Penn State Out Of AP Top 25
Penn State lost more than the Kickoff Classic over the weekend: The Nittany Lions are out of The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll for the first time since the end of the 1992 season.
Soundly beaten by USC 29-5 on Sunday, Penn State saw its streak of being ranked in 119 consecutive polls end Monday with the release of the AP's first regular-season ratings.
The Nittany Lions, who had the fourth-longest run of consecutive rankings behind Nebraska, Florida State and Florida, entered the game ranked 22nd.
The last time the Lions were unranked was in the final poll of the 1992 season, when they finished 7-5 after a loss to Stanford in the Blockbuster Bowl.
Nebraska and Florida State remained 1-2 in this week's poll as the top 11 were unchanged from the preseason poll.
The Cornhuskers, who open their season Saturday against San Jose State, collected 35 first-place votes and 1,728 points from the 71 sports writers and broadcasters on the panel. The Seminoles, 29-3 winners over BYU in the Pigskin Classic, had 30 first-place votes and 1,723 points.
Alabama, which opens its season Saturday at UCLA, was third with three first-place votes and 1,577 points, followed by No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 5 Miami.
The Badgers, who had one first-place vote, and the Hurricanes open their seasons Thursday night. Wisconsin plays Western Michigan, while Miami goes against McNeese State.
Michigan was No. 6, followed by No. 7 Texas (two first-place votes), No. 8 Kansas State, No. 9 Florida and No. 10 Georgia. K-State opened with a 27-7 win over Iowa in the Eddie Robinson Classic.
Virginia Tech, which had its game against Georgia Tech postponed by violent thunderstorms and lightning, was No. 11, followed by No. 12 USC (up three spots), No. 13 Tennessee, No. 14 Washington, No. 15 Purdue, No. 16 Ohio State, No. 17 Clemson, No. 18 Mississippi, No. 19 Oklahoma and No. 20 TCU.
Illinois was No. 21, followed by No. 22 Mississippi State, No. 23 Colorado, No. 24 Michigan State and No. 25 Texas A&M.
The Aggies, the only new team in the poll, open at Notre Dame on Saturday.
Nebraska's streak of consecutive poll appearances is up to 310, followed by Florida State's 184 and Florida's 178.
In the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, the top five are Nebraska, Florida State, Alabama, Michigan and Wisconsin.
©2000 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed