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Tennessee moved up five spots in the Associated Press Top 25.
Meanwhile, Ohio State has risen - all the way to No 1. A day after the top two teams in the Top 25 lost, the Buckeyes jumped two spots Sunday in the media poll and became the third school this season to hold the No. 1 ranking.
"We've improved each week but we understand that the only poll that counts is the last one," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said in a statement.
The Buckeyes (7-0) beat Kent State 48-3 Saturday and have played only one team that's been in the rankings at any point this season. In a season in which 10 ranked teams have been beaten by unranked teams, just avoiding the upset bug has been enough for Ohio State.
Ohio State was No. 1 last season from preseason until the final poll, when the Buckeyes dropped to No. 2 after losing the BCS national championship game to Florida.
An unpredictable season took a new twist Saturday when LSU, in its second week as No. 1, was upset 43-37 in triple overtime by Kentucky. A few hours later, California, poised to move up one spot to No. 1 with a victory, lost at home 31-28 to Oregon State.
It was the first time in 11 years the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the AP poll lost on the same day.
The Buckeyes received 50 of a possible 65 first-place votes, and were not the only team to advance. South Florida, which had never been ranked before this season, moved up three spots to No. 2, leapfrogging No. 3 Boston College.
The Bulls received 11 first-place votes after a 64-12 victory over Central Florida. BC's workmanlike 27-14 victory over Notre Dame helped get the Eagles one first-place votes. No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 LSU each received one first-place vote, as did No. 12 Arizona State.
The last time six teams received first-place votes after the first month of the season was Nov. 25, 1990.
The rest of the top 10 was No. 6 South Carolina, followed by Oregon, Kentucky, West Virginia and Cal, which slipped eight spots to No. 10.
Virginia Tech was No. 11, followed by Arizona State and Southern California, which fell another three spots to No. 13.
USC was the preseason No. 1, but lost the top ranking three weeks ago after a lackluster victory at Washington. The Trojans slipped to No. 10 last week after being upset by Stanford.
Florida was No. 14, followed by Kansas and Missouri, which were tied at No. 15. Hawaii, Auburn, Texas and Tennessee rounded out the top 20.
Georgia, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Michigan and Kansas State were the final five.
Michigan started the season at No. 5 and fell all the way out after an opening loss to Appalachian State. The Wolverines have won five straight after starting the season 0-2.
Texas Tech is making its first appearance in the poll this season. Dropping out this week were Wisconsin, Illinois and Florida State.
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Comments » 15
OwensboroVol writes:
The Polls are there only to increase fan interest. No one has a clue what teams can beat what teams. The fact that a Big Ten team is now ranked number one shows that. The Big Ten is very weak, this year. Any team from that league will have great difficulty wining a national championship game against most other conference champions. LSU, regardless of its lost Saturday, is still the best team in the country when playing their "A" game. They lost a game to a very good Kentucky team, while not playing anywhere close to their best. The Sportswriters and Coaches had to run out and place an obviously inferior Ohio State team above them in the resulting frenzy. Does anyone believe, at this moment, that Ohio State, Playing their very best game, could beat LSU playing their very best? I don't think so.
CoverOrange writes:
I don't know, Owen, but I would like to find out in a playoff.
koamalina writes:
Imagine how Kansas and Hawai'i feel...they are two of only five undefeated teams but ranked 15 and 16. Talk about no respect!
cphil writes:
What ever happened to strength of schedule in determining rankings? South Florida's schedule is a joke. Sure, they played, and beat, West Va. and Auburn, but look at the rest. Ohio State's is almost as bad. I don't think they've beat a ranked team yet.
DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu writes:
This ranking means less than zero -- maybe even less than the Nobel Peace Prize, if that's possible.
For this team, the only thing that matters is the next snap, period.
Colliervol writes:
Ohio State, South Florida, and Boston College. Three pretty good teams in three very weak conferences. Just the way it works with the wonder that is the BCS. Just win baby. Even if it's the Little Sisters of the Poor you're beating up on.
As for the Vols, I agree with mbumburu. Doesn't matter if we are 20th or 120th. We are playing for Atlanta. If we don't win out, well, you know the drill.
andy112382#209793 writes:
We just need to keep winning, who knows where we would end up if we win the rest of our games the rate ranked teams are getting knocked off every week. We're playing balanced football right now, just need to keep it up and improve from one game to the next and we'll be fine....just as I said before, very young team, they'll get better with each week.
GO VOLS!!! Beat Bama!
GreerVol22 writes:
Why do we even care about the AP or BCS? The minute this team changes focus to rankings instead of blocking & tackling then the L' will begin to pile up.
hueypilot writes:
Forget the BCS. We are locked up in a conference playoff. Lose one and likely you're out of it. I am so over subjective "beauty contests" like the Heisman and the BCS end game. If you contend for and win the SEC, you know who you are, and all the fans and players in the football world know who and what you are, no matter what some sportswriter from Des Moines thinks. It's great to get in the big game, but winning your division in the SEC, playing for the title, and winning that, you have nothing leftto prove to anybody.
iowavol writes:
Unfortunately, the ranking system is what we have today and it does matter. It matters big time in exposure (Hamilton's defacto Marketing Strategy) and recruiting. Keep winning and we keep moving up. Somebody said just focus on winning the SEC and that's right - if we do that the rankings will and exposure will be there.
orangebloodgmc writes:
Koamalina, Kansas' 1st 4 opponents: Central Mich., SE Louisiana, Toledo, and Florida International. You CAN buy w's but, respect ...
GreeneVol writes:
Interesting poll here: done by Las Vegas Sports Consultants - based on odds...not coaches, or sportswriters from certain areas...
http://www.foxsportsradio1460.com/ski...
tnfanincali writes:
i agree that polls are arbitrary at best and are there more to drum up interest. they are meaningless though (except for the last one) until it comes time to make bowl selections. who is the best team in the country? based on performance, i would have to say oklahoma and oregon both look pretty good. i think LSU and florida are also upper tier and Florida got caught looking ahead with auburn. if they were to play again, i think florida would probably win (the auburn game, not sure about LSU). south carolina seems to be worth mentioning as well. i think this week's UK-UF matchup is going to be pretty interesting.
to the touchTN, CRVol, FireFoolmer folks i have a question. who do you guys think should be our coach? i agree that Fulmer should be replaced unless he can win the SEC and have a quality bowl win but who can we get in here that will put us back in the national championship conversations? a few of the names i heard tossed around in the post florida loss uproar have gone on to crash and burn (one of whom, Richt, just got whupped by Fulmer's squad).
Volunatic writes:
Kind of crazy that Georgia is ranked ahead of UT in all of the "human" polls. Tennessee is ranked about where they belong in the BCS computer polls-- 17th.
GO VOLS!!! Beat Bama!
koamalina writes:
Last year Boise State had not played anyone either, but mighty Oklahoma learned that you can't overlook a WAC team. My point was that the polls are illogical, and the only way to find a true champion is on the field in a playoff. 16 teams should do it. Win your conference and you make the playoffs. The regular season has real meaning, and the playoffs are bigger than March Madness.
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