Penn State is in the top 10, Michigan is out again and UCLA is
on the rise in The Associated Press Top 25.
The eighth-ranked Nittany Lions (6-0) are off to their best
start in six years and have their highest ranking since they were
No. 6 in the Nov. 7, 1999 poll.
Southern California is No. 1 for the 25th straight poll,
receiving 58 first-place votes in the media rankings released
Sunday, with Texas and Virginia Tech holding onto the next two
spots. The Longhorns received seven first-place votes, one more
than last week.
Florida State is fourth followed by a pair of Southeastern
Conference teams, Georgia and Alabama.
Miami is No. 7 and Penn State, Notre Dame and LSU round out the
top 10.
Penn State, which started the season unranked, beat Ohio State
17-10 on Saturday night in State College, Pa., to jump eight spots
in the AP poll. Ohio State fell nine spots to 15th.
Michigan had a streak of 114 straight weeks in the rankings
snapped when the Wolverines fell out of the rankings two weeks ago,
following their second loss of the season. Michigan jumped back
into the Top 25 after beating Michigan State last week, but the
Wolverines fell to 3-3 with a last-second loss to Minnesota and
were dropped from the rankings again.
Penn State, the only Big Ten team without a conference loss,
plays at Michigan on Saturday.
"We're not done," Nittany Lions quarterback Michael Robinson
said after the Ohio State win. "We've got ourselves a tough
Michigan game coming up next weekend."
In the USA Today coaches' poll, the top five was unchanged from
last week -- USC, Texas, Virginia Tech, Georgia and Florida State.
In the AP Top 25, No. 11 is Florida and UCLA is No. 12, moving
up eight spots after beating California 47-40.
The Bruins (5-0) haven't been ranked this high since the last
poll of October 2001 when they were ninth.
No. 13 Texas Tech is followed by Boston College, Ohio State,
Michigan State and Tennessee, which fell nine spots to No. 17 after
losing 27-14 to Georgia at home.
Cal dropped eight spots to No. 18, and is followed by Louisville
and Oregon. No. 21 Auburn gives the SEC six ranked teams, the most
of any league.
The bottom four has two teams (Minnesota and TCU) moving back
into the rankings this season and another (Colorado) making its
2005 debut in the Top 25.
Minnesota returns at No. 22, and No. 23 Wisconsin gives the Big
Ten five ranked teams.
No. 24 Colorado is in the rankings for the first time since
early in the 2003 season.
No. 25 TCU was in the Top 25 for one week after beating Oklahoma
to start this season, then lost to SMU the next week and fell out.
The Horned Frogs have since won four straight.
Falling out of the Top 25 along with Michigan were Georgia Tech
and Arizona State.