Upset Saturday creates a new look in coaches' poll
30.09.2007 21:00
Sport and Travel
- Source: USA Today
The mantra of "survive and advance," often heard during the NCAA basketball tournament, was just as appropriate to college football on a wild weekend in which half the top 10 teams and 10 of those ranked in the USA TODAY football coaches' poll top 25 lost.
TOP 25:Penn State exits; Cal surges to third Top-ranked Southern California and No. 2 LSU escaped the carnage and maintained their spots atop the coaches' poll released Sunday. But even the Trojans and Tigers had some uneasy moments. USC survived a late blocked punt and held off Washington 27-24, while LSU trailed Tulane briefly in the second quarter before pulling away for a 34-9 win. The rest of the top five has a completely new look. California climbed to third after winning a 31-24 thriller at Oregon, Ohio State posted a 30-7 victory at Minnesota to claim the No. 4 spot and Wisconsin climbed to fifth after handing Michigan State its first loss of the season in a 37-34 track meet. South Florida began the shakeup Friday by toppling then-No. 5 West Virginia. It was the second win against a ranked club this season for the Bulls, who shot up to No. 9 for their highest rating in program history. Also on the rise is No. 8 Kentucky, in the coaches' top 10 for the first time since 1965. Oklahoma and Texas, on the eve of their annual showdown in Dallas, began the parade of Saturday upset victims. The Sooners dropped a 27-24 shocker at Colorado, while the Longhorns were beaten by Kansas State for the second consecutive year. The day was capped by Auburn's 20-17 win at then-No. 3 Florida on a last-second field goal. But the Gators, who play at LSU on Saturday, slipped only to No. 7 and still could get back into position to repeat their national title. Rutgers, Clemson, Penn State and Alabama lost to unranked competition, with the last two falling out of the top 25. Entering this week were No. 24 Cincinnati and No. 25 UCLA.
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