Wisconsin star Ron Dayne leaves the field after a 17-12 loss to Cincinnati.

By virtue of their stirring victories Saturday over Miami and Tennessee, respectively, Penn State and Florida are now ranked second and third in the nation. They trail only Florida State, which remained No. 1 after crushing North Carolina State.

The Badgers, however, suffered a loss at Cincinnati and dropped nine spots to 17th.

Five of the bottom nine teams in the poll entering Saturday lost, paving the way for four new schools -- Brigham Young, Michigan State, Mississippi State and Air Force -- to jump into the rankings.

Florida State (3-0) received 50 of a possible 59 first-place votes and 1,466 points, 73 more than Penn State (4-0), which garnered six first-place votes. Three of the nation's coaches felt that Florida (3-0) was the top team in the land.

The Seminoles visit Florida on Nov. 20.

Michigan (3-0), which hung on for a last-minute victory at Syracuse, and Nebraska (3-0), a surprisingly narrow winner over Southern Mississippi, round out the top five.

Texas A&M (2-0) begins the next five and is followed by defending national champion Tennessee (1-1), a 23-21 loser to Florida. Virginia Tech (2-0) and Georgia (2-0) each moved up a spot despite being idle, while Ohio State (2-1) jumped two positions after routing Ohio.

Off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 1969 is Purdue, which jumped three positions and is ranked 11th. Following the Boilmermakers are Georgia Tech (2-1), Miami (2-1) -- a 27-23 home loser to Penn State -- Arkansas (2-0) and Kansas State (2-0).

Southern California (2-0) almost blew a 17-point lead but hung on for a victory over San Diego State and is ranked 16th. Next are the Badgers (2-1), who suffered a humiliating 17-12 loss at Cincinnati, a team that lost to a Division I-AA school the week before.

UCLA (2-1), BYU (2-0), which crushed Colorado State on Thursday, and Texas (3-1) complete the top 20.

Michigan State (3-0), a 23-13 winner over Notre Dame, is ranked 21st. Marshall (3-0), which last week earned its first ranking, remains in the poll at No. 22. Mississippi State (3-0), North Carolina State (3-1) and Air Force, which won at Washington, complete the top 25.

Dropping from the rankings were Arizona -- which began the season at No. 3 -- Alabama, Arizona State and Colorado State.