|
Sport Sections |
|
|
| | |||
| Sunday, October 29 Oklahoma No. 1; Nebraska falls to No. 5 Associated Press | |||
| After 13 long years, Oklahoma is No. 1 again.
With their rousing 31-14 victory over Nebraska, the Sooners
soared to the top spot of The Associated Press Top 25 poll released
Sunday, replacing the Cornhuskers, who held the No. 1 spot for every other poll this season except one.
Oklahoma was last ranked No. 1 after a 17-7 win over Nebraska in
the final game of the 1987 regular season. But the Sooners were
beaten by Miami 20-14 in the Orange Bowl and ended up No. 3 in the
final poll.
This time, the Sooners (7-0) have a chance to hang on to No. 1 a
bit longer, with four games remaining in the regular season,
followed by the Big 12 title game and, hopefully, another trip to
the Orange Bowl to play for a national title.
The Sooners were a near-unanimous choice, receiving 69 of 70
first-place votes and 1,749 points from the sports writers and
broadcasters on the AP panel.
Nebraska (7-1) dropped to No. 5, as only two teams from last
week's Top 25 -- No. 2 Virginia Tech and No. 7 Oregon -- held the
same ranking.
The Hokies (8-0) needed a last-minute field goal to beat
Pittsburgh 37-34 Saturday, but hung on at No. 2 with 1,633
points -- 31 ahead of No. 3 Miami, which beat Louisiana Tech 42-31.
Virginia Tech plays at Miami this Saturday.
The Hurricanes (6-1) moved up a spot from last week, and were
followed by No. 4 Florida State (one first-place vote), No. 5
Nebraska, No. 6 Florida (7-1) , No. 7 Oregon (7-1), No. 8
Washington (7-1), No. 9 TCU (7-0) and No. 10 Clemson (8-1).
Three unbeaten teams remain -- Oklahoma, Virginia Tech and TCU,
which beat Rice 37-0. Like Nebraska, Clemson also fell from the
unbeaten ranks with a 31-28 loss to Georgia Tech.
Oklahoma was No. 19 in the preseason poll, rose to No. 10 by the
end of September, advanced to No. 8 after a 63-14 win over then-No.
11 Texas and to No. 3 after a 41-31 win over then-No. 2 Kansas
State on Oct. 14.
Sooners coach Bob Stoops said the No. 1 ranking, "means you're
doing very well," but he's more concerned about winning the Big 12
South title and advancing to the league's championship game.
"To be No 1, it's not one of our goals to be No. 1 part way
through the year," he said. "It has no bearing on anything we're
doing."
Purdue, with a 31-27 win over Ohio State, jumped five spots to
No. 11, followed by No. 12 Michigan, No. 13 Southern Mississippi,
No. 14 Oregon State, No. 15 Notre Dame, No. 16 Ohio State, No. 17
Georgia, No. 18 Mississippi State, No. 19 Kansas State and No. 20
Texas.
Northwestern, a last-play, 41-35 winner over Minnesota, was No.
21, followed by No. 22 South Carolina, No. 23 Auburn, No. 24 Texas
A&M and No. 25 Georgia Tech.
In the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, the top six are: Oklahoma,
Virginia Tech, Miami, Florida State, Florida and Nebraska.
The updated Bowl Championship Series standings, which determine
the teams that will play for a national title in the Orange Bowl on
Jan. 3, will be released Monday.
The big shuffle in the AP poll came about after eight of the Top
25 teams lost -- Nebraska, Clemson, Kansas State, Ohio State,
Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina State and Arizona.
N.C. State, a 58-14 loser to Florida State, and Arizona, beaten
27-24 by UCLA, fell out of the Top 25. Texas A&M, a 26-10 winner
over Kansas State, and Georgia Tech moved into the poll.
The three Florida schools are in the top six for the first time
since Oct. 6, 1996 when -- Florida was No. 1, Florida State No. 3
and Miami No. 6. | ALSO SEE
Long wait over for Sooners: Oklahoma voted new No. 1Associated Press poll | ||
|
Copyright ©2000 ESPN Internet Ventures. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Click here for a list of employment opportunities at ESPN.com. |