After Nos. 1 And 2 Fall, Ohio State Rises To Top Of Associated Press Rankings

NEW YORK - Ohio State has risen - all the way to No 1. <br/><br/>A day after the top two teams in The Associated Press Top 25 lost, the Buckeyes jumped two spots Sunday in the media poll and became the

Monday, October 15th 2007, 10:27 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK - Ohio State has risen - all the way to No 1.

A day after the top two teams in The Associated Press Top 25 lost, the Buckeyes jumped two spots Sunday in the media poll and became the third school this season to hold the No. 1 ranking.

The last year three teams held the No. 1 spot during the regular season was 2000, when Nebraska started No. 1, Florida State was top-ranked for a week and Oklahoma took over late in the season.

The Buckeyes (7-0) beat Kent State 48-3 Saturday and have played only one team that's been in the rankings at any point this season. In a season in which 10 ranked teams have been beaten by unranked teams, just avoiding the upset bug has been enough for Ohio State.

"We've improved each week, but we understand that the only poll that counts is the last one," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said in a statement.

Ohio State was No. 1 last season from pre-season until the final poll, when the Buckeyes dropped to No. 2 after losing the Bowl Championship Series national championship game to Florida.

An unpredictable season took a new twist Saturday when Louisiana State University, in its second week as No. 1, was upset 43-37 in triple overtime by Kentucky. A few hours later, California, poised to move up one spot to No. 1 with a victory, lost at home 31-28 to Oregon State.

It was the first time in 11 years the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the AP poll lost on the same day.

The Buckeyes received 50 of a possible 65 first-place votes, and were not the only team to advance. South Florida, which had never been ranked before this season, moved up three spots to No. 2, leapfrogging No. 3 Boston College.

Ohio State and South Florida also held the top two spots in the first BCS standings released Sunday.

The Bulls received 11 first-place votes after a 64-12 victory over Central Florida.

"The big thing for me is being fluid and don't be afraid of making drastic changes," said Kirk Bohls of the Austin-American Statesman, who voted USF No. 1. "That's why I put USF one. I think you have to look at the whole body of work."

BC's workmanlike 27-14 victory over Notre Dame helped get the Eagles one first-place votes. No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 LSU each received one first-place vote, as did No. 12 Arizona State.

The last time six teams received first-place votes after the first month of the season was Nov. 25, 1990.

The rest of the top 10 was No. 6 South Carolina, followed by Oregon, Kentucky, West Virginia and Cal, which slipped eight spots to No. 10.

Virginia Tech was No. 11, followed by Arizona State and Southern California, which fell another three spots to No. 13.

Southern California was the pre-season No. 1, but lost the top ranking three weeks ago after a lacklustre victory at Washington. The Trojans slipped to No. 10 last week after being upset by Stanford.

Florida was No. 14, followed by Kansas and Missouri, which were tied at No. 15. Hawaii, Auburn, Texas and Tennessee rounded out the top 20.

Georgia, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Michigan and Kansas State were the final five.

Michigan started the season at No. 5 and fell all the way out after an opening loss to Appalachian State. The Wolverines have won five straight after starting the season 0-2.

Texas Tech is making its first appearance in the poll this season. Dropping out this week were Wisconsin, Illinois and Florida State.