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Monday, September 22, 1997

College Football Poll

By RICHARD ROSENBLATT

Associated Press

Look who's back at No. 1.

The Florida Gators, by virtue of their 33-20 victory over Tennessee, bumped Penn State out of the top spot in The Associated Press' Top 25 college football poll.

Even though the Nittany Lions (3-0) clobbered Louisville 57-21 on the road Saturday, the defending national champion Gators (3-0) defeated a top 5 team and received more support from the poll voters.

"I don't know that we're better than Penn State, or maybe even better than Nebraska. Who knows until we play each other?" Florida coach Steve Spurrier said Sunday. "But when you do beat a team that's ranked in the top 5, it does seem to help."

Nebraska's 27-14 victory over then-No. 2 Washington (2-1) in Seattle, didn't hurt the Gators, either. Florida (3-0) collected 32 first-place votes and 1,699 points from the 70 sports writers and broadcasters who vote in the poll.

Penn State, which held the No. 1 spot since the preseason poll, was No. 2 with 28 first-place votes and 1,675 points. The Cornhuskers (3-0) jumped from No. 7 to No. 3 and received seven first-place votes and 1,601 points.

The Volunteers (2-1) fell five places to No. 9, while the Huskies (2-1), fell to No. 10.

In the USA Today/ESPN poll, the top 5 were: Florida, Penn State, Nebraska, Florida State and North Carolina.

Last week, Penn State had 25 first-place votes, Washington had 19, Florida 14 and Tennessee six.

Penn State's drop from No. 1 is not unprecedented.

In 1995, Florida State was No. 1 after nine weeks and did not play in the 10th week. Nebraska, No. 2 at the time, beat No. 7 Colorado and moved ahead of the Seminoles.

And the last time a team won and still fell from the No. 1 spot? It was Oct. 28, 1994, and it happened to guess who? Penn State. The Lions beat No. 21 Ohio State 63-14, while No. 3 Nebraska beat No. 2 Colorado and moved to No. 1.

Florida State (3-0), a 35-28 winner over Clemson, moved up a spot to No. 4, receiving one first-place vote and 1,530 points, with North Carolina (3-0) up a notch to No. 5 with two first-place votes and 1,475 points.

Michigan (2-0), off a 38-3 win over Baylor, improved two places to No. 6, followed by No. 7 Ohio State (3-0), No. 8 Auburn (3-0), Tennessee and Washington.

The Buckeyes moved up two spots after a 28-20 win over Arizona, while Auburn jumped four places with a 31-28 win at LSU. LSU fell three places to No. 13.

Iowa was No. 11, followed by Michigan State, LSU, Virginia Tech, Washington State, Colorado, Clemson, Kansas State, Georgia, Stanford, Alabama, Texas A&M, Brigham Young, UCLA and Arizona State.

For the second straight year, the Gators moved into the No. 1 spot with a win over the Volunteers. Last season's 35-29 win over Tennessee moved them ahead of Florida State.

"I don't know how important it is that early, but we certainly like to be No. 1," Spurrier said. "We get a lot of free attention around the country, but as far as what happens down the road, we realize it certainly can fluctuate. We'll enjoy being No. 1 as long as we can."

A Penn State spokesman said Sunday that coach Joe Paterno would have no immediate comment on change in the poll.

The Spartans, 23-7 winners over Notre Dame, moved up five places, while Georgia moved up six spots. Alabama, 17-16 losers to Arkansas, dropped 10 spots to No. 21, while Arizona State, a 13-10 loser to BYU, tumbled 11 places to No. 25.

Texas A&M cracked the Top 25 for the first time this season, while BYU returns after a two-week absence.

Colorado State, 24-0 losers to Air Force, and Miami, which lost 21-17 to Pittsburgh last Thursday night, fell out of the rankings. The Hurricanes are out of the Top 25 for the first time since the 10th week of the 1995 season.Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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