Bruins, Irish Leap Into Polls
Welcome back, UCLA. And Notre Dame, too.
With a resounding 35-24 victory over Alabama, the Bruins vaulted into The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll on Sunday, landing at No. 16.
The Fighting Irish opened their season with a 24-10 win over Texas A&M and moved in at No. 23.
Neither UCLA nor Notre Dame were ranked in the preseason or first regular-season polls. For the Irish, it was the first time since 1986 they weren't among the Top 25 in AP preseason rankings.
UCLA was last ranked in the Top 25 in the fourth poll last season; Notre Dame last appeared in the 10th poll of '99.
Nebraska and Florida State remained 1-2, while Michigan moved up three places to No. 3 and Alabama tumbled 10 spots to No. 13.
The Cornhuskers, who opened with a 49-13 win over San Jose State on Saturday, received 39 first-place votes and 1,736 points from the 71 sports writers and broadcasters on the AP panel.
Florida State, idle on Saturday, had 28 first-place votes and 1,725 points, while Michigan was a distant third with 1,513 points. The Wolverines opened with a 42-7 victory over Bowling Green.
Miami, a 61-14 winner over I-AA McNeese State last Thursday, moved up a spot to No. 4, followed by No. 5 Wisconsin, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Kansas State, No. 8 Florida, No. 9 Georgia and No. 10 Virginia Tech.
The Badgers, who received one first-place vote, dropped a spot after a lackluster 19-7 win over Western Michigan last Thursday night. Texas, which opens its season Saturday against Louisiana-Lafayette, had two first-place votes and UCLA had one first-place vote.
USC was up a notch at No. 11, followed by No. 12 Tennessee, No. 13 Alabama, No. 14 Purdue, No. 15 Washington, No. 16 UCLA, No. 17 Clemson, No. 18 Ohio State, No. 19 Mississippi and No. 20 Oklahoma.
Illinois remained No. 21, followed by No. 22 TCU, No. 23 Notre Dame, No. 24 Michigan State and No. 25 Southern Mississippi, which remained in the rankings despite a 19-16 loss at Tennessee.
Colorado and Texas A&M dropped out of the poll.
In the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, the top five are Nebraska, Florida State, Michigan, Miami and Florida.
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