No. 4 Nebraska, and No. 5 Michigan. October October 7: No. 1 Notre Dame won 27-17 at Stanford, No. 2 Miami overwhelmed Cincinnati 56-0, No. 3 Colorado crushed Missouri 49-3, No. 4 Nebraska dominated Kansas State 58-7,