Nebraska strengthened its grip on the No. 1 ranking, while Florida tumbled from the top 10 for the first time in five years in The Associated Press' Top 25 college football poll.
The Cornhuskers (8-0), who beat Oklahoma 69-7 on Saturday, received 46 first-place votes and 1,719 points from the panel of 70 sports writers and broadcasters, easily outdistancing No. 2 Penn State.The Nittany Lions (7-0) collected 16 first-place votes and 1,643 points after their 30-27 win over Northwestern. Last week, the Huskers led the Lions 35-25 in first-place votes and 1,704-1,665 in points.
Florida (6-2), the defending national champions, lost to Georgia 37-17 and dropped to No. 13, their first non-top 10 ranking in 81 polls. Florida was No. 14 in the final regular-season poll of 1992.
Florida State (8-0) remained No. 3 after its 48-35 win over North Carolina State, while Michigan (8-0) was No. 4 and North Carolina (8-0) No. 5.
The Seminoles, who play the Tar Heels on Saturday night, had five first-place votes and 1,627 points, just 16 points behind Penn State.
The Wolverines (8-0), who beat Minnesota 24-3, received one first-place vote - their first of the year - and 1,561 points. Michigan is at Penn State on Saturday.
North Carolina, a 16-14 winner over Georgia Tech on Thursday night, had two first-place votes and 1,481 points.
Washington, which beat Southern California 27-0, moved up a spot to No. 6, followed by Ohio State, Tennessee, Georgia and UCLA.
The Bulldogs (7-1) moved into the top 10 for the first time since the final poll of the 1992 season, while the Bruins (7-2), 27-7 winners over Stanford, hit No. 10 for the first time since final regular-season poll of the 1993 season.
Kansas State moved up two spots to No. 11 after its 13-2 win over Texas Tech, followed by Iowa, Florida, LSU, Arizona State, Washington State, Auburn, Toledo, Mississippi State, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, Syracuse, Purdue, Southern Mississippi and Oklahoma State.
In the USA Today/ESPN poll, the top 5 were: Nebraska, Florida State, Penn State, Michigan and North Carolina.
Washington State (7-1) lost its first game of the season, 44-31 to Arizona State, and fell six places to No. 16, while the Sun Devils (6-2) improved five spots to No. 15.
The Hawkeyes, who beat Purdue 35-17, moved up three places, while the Boilermakers (6-2) fell five spots to No. 23.
In another game matching Top 25 teams, Texas A&M beat Oklahoma State 28-25 in overtime. The Aggies (6-2) advanced five places to No. 21, the Cowboys (6-2) fell six slots to No. 25.
Mississippi State (6-2), which upset Auburn 20-0, moved into the Top 25 for the first time since 1994, while Syracuse (6-3), a 40-10 winner over West Virginia, rejoined the rankings after a nine-week absence.
Michigan State (5-3), a 37-13 loser to Ohio State, and West Virginia (6-2) dropped out of the rankings.