Miami Maintains Lead In Coaches' Football Rankings

Sept. 30, 2001

ARLINGTON, Va. (TICKER) — – Stanford and Maryland, schools known more for their prowess on the hardwood, were among four newcomers to the USA Today/ESPN college football coaches’ poll, released Sunday.

The 24th-ranked Cardinal (3-0) and No. 25 Terrapins (4-0) are both among the nation’s elite for the first time this season. They join No. 22 Texas A&M (4-0) and 23rd-ranked Toledo (4-0) in the poll.

On Saturday, Stanford won its second Pac-10 Conference game in as many weeks, topping Southern California, 21-16. Maryland, which sits atop the Atlantic Coast Conference, posted a 32-20 non-league victory over West Virginia.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M handed Notre Dame a 24-3 setback, and Toledo rolled over Northern Illinois, 41-20.

Dropped from the rankings this week were Oregon State, Mississippi State, Illinois and Michigan State.

While there was a shakeup at the bottom of the poll, the top five times remained the same. Top-ranked Miami (3-0) received 35 first-place votes and a total of 1,458 points for a 22-point lead over Florida (4-0), which had 16 first-place votes.

Defending national champion Oklahoma (4-0) was third with eight first-place nods, followed by two of its Big 12 rivals — Nebraska (5-0) and Texas (4-0).

No. 11 Fresno State (5-0) also garnered a first-place vote.

Oregon (4-0) dropped two spots to eighth despite beating Utah State, and Kansas State (2-1) fell four notches to No. 13 following a 38-37 loss at the hands of Oklahoma.

Rounding at the top 10 were No. 6 Virginia Tech (4-0), Tennessee (3-0), UCLA (4-0) and Washington (3-0).

South Carolina (4-0) is ranked 12th, two spots ahead of Florida State (3-1), which is followed by Big Ten members Michigan (3-1) and Northwestern (3-0). Georgia Tech (3-1), an overtime loser to No. 21 Clemson (3-1), is 17th.

Brigham Young (4-0) and Purdue (3-0) are tied for 18th, and Louisiana State (2-1) completes the poll at No. 20.

The USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 college football coaches’poll, with number of first-place votes and record inparentheses, total points and previous ranking:

(Records through September 30, 2001)

TEAM PTS PVS —- — — 1. Miami Fla (35) (3-0) 1,458 1 2. Florida (16) (4-0) 1,436 2 3. Oklahoma (8) (4-0) 1,370 3 4. Nebraska (5-0) 1,315 4 5. Texas (4-0) 1,263 5 6. Virginia Tech (4-0) 1,128 7 7. Tennessee (3-0) 1,119 8 8. Oregon (4-0) 1,108 6 9. UCLA (4-0) 1,038 1010. Washington (3-0) 924 1211. Fresno St (1) (5-0) 821 1312. South Carolina (4-0) 757 1613. Kansas St (2-1) 746 914. Florida St (3-1) 690 1515. Michigan (3-1) 682 1716. Northwestern (3-0) 674 1817. Georgia Tech (3-1) 485 1118. (tie) BYU (4-0) 395 2018. (tie) Purdue (3-0) 395 2120. LSU (2-1) 339 1421. Clemson (3-1) 317 2522. Texas A&M (4-0) 245 NR23. Toledo (4-0) 157 NR24. Stanford (3-0) 129 NR25. Maryland (4-0) 105 NR

Dropped Out: No. 19 Oregon St, No. 22 Mississippi St, No.23 Illinois, No. 24 Michigan St

Others Receiving Votes: Iowa 63, Ohio St 61, Colorado 50,Michigan St 38, Illinois 30, Georgia 25, Oregon St 21,Washington St 20, Wisconsin 18, So Mississippi 15, Auburn12, Iowa St 11, Marshall 8, Mississippi St 6, NorthCarolina 5, No Carolina St 5, Syracuse 5, Louisville 4,Boston College 3, Alabama 2, Ala Birmingham 1, Arizona 1.