Miami, Ohio State Still 1-2 in AP Poll

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Posted 1:57PM on Monday, December 2, 2002

UNDATED_ Miami is the unanimous No. 1 in the AP poll again, and Southern California moved into the top five for the first time in more than seven years. The Hurricanes (11-0) strengthened their grip on the top spot in The Associated Press Top 25 poll Sunday, receiving 73 first-place votes and 1,825 points from the sports writers and broadcasters on the AP panel. Last week, No. 2 Ohio State (13-3) had two first place votes. Miami beat Syracuse 49-7 on Saturday, and close out the regular season Saturday against Virginia Tech. A win over the Hokies, and the Hurricanes will meet Ohio State in the BCS national title game at the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 3. The Buckeyes completed their regular season last week. Iowa, co-Big Ten champions with Ohio State, moved up a spot to No. 3. The Hawkeyes (11-1) replaced Oklahoma, which dropped to No. 8 after a 38-28 loss to Oklahoma State. Georgia (11-1), a 51-7 winner over Georgia Tech, improved to No. 4, followed by Southern California. The Trojans (10-2) topped Notre Dame 44-13, and rose to No. 5 for the first time since Oct. 15, 1995. The Irish (10-2) fell to No. 11 from No. 7. Kansas State was No. 6, followed by Washington State, Oklahoma, Texas and Penn State. The USA Today/ESPN coaches poll had the same top seven as the AP poll, with Miami receiving all but two of the 61 first-place votes. West Virginia (9-3) made the biggest jump this week - to No. 15 from No. 24 - after a 24-17 over Pittsburgh. Florida State (9-4) advanced seven spots to No. 16 after its 31-14 win over Florida. Florida, Colorado State and Pittsburgh each fell eight places, and were ranked Nos. 23, 24 and 25, respectively. Arkansas, 21-20 winners over LSU, moved into the Top 25 at No. 22. LSU dropped out of the AP poll. The AP final regular season poll will be released next Sunday. The Bowl Championship Series standings, which uses the AP and coaches polls, computer rankings, strength of schedule, won-loss record, and bonus points, determines who plays in its national title game. The final BCS standings will be released Dec. 8. Games next Saturday that will determine BCS bowl fates are Washington State at UCLA, Virginia Tech at Miami, Georgia vs. Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference title game, and Oklahoma vs. Colorado for the Big 12 crown. The champions of six major conferences - ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC, are guaranteed spots in either the Fiesta, Rose, Sugar or Orange bowls. Two at-large teams are then selected by bowl officials using a complicated system involving final BCS rankings. Three conference champions have already been determined - Florida State in the ACC, Miami in the Big East and Ohio State in the Big Ten. Among the teams competing for at-large berths are Iowa, Notre Dame and USC. The Trojans, though, can still win the Pac-10 if UCLA beats Washington State on Saturday.