Colleges

UF claims state, national glory

By TIMES WIRES
Published October 9, 2006

These are good days to be a Gator.

Florida is the new No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, its highest ranking since Steve Spurrier left Gainesville, and by far the best team in the Sunshine State.

For the first time in 24 years, neither Miami nor Florida State is ranked.

Florida moved up three spots Sunday into second behind No. 1 Ohio State on the strength of a 23-10 victory over LSU on Saturday - and with a lot of help from Arkansas.

The Razorbacks pulled off the first stunner of the season, beating Auburn 27-10. The Tigers had held the No. 2 spot for three weeks. They became the first top-10 team to lose to an unranked team this season.

Arkansas is unranked no more.

The Razorbacks moved into the rankings for the first time since October 2003. With Arkansas at No. 17, the Southeastern Conference has six teams in the Top 25. Auburn fell to No. 11.

Mike Radano of the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, N.J., was one of many voters to move Florida ahead of Southern Cal this week. "USC hasn't been its same dominant self," Radano said. "I thought they got a little fortunate (Saturday)."

The Trojans beat Washington 26-20, a game that ended when the Huskies couldn't get a play off from the USC 15 with two seconds left.

"I got to watch both (USC and Florida) and I was a little more impressed with Florida's offense right now," Radano said.

Miami fell out of the rankings three weeks ago for the first time since 1999 and is still trying to work its way back. Florida State joined the Hurricanes among the unranked in the latest poll after losing 24-20 to North Carolina State on Thursday. The Seminoles and Hurricanes, who have combined for seven national titles since 1983, are both 3-2.

The last time neither was ranked was the final regular-season AP Top 25 of 1982, the year before Miami won the first of its five national championships.

The Associated Press pulled out of the Bowl Championship Series formula last season.

Sunday's game

OXFORD, Ohio - Garrett Wolfe rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries to lead Northern Illinois to a 28-25 victory over winless Miami of Ohio. Wolfe, who leads the nation in rushing, all-purpose yardage and scoring, has rushed for 100 yards or more in 11 straight games.

Miami redshirt freshman Dustin Woods had eight catches for 178 yards, both career highs, and a touchdown. Andre Bratton ran for two touchdowns in the second half for Miami. Wolfe ran in the two-point conversion after Phil Horvath's three-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Davis with 7:46 left to put the Huskies ahead by the final margin, the last of three lead changes in the fourth quarter.

The Huskies (4-2) extended their win streak to four games. Miami began the season 0-6 for just the third time in the program's 118-year history.

New focus for Hogs

Arkansas' players have a new challenge now: not letting all the attention of upsetting Auburn and a Top 25 ranking go to their heads. It has been a while since the Razorbacks had to worry about that.

"Nothing changes. We have to get better," coach Houston Nutt said. "There are still some things that we have to get much better at doing. I think our players, after watching the film, will see that they can get better. I want to stay humble."

Auburn was ranked No. 2 before losing 23-10 at home to Arkansas. The Razorbacks hadn't beaten a team ranked so high since a 42-11 win over No. 1 Texas in 1981. The Razorbacks are now ranked for the first time since 2003, when they moved as high as No. 7.

They still must play at South Carolina and host Tennessee and LSU, but now own a two-game lead over every other SEC West team thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker.

[Last modified October 9, 2006, 02:21:22]