Auburn started out the season as an average football team in the eyes of coach Terry Bowden.
"I figure the worst thing you can call somebody is average," Bowden said before the first game, "but that's what we are."Seven weeks later, he has raised his expectations.
"We're good enough to beat a top four team," Bowden said after the Tigers did just that, upsetting Florida 38-35 Saturday. "I'm not going to say we're a top four team, but this team is good enough to beat a lot of football teams."
Auburn (7-0) is not a top four team - yet - but the Tigers did make the biggest jump in Sunday's Associated Press media poll, moving up from No. 19 to No. 10.
It's the Tigers' first appearance in the Top 10 since November 1990, when they plummeted from fourth to 15th after a 48-7 defeat at Florida.
Ironically, it was that game that signaled a change in fortunes for Auburn after three straight Southeastern Conference titles. The Tigers lost three of their final five games that season and went 5-6 and 5-5-1 the next two years.
The other big shakeup in the poll occurred near the top. Alabama's 28-game winning streak came to an end with a 17-17 tie against Tennessee, and the Crimson Tide dropped from No. 2 to No. 4.
Notre Dame moved up to No. 2, setting up a potential 1-2 showdown with top-ranked Florida State in South Bend, Ind., on Nov. 13.
If they maintain their rankings until then, it will be the first regular-season matchup between the top two teams since No. 2 Miami beat No. 1 Florida State 17-16 on Nov. 16, 1991.
Florida State has been No. 1 all season, but the Seminoles were a unanimous pick for the first time Sunday. They received all 62 first-place votes after downing previously unbeaten Virginia 40-14.
Notre Dame rose one spot after beating BYU 45-20, and Ohio State climbed two places to No. 3 following a 28-21 victory over Michigan State.
Nebraska rose one notch to No. 5 after beating Kansas State 45-28, idle Miami jumped two spots to No. 6, and Arizona moved up four places to No. 7 with a 27-24 win over Stanford.
Tennessee went from No. 10 to No. 8, and Florida fell five places to No. 9. The Southeastern Conference has four teams in the top 10.
Texas A&M is 11th, followed by North Carolina, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Colorado, Oklahoma, West Virginia, UCLA, Louisville, Virginia, Washington, Syracuse, Michigan State and Washington State.
Michigan rose five places to No. 13 with a 21-13 win over Penn State, which dropped seven spots to No. 14.
Colorado's 27-10 victory over Oklahoma also had a big impact on the rankings, boosting the Buffaloes four notches to No. 16 and plunging the Sooners eight places to No. 17.