Posted on 08/18/2007 1:08:48 PM PDT by hole_n_one
USC tops preseason football poll
New York, NY (Sports Network) - The University of Southern California is the top team in the nation heading into the 2007 college football season, earning the distinction as the preseason No. 1 in the Associated Press college football poll.
USC received 62 of a possible 65 first-place votes from a nationwide media panel and earned a total of 1,622 points to easily outdistance LSU for the top spot. The Trojans, also the top team in the coaches poll, are the AP preseason No. 1 for the sixth time.
LSU garnered two first-place votes and a total of 1,511 points, while West Virginia picked up the last No. 1 tally and 1,396 points to gain the third spot in the preseason poll.
Texas and Michigan round out the top five, while defending national champion Florida will start this season sixth. Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech and Louisville complete the top-10.
The Trojans, who will open the season on September 1 at home against Idaho, will be gunning for their third national title since the 2003 season. They were No. 1 in the AP poll that season, sharing the crown with BCS champ LSU, then were undisputed national champs in 2004 and were one game away from making it a three-peat before a loss to Texas in the Rose Bowl after the 2005 campaign.
Last year, USC was closing in on another chance to play for a national championship, but a second-ranked Trojan team lost to UCLA on the final weekend of the regular season. They wound up fourth in the final AP poll last year after throttling Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
The preseason poll continues with Ohio State at No. 11. The Buckeyes were No.1 to start last season and rode the wave all the way to the national championship game before a drubbing at the hands of Florida.
California, Georgia, UCLA, Tennessee, Rutgers, Penn State, Auburn, Florida State and Nebraska complete the second 10.
The final five teams ranked are Arkansas, TCU, Hawaii, Boise State and Texas A&M.
The SEC is the most represented conference in the preseason poll with six teams, while the Big Ten and Big 12 each have four. The Pac-10 and Big East have three each and the ACC has two.
Just one game on the opening weekend of the season pits a pair of ranked teams, as Tennessee visits California. The Bears will be out for revenge after losing last season's opener at Knoxville, 35-18.
08/18 13:48:23 ET
| AP Top 25 | ||
| Rk | Team | Points |
| 1 | USC (62) | 1622 |
| 2 | LSU (2) | 1511 |
| 3 | West Virginia (1) | 1396 |
| 4 | Texas | 1375 |
| 5 | Michigan | 1371 |
| 6 | Florida | 1276 |
| 7 | Wisconsin | 1192 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 1166 |
| 9 | Virginia Tech | 1148 |
| 10 | Louisville | 1031 |
| 11 | Ohio State | 876 |
| 12 | California | 790 |
| 13 | Georgia | 782 |
| 14 | UCLA | 605 |
| 15 | Tennessee | 571 |
| 16 | Rutgers | 560 |
| 17 | Penn State | 542 |
| 18 | Auburn | 519 |
| 19 | Florida State | 392 |
| 20 | Nebraska | 377 |
| 21 | Arkansas | 376 |
| 22 | TCU | 283 |
| 23 | Hawaii | 256 |
| 24 | Boise State | 187 |
| 25 | Texas A&M | 162 |
| Complete AP poll | ||
This whole poll will be turned on its ear by the third football game of the season.
Yes, certainly.
But it’s still fun to see my Badgers ranked so highly entering the season.
college ball ping
The ACC is barely represented. I seem to recall reading that Wake had a shot to win it all.
ML/NJ
Go Badgers indeed. They shoulda been top 5!!!!!!!
The whole college football poll system, rankings, and BCS in general are all a farce. The University of Louisville won the Orange Bowl (also a BCS bowl), returns the best quarterback in the country (and a Heisman Trophy candidate) in Brian Brohm, and falls in the rankings.
I completely agree. I think the polls should be formed after the fifth game of the season, so that everyone has a shot and nobody gets a pass to underachieve any given week just because they were highly ranked the week before.
If I ran a poll and you were number one one week and won a squeaker to a 2nd or 3rd tier team, you’d drop a long way that week. You want it? You better earn it...and KEEP earning it.
That said, GO ‘NOLES!
Which is why I think they should wait that long before releasing the first poll.
“This whole poll will be turned on its ear by the third football game of the season.”
Why?
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