FSU Holds Strong In AP Poll
When four of the top eight college football teams lose on the same day, figure on a bunch of changes in The Associated Press' Top 25 poll.
A bunch?
Other than Florida State and Virginia Tech remaining 1-2 for the second week in a row, every other team in this week's poll either has a different ranking or is back after an absence.
Let's start near the top: Tennessee (7-2) tumbled four spots to No. 7 after its 28-24 loss to Arkansas; Florida (9-1) moved up a slot to No. 3; and Nebraska(9-1) leapfrogged three places to No. 4 after its 41-15 victory over Kansas State (9-1), which fell four spots to No. 9.
Others making significant moves upward were No. 5 Wisconsin (9-2), No. 6 Texas (9-2) and No. 10 Michigan (8-2); taking falls included No. 12 Mississippi State (8-1), No. 13 Penn State (9-2) and No. 21 Georgia (6-3).
Florida State (10-0), which beat Maryland 49-10, received 63 first-place votes and 1,719 points from 69 of the 70 writers and broadcasters on the AP panel. Florida State is at Florida next Saturday.
Virginia Tech (9-0), which defeated Miami 43-10, got six first-places votes up two from a week ago and 1,658 points.
Florida, a 20-3 winner over South Carolina, had 1,565 points, with Nebraska at 1,534 points. The Cornhuskers play Colorado on Nov. 26 needing a victory to advance to the Big 12 title game.
Wisconsin, which clinched the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth with a 41-3 victory over Iowa, was up four spots from last week. The Badgers were followed by Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, Kansas State and Michigan.
The Wolverines advanced six spots with their victory over the Nittany Lions.
Marshall (10-0), the only other major college team with a perfect record, was up to No. 11 after a 31-17 victory over Western Michigan. Mississippi State was No. 12, followed by Penn State, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Mississippi, Minnesota, Southern Mississippi, and co-No. 19s BY and Purdue.
BYU dropped four spots after a 31-17 loss to Wyoming.
Georgia, a 38-21 loser to Auburn, fell seven spots to No. 21, followed by Arkansas, East Carolina, Texas A&M and Boston College.
In the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, the top five were the same as AP.
Arkansas (6-3), Texas A&M (7-3) and Boston College (7-2) were the new members of this week's Top 25, while Miami, Washington and Ohio State dropped out.
Ohio State, which lost to Illinois 46-20, saw its poll appearance streak end at 86 straight, while Boston College cracked the Top 25 for the first time since the 1995 preseason poll.
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