Ball State enters AP poll for first time
editor1 |Oct 05,2008
|
|
|
NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Off to its best start in over 40 years,
Ball State finally is getting some national recognition.
One day after improving to 6-0, the Cardinals received the No.
25 ranking in the latest Associated Press college football poll
released Sunday.
There was little change at the top of the poll, as Oklahoma
(5-0) remained No. 1 with 1,608 points. The Sooners received 51
out of a possible 64 first-place votes.
Alabama (6-0) held on to the No. 2 spot and was given 13
first-place votes while Missouri (5-0), which received the final
first-place vote, climbed one spot to third.
But there was a big shakeup at the bottom of the poll, as Ball
State headlined a list of four schools new to the rankings this
week. The Cardinals were joined by No. 22 North Carolina,
23rd-ranked Michigan State and No. 24 Pittsburgh.
Ball State, ranked for the first time in school history, rolled
to a 31-0 rout of Toledo on Saturday despite playing without
star wide receiver Dante Love, who suffered a career-ending
spinal injury two weeks ago.
The Cardinals, who are off to their best start since going 9-0
in 1965, became the first team from the Mid-American Conference
to be ranked since Bowling Green was the No. 25 team in 2004.
Idle Louisiana State (4-0) fell one spot to fourth while Texas
(5-0) rounded out the top five. Penn State (6-0) is sixth,
followed by Texas Tech (5-0), Southern California (3-1), Brigham
Young (5-0) and Georgia (4-1).
Florida (4-1) climbed one spot to No. 11 while Ohio State (5-1),
Vanderbilt (5-0), Utah (6-0) and Boise State (4-0) are ranked
12th through 15th, respectively.
Kansas (4-1) is 16th, followed by Oklahoma State (5-0), Virginia
Tech (5-1) and South Florida (5-1), which fell nine spots
following a loss Thursday night to Pittsburgh. Auburn (4-2) is
completed the top 20 while idle Wake Forest (3-1) climbed four
spots to No. 21.
North Carolina (4-1) is ranked in the AP poll for the first time
since November 2001. Michigan State (5-1) entered the poll for
the first time this season while Pittsburgh (4-1) returned to
the rankings after a season-opening loss to Bowling Green.
Wisconsin, Fresno State, Oregon and Connecticut all fell from
the rankings.
|
|
Print
E-mail
Del.icio.us
Digg
