Polls were released for College football from the AP and Coach’s today and surprise surprise, the USC Trojans top the list of teams yet again. However, the real story from this week’s polls is the addition of Eastern Carolina in the polls.
The Pirates of Eastern Carolina entered into the 14th spot in the AP and 20th in the Coach’s polls, moving them from “underdogs” to “team to beat” after beating then No. 8 West Virginia 24-3. The loss dropped West Virginia to No. 25 in the AP and No. 24 in the Coach’s poll. It is the first time since 1999 that the Pirates have been in the top 25.
USC recieved 33 of a possible 65 first place votes in the AP poll to claim the top spot ahead of their weekend clash against Ohio State. Speaking of Ohio State, they fell to No. 5 after their lackluster performance against Frank Solich’s Ohio Bobcats team. The Buckeyes beat the Bobcats 26-14 in Columbus, Ohio.
The Big XII is represented with five teams in the top 12 in the AP poll, and the top 13 in the Coach’s poll – the SEC has 4 teams represented in the top 10. It begs the question of which is the top conference, up until I realized that from top to bottom, the SEC is much much tougher, but the Big XII is closing the gap.
Anyone can notice that Nebraska is lacking from the polls – not surprising to me or anyone else. The Huskers didn’t receive any votes from the AP, but is only 8 spots out in the Coach’s poll.
The full polls are below.
| USA Today’ Poll |
| 1. USC (34) 1-0 1,481 |
| 2. Georgia (18) 2-0 1,454 |
| 3. Oklahoma (3) 2-0 1,370 |
| 4. Florida (3) 2-0 1,306 |
| 5. Ohio State (1) 2-0 1,289 |
| 6. Missouri 2-0 1,212 |
| 7. LSU (2) 1-0 1,198 |
| 8. Texas 2-0 1,069 |
| 9. Auburn 2-0 1,017 |
| 10. Wisconsin 2-0 946 |
| 11. Kansas 2-0 854 |
| 12. Texas Tech 2-0 755 |
| 13. Arizona State 2-0 737 |
| 14. Oregon 2-0 665 |
| 15. Brigham Young 2-0 628 |
| 16. Alabama 2-0 611 |
| 17. Penn State 2-0 547 |
| 18. South Florida 2-0 475 |
| 19. Wake Forest 2-0 419 |
| 20. East Carolina 2-0 375 |
| 21. Fresno State 1-0 300 |
| 22. Utah 2-0 235 |
| 23. Clemson 1-1 175 |
| 24. West Virginia 1-1 145 |
| 25. California 2-0 128 |
|
Others Receiving Votes
Illinois 124, UCLA 86, Florida State 50, Kentucky 28, Boise State 22, Tennessee 21, TCU 18, Nebraska 16, Georgia Tech 15, Arizona 11, Virginia Tech 11, Vanderbilt 8, Oklahoma State 7, Iowa 4, Colorado 3, Notre Dame 3, Tulsa 2, Connecticut 2, Bowling Green 1, South Carolina 1, Northwestern 1. Dropped From Rankings
South Carolina 24, Illinois 25. |
| AP Top 25 |
| 1. USC (33) 1-0 1,577 |
| 2. Georgia (23) 2-0 1,525 |
| 3. Oklahoma (2) 2-0 1,458 |
| 4. Florida (4) 2-0 1,438 |
| 5. Ohio State (1) 2-0 1,347 |
| 6. Missouri (1) 2-0 1,336 |
| 7. LSU (1) 1-0 1,231 |
| 8. Texas 2-0 1,100 |
| 9. Auburn 2-0 1,067 |
| 10. Wisconsin 2-0 910 |
| 11. Alabama 2-0 865 |
| 12. Texas Tech 2-0 845 |
| 13. Kansas 2-0 825 |
| 14. East Carolina 2-0 762 |
| 15. Arizona State 2-0 744 |
| 16. Oregon 2-0 616 |
| 17. Penn State 2-0 607 |
| 18. Brigham Young 2-0 537 |
| 19. South Florida 2-0 493 |
| 20. Wake Forest 2-0 404 |
| 21. Fresno State 1-0 290 |
| 22. Utah 2-0 258 |
| 23. California 2-0 195 |
| 24. Illinois 1-1 164 |
| 25. West Virginia 1-1 163 |
|
Others Receiving Votes
UCLA 150, Clemson 73, Florida State 50, Boise State 22, Tennessee 15, Georgia Tech 14, Oklahoma State 11, Vanderbilt 7, TCU 6, Kentucky 6, Virginia Tech 4, Tulsa 3, South Carolina 2, Arizona 2, Connecticut 1, North Carolina 1, Rice 1. Dropped From Rankings
UCLA 23, South Carolina 24. |
The College Game 
It’s always interesting when a team comes out of nowhere to make the polls as ECU has done this year. Looking at the Pirates’ schedule, the team’s toughest games are definitely behind them, but what are the odds they lay an egg somewhere along the way? Conference USA doesn’t exactly look that threatening given how good ECU looked in its first two games, but if they can get by away games at North Carolina State and Virginia, it’d be cool to see the Pirates in a more meaningful bowl game than the GMAC Bowl.