Oklahoma Drops in Poll

NEW YORK (AP) _ Miami is out of the rankings for the first time since 1999, and Auburn is the new No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25. <br/><br/>The Hurricanes' latest lopsided loss _ a 31-7 debacle

Sunday, September 17th 2006, 4:17 pm

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Miami is out of the rankings for the first time since 1999, and Auburn is the new No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25.

The Hurricanes' latest lopsided loss _ a 31-7 debacle at Louisville _ ended a streak of 107 consecutive poll appearances that was the nation's longest current streak.

``That doesn't really change anything,'' Miami coach Larry Coker said Sunday. ``The poll didn't help us yesterday and the poll won't help us tomorrow. Doesn't change anything.''

With seven games matching ranked teams on Saturday, the poll got its first significant shake-up of the season.

Not at the very top, though, as Ohio State remained No. 1 for the fourth straight week. The Buckeyes received 59 first-place votes from a panel of 65 media members.

Notre Dame's first loss of the season vacated a spot right behind Ohio State, and Auburn took advantage.

The Tigers, who beat LSU 7-3, have their highest ranking since tying for No. 2 with Oklahoma on Nov. 13, 2004. The Tigers received two first-place votes and are the third team to hold the second spot in the Top 25 this season, along with Notre Dame and Texas.

Southern California is No. 3 and West Virginia is up to No. 4. Both the Trojans and Mountaineers received two first-place votes. Florida is fifth, up two places after a 21-20 win at Tennessee.

Michigan moved up five spots to No. 6 after its 47-21 victory at Notre Dame, and the Fighting Irish fell 10 spots to No. 12. Texas is No. 7, and the Longhorns now have the longest current streak of poll appearances at 96, dating to Oct. 15, 2000.

Louisville moved up four spots to No. 8 after sending Miami to its first 1-2 start since 1997. The Hurricanes received 78 points, leaving them second behind Alabama among the others receiving votes.

Georgia was No. 9 and LSU slipped four spots to No. 10. No. 11 was Virginia Tech, followed by Notre Dame and Oregon, which jumped five spots after its wild 34-33 victory over Oklahoma.

No. 14 was Iowa and Tennessee dropped two spots to 15th. TCU moved up four spots to No. 16 after extending the nation's longest winning streak to 13 games.

Oklahoma dropped two spots to No. 17 and Florida State fell nine spots to No. 18 after it lost 27-20 to Clemson. The Tigers' victory put them back in the rankings at No. 19.

Arizona State and Boston College were tied at No. 20. The final four were California, Nebraska, Penn State and Boise State. Nebraska was down four spots after a 28-10 loss at USC, and Boise State joined the rankings for the first time this season.