Top three remain the same; Vols drop out

Tennessee has gone from preseason No. 3 to not even receiving a vote in the Associated Press Top 25.

The Volunteers (3-4) fell from the rankings Sunday for the first time in three years after losing 16-15 to South Carolina and old nemesis Steve Spurrier.

No. 1 Southern California, No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Virginia Tech, all 8-0, hold the top three spots in the media poll for the sixth straight week. USC received 57 of 65 first-place votes, adding two from last week, and extending its record streak at No. 1 to 28 straight polls. The Trojans beat Washington State 55-13 on Saturday

Texas received eight first-place votes, down two from last week, after having to rally from a 19-point deficit to beat Oklahoma State 47-28.

Doug Segrest of the Birmingham News in Alabama started the season with USC No. 1, switched to Texas for three weeks and went back to the Trojans this week.

“I think it’s so close you have to evaluate them on a week-by-week basis,” he said.

Unbeaten Alabama (8-0) moved up a spot to No. 4 but UCLA, the other 8-0 team, is No. 7 behind a couple of once-beaten squads in the Top 25.

Miami, which plays at Virginia Tech on Saturday, is No. 5 and LSU is sixth.

The Bruins boast their highest ranking since October of 2001.

Notre Dame is No. 8, followed by Florida State and Penn State.

In the USA Today coaches’ poll, the top seven is the same as the AP poll with USC, Texas, Virginia Tech, Alabama, Miami, LSU and UCLA. The Harris Interactive poll had a top five of USC, Texas, Virginia Tech, Alabama and Miami, with UCLA sixth and LSU seventh.

Tennessee becomes the sixth team ranked in the AP preseason top 15 to fall out of the rankings at some point this season.