University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Ranked No. 9 and No. 11 in Polls
October 31, 2004 | Football
Oct. 31, 2004
AP Poll | USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll
By RALPH D. RUSSO
AP Sports Writer
Tennessee moved up to two spots to No. 9 in The Associated Press poll and one spot to No. 11 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll following its 43-29 victory over South Carolina.
The Volunteers take on Notre Dame Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on CBS for the first time since 2001. UT holds a 4-2 series lead and has won the last three meetings.
Miami and Florida State tumbled in The Associated Press poll on Sunday, falling out of the top 10 after being upset on the road.
The Hurricanes' first loss of the season, a 31-28 defeat at North Carolina, dropped them seven spots to No. 11 in the media poll. They were one of five ranked teams to lose on the road to unranked opponents Saturday.
The Seminoles lost 20-17 at Maryland to snap a six-game winning streak. They fell eight spots to No. 13.
Southern California is No. 1 and Oklahoma is No. 2 for the 10th straight poll. Texas-El Paso is No. 25 as coach Mike Price has the Miners in the rankings for the first time in their history.
USC received 56 first-place votes and 1,616 points after a 42-12 victory at Washington State. The Sooners got eight first-place votes, five less than last week, and 1,556 points after squeaking by Oklahoma State 38-35 on Saturday.
The Sooners are back on the road next week at Texas A&M.
"It is another big game and an important game in the Big 12," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said.
Texas A&M was upset 35-34 in overtime to Baylor and fell six spots to No. 22.
No. 3 Auburn (8-0) received a first-place vote. California moved up three spots to No. 4, its highest ranking since 1952, and Wisconsin (8-0) is No. 5.
Rounding out the first 10 are Texas, Utah, Georgia, Tennessee and Michigan.
The top five teams in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll are Southern California, Oklahoma, Auburn, Wisconsin and Georgia.
The Bowl Championship Series releases its standings Monday, with USC and Oklahoma expected to remain first and second, respectively.
In the AP poll, No. 12 Virginia is right behind Miami and in front of Florida State.
No. 14 is Louisville, followed by West Virginia, unbeaten Boise State, LSU, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State and Iowa.
Joining Texas A&M and UTEP in the final five are No. 21 Southern Mississippi, No. 23 Arizona State and No. 24 Boston College, which is making its season debut in the rankings.
Price's Miners (6-2) are in the midst of one of the best turnarounds of the season. They clinched just their second winning season in the last 16 years with a 38-20 win over San Jose State and matched their victory total for the three previous seasons combined.
Falling out of the rankings was Purdue, which lost its third straight, 13-10 at Northwestern. The Boilermakers were No. 5 just three weeks ago.
Minnesota also dropped out after losing 30-21 at Indiana.
