Auburn jumps to No. 1 in AP poll

[December 06, 2010]  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) -- Auburn rode its overwhelming win in the Southeastern Conference championship game to its first No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press college football poll since 1985.

The Tigers (13-0) jumped Oregon (12-0), which had been on top the last seven weeks, after beating South Carolina 56-17 on Saturday at the Georgia Dome. The Ducks fell to No. 2 after using a late surge to pull away for a 37-20 victory at Oregon State.

Auburn, which started the season No. 22, received 36 first-place votes. Oregon received 23 and No. 3 TCU (12-0) got one.

The Bowl Championship Series pairing were set to be released later Sunday, with Auburn and Oregon expected to be matched in the national championship game.

There were few other changes in the media poll after a Saturday with no upsets. The Horned Frogs were followed by Wisconsin, Stanford, Ohio State, Michigan State, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Boise State.

No. 25 Connecticut moved into the ranking for the first time this season after beating South Florida 19-16 to win a share of the Big East. The Huskies were last ranked in 2008.

Northern Illinois fell out of the ranking after being upset by Miami, Ohio, in the Mid-American Conference championship game on Friday.

The second 10 starts with No. 11 LSU, followed by Virginia Tech, Nevada, Missouri and Alabama. Oklahoma State is 16th and Nebraska fell four spots after losing the Big 12 title game 23-20 to Oklahoma.

Texas A&M is 18th. South Carolina fell one spot to No. 19 and Utah is No. 20. The final five are Mississippi State, West Virginia, Florida State, Hawaii and Connecticut.

[Associated Press; By RALPH D. RUSSO]

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