WASHINGTON, 26 October 2004 — No. 1 Southern California and No. 2 Oklahoma have been the top two teams in The Associated Press Top 25 since the preseason, a nine-poll run that is the longest to start a season in nine years.
There were few changes in the media poll Sunday with no movement among the first 11 teams.
The Trojans and Sooners both improved on Saturday to 7-0 with blowout victories. The last time the preseason top two went deeper into a season unchanged was 1995, when Florida State was No. 1 and Nebraska was No. 2 for the first 10 polls.
Not only did USC and Oklahoma’s places in the poll stay the same, but this week, so did their points.
The Trojans maintained their 43-point lead over the Sooners, getting 1,610 points and 50 first-place votes. Oklahoma got 13 first-place, just like last week, and 1,567 points.
No. 3 Auburn again received the other two first-place votes.
No. 4 Miami, which won at North Carolina State 45-31, was second in last week’s initial Bowl Championship Series standings, just slightly ahead of Oklahoma. The BCS standings will be released on Monday, and much like the polls, not much change is expected in Week 2.
No. 5 Florida State, which needed a late field goal to edge Wake Forest on Saturday, has only a one-point lead in The AP poll over No. 6 Wisconsin (8-0). The unbeaten Badgers got another solid defensive effort to beat Northwestern 24-12 and gained 25 points in the rankings, which could help them close the gap over the Seminoles in the BCS standings.
No. 7 California, No. 8 Texas and No. 9 Utah (7-0) all won big Saturday, and No. 10 Georgia and No. 11 Tennessee each came away with close Southeastern Conference victories.
Florida and Notre Dame dropped from the Top 25 after losses.The Gators (4-3), 11th in the preseason poll, were stunned 38-31 by Mississippi State.
Notre Dame’s latest stay in the Top 25 lasted one week. The Fighting Irish lost 24-23 to Boston College on a late touchdown by the Eagles. Michigan moved up one spot to No. 12 after a hard-fought 16-14 victory over Purdue. Virginia was No. 13, followed by Louisville, West Virginia and resurgent Texas A&M. The Aggies won their sixth straight on Saturday, beating Colorado 29-26 in overtime.
Purdue dropped five spots to No. 17 after coming up just short in a big game for the second week in a row. Unbeaten Boise State was No. 18 and LSU was 19th. Arizona State and Oklahoma State were tied for 20th.
Virginia Tech was 22nd, followed by Iowa, and No. 24 Minnesota and No. 25 Southern Mississippi re-entered the rankings.
