Oklahoma climbs to No. 13 in Coaches Poll, up one to 15 in AP Top 25
By Chip Rouse
In the aftermath of Week 1 in the new college football season, Oklahoma is on the move upward and onward in both major national polls.
The Sooners are among the beneficiaries of several top-25 upsets in the very first full week of action. As a result of early chaos involving No. 10 Florida State and No. 13/12 LSU and No. 14 Clemson, Oklahoma is up two spots this week in the Coaches Poll, to No. 13, but advanced just one position in the Associated Press poll, going from 16 to 15.
It appears that the AP voters, made up of media representatives, placed more value on the upset wins USC and Miami over the Labor Day holiday weekend than the panel of head coaches in the Coaches Poll,
USC, a 27-20 winner over LSU, was the biggest mover in both national polls, leaping forward 10 spots to No. 13 in the AP poll and up nine in the Coaches Poll to No. 14, right behind the Sooners. Miami, which throttled Florida 41-17, jumped seven spots to No. 12 in the AP this week and checked in at No. 15 in the Coaches Poll.
Eight SEC teams are ranked in the top-25 this week in both polls, with six of those teams ranked higher than Oklahoma. Five SEC teams are ranked in the top 10. LSU dropped behind the Sooners as a result of its loss to USC. Texas A&M, ranked 20th a week ago, dropped out of both polls after losing to Notre Dame.
Georgia and Ohio State remained unchanged at the top of both polls, while Texas and Alabama moved up one position, to Nos. 3 and 4, following Oregon's surprisingly narrow 10-point win over Idaho State, an FCS team.
Oklahoma will open its SEC schedule in three more weeks when the Sooners host No. 14/12 Tennessee in Norman. Over the course of the season, OU will play four of the five SEC teams (Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss and Missouri) that are currently ranked in the top 10 in both major polls. The Sooners do miss out on Georgia this season and next, but they were scheduled to play the top-ranked Bulldogs this season before it became official that OU was moving to the SEC.