Arkansas, Rutgers Make Big Moves in Poll

By The Associated Press

Arkansas and Rutgers are on the rise. Florida and Southern California are practically even. And Ohio State and Michigan haven't budged from the top of The Associated Press Top 25. After a wild week in which four top-10 teams lost, including three of the top five, the rankings had a major shake-up Sunday.

Except at the top, where No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan held their places and set up the second 1 vs. 2 matchup of the season. The Buckeyes (11-0) and Wolverines (11-0) play Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, with the winner earning a spot in the national title game Jan. 8 in Arizona.

Ohio State, which beat Texas in a 1 vs. 2 game in September, received all but one of the 65 first-place votes, with Michigan getting the other.

Florida is No. 3, just three points ahead of USC. The Gators, who moved up three spots, needed a blocked field goal on the final play to beat South Carolina 17-16 on Saturday. The Trojans defeated Oregon 35-10 to also move up three spots.

No. 5 Arkansas moved up six spots with its 31-14 victory over Tennessee, and Notre Dame went up three spots to No. 6 after winning 39-17 at Air Force.

The Razorbacks have their highest ranking since they were No. 4 in October 1985.

Last week, Louisville, Texas and Auburn held spots three through five, but all were upset.

Unbeaten Rutgers handed Louisville its first loss of the season on Thursday, 28-25. The win boosted the Scarlet Knights to No. 7, their first appearance in the top 10.

Texas and Auburn were beaten by unranked teams. The Longhorns lost at Kansas State 45-42, and Auburn fell to Georgia 37-15.

The last time three top-five teams lost on the same weekend was Nov. 2, 2002, when No. 3 Virginia Tech, No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 5 Georgia all were upset by unranked opponents.

West Virginia is No. 8 in the latest media poll, followed by LSU and Louisville, which dropped seven spots to No. 10. The Big East has three top-10 teams, along with the Southeastern Conference.

Texas fell seven spots to No. 11. No. 12 Wisconsin moved up four spots and undefeated Boise State moved up one place to No. 13.

No. 14 Wake Forest, coming off a 30-0 victory at Florida State that made the Demon Deacons 9-1 for the first time, moved up four spots.

No. 15 Auburn dropped 10 spots. The Tigers are followed by Oklahoma and California, the fourth member of last week's top 10 to lose. Cal was upset 24-20 at Arizona.

Four Atlantic Coast Conference teams hold the next four spots, starting with No. 18 Georgia Tech, the Coastal Division champ. Virginia Tech is 19th, followed by Boston College and Maryland, which is tied with Wake Forest for the lead in the Atlantic Division. The ACC has six ranked teams, the most of any conference.

Tennessee dropped nine places to 22 after its second consecutive loss. No. 23 BYU moved up two spots and No. 24 Nebraska and No. 25 Clemson moved back into the rankings this week.

Texas A&M and Oregon fell out of the rankings.


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