.NEW YORK (AP) – Arizona State climbed two spots Sunday in the AP Top 25 and is now the Pac-10’s last unbeaten team.
The Sun Devils have won seven and are now ranked No. 12 in the nation, after California and Virginia Tech. That’s two spots ahead of last week’s ranking and 11 spots ahead of where ASU was ranked after its fourth game.
Saturday’s 44-20 victory against Washington was the fourth time in seven games ASU has overcome a double-digit deficit or trailed in the second half. The Sun Devils have outscored their opponents 136-29 in the second half, and even got one vote for No. 1 in the AP poll.
But Ohio State snagged that rank with 50 votes, jumping two spots in the media poll and becoming the third school this season to hold the No. 1 ranking.
“We’ve improved each week but we understand that the only poll that counts is the last one,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said in a statement.
The Buckeyes (7-0) beat Kent State 48-3 Saturday and have played only one team that’s been in the rankings at any point this season. In a season in which 10 ranked teams have been beaten by unranked teams, just avoiding the upset bug has been enough for Ohio State.
Ohio State was No. 1 last season from preseason until the final poll, when the Buckeyes dropped to No. 2 after losing the BCS national championship game to Florida.
An unpredictable season took a new twist Saturday when LSU, in its second week as No. 1, was upset 43-37 in triple overtime by Kentucky. A few hours later, California, poised to move up one spot to No. 1 with a victory, lost at home 31-28 to Oregon State.
It was the first time in 11 years the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the AP poll lost on the same day.
The Buckeyes received 50 of a possible 65 first-place votes, and were not the only team to advance. South Florida, which had never been ranked before this season, moved up three spots to No. 2, leapfrogging No. 3 Boston College.
The Bulls received 11 first-place votes after a 64-12 victory over Central Florida. BC’s workmanlike 27-14 victory over Notre Dame helped get the Eagles one first-place vote. No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 LSU each received one first-place vote, along with Arizona State.
The last time six teams received first-place votes after the first month of the season was Nov. 25, 1990.
The rest of the top 10 was No. 6 South Carolina, followed by Oregon, Kentucky, West Virginia and Cal, which slipped eight spots to No. 10.
Virginia Tech was No. 11, followed by Arizona State and Southern California, which fell another three spots to No. 13.
USC was the preseason No. 1, but lost the top ranking three weeks ago after a lackluster victory at Washington. The Trojans slipped to No. 10 last week after being upset by Stanford.
Florida was No. 14, followed by Kansas and Missouri, which were tied at No. 15. Hawaii, Auburn, Texas and Tennessee rounded out the top 20.
Georgia, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Michigan and Kansas State were the final five.
Michigan started the season at No. 5 and fell all the way out after an opening loss to Appalachian State. The Wolverines have won five straight after starting the season 0-2.
Texas Tech is making its first appearance in the poll this season. Dropping out this week were Wisconsin, Illinois and Florida State.
