NCAA NEWS

NCAA College Football Power Rankings Week 7

Published by AP News on October 19, 2009

New No. 1, same conference. Alabama had been gaining ground on Florida in recent weeks and the Tide’s 20-6 win over South Carolina, coupled with Florida’s nail-biting win over Arkansas, was enough to vault Nick Saban’s crew over the Gators.

Virginia Tech and Ohio State’s losses caused them to tumble out of the top 10, leaving room for Cincinnati and Iowa to make healthy gains, checking in at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively.

Utah, West Virginia and Texas Tech were the new entrants to this week’s Top 25.

Here are this week’s rankings:

College Football Power Rankings – Week 7
	RK (LW)	TEAM	REC	PTS	COMMENT
	1 (2)	Alabama (13)	7-0	373	Alabama keeps asking more and more of Mark Ingram and he hasn’t failed to deliver. The sophomore had a career-high 246 yards rushing and a TD to push the Tide over South Carolina 20-6.
	2 (1)	Florida (2)	6-0	362	It’s not often Florida needs its kicker to save the day, but that was the case against Arkansas. Caleb Sturgis hit three FGs, including the game-winner with nine seconds remaining to push the Gators past the Hogs 23-20.
	3 (3)	Texas	6-0	344	It wasn’t pretty, but it didn’t have to be. Texas’ defense terrorized a Sam Bradford-less Oklahoma offense to send the Longhorns to another win in the Red River Rivalry.
	4 (5)	USC	5-1	323	There was more drama than there needed to be, but USC slammed the door on Notre Dame when it mattered most. Matt Barkley turned in his best performance yet as a Trojan with 380 yards passing and two TDs.
	5 (8)	Cincinnati	6-0	296	The good news: Cincinnati met its biggest challenge yet with a 34-17 win on the road against South Florida. The bad news: Tony Pike was forced to the sidelines with an arm injury and is questionable for Saturday’s game against Louisville.
	6 (10)	Iowa	7-0	291	Every week it looks more likely that this is going to be a special season for Iowa. The Hawkeyes erased a 10-point deficit on the road to beat Wisconsin 20-10. They stay on the road Saturday with a visit to Michigan State.
	7 (6)	Boise State	6-0	285	Tulsa put quite a fright into Boise State in the Wednesday night midweek matchup, but the Broncos remained unbeaten with a 28-21 win. A trip to Hawaii is next.
	8 (9)	Miami (FL)	5-1	273	A 27-7 win over Central Florida moved Miami to 5-1 for the first time since 2005. The Hurricanes return to their ACC slate on Saturday with a visit from Clemson.
	9 (11)	TCU	6-0	251	It’s hard to believe after looking at the final score, but Colorado State actually led TCU 6-0 after the first quarter. But the Horned Frogs responded with 44 unanswered points the rest of the way for the blowout win.
	10 (12)	LSU	5-1	237	LSU had a week off to digest its Week 6 loss to Florida. The Tigers get back in action with a two-game homestand against Auburn and Tulane.
	11 (13)	Oregon	5-1	227	Oregon was off over the weekend, but rose from last week’s standings after a couple of top-10 teams fell. The Ducks will try to avoid the same fate as USC when they travel to Washington on Saturday.
	12 (20)	Georgia Tech	6-1	225	Few teams impressed more over the weekend than Georgia Tech. Josh Nesbitt rushed for 122 yards and three TDs in the Yellow Jackets’ win over Virginia Tech. Up next: a visit to Virginia, the only unbeaten team in ACC play. And no, that’s not a typo.
	13 (4)	Virginia Tech	5-2	194	Virginia Tech tried mounting a late comeback but came up short in a 28-23 loss to Georgia Tech. The Hokies will be happy to see the last of Atlanta after losses to Alabama and the Yellow Jackets dashed their title hopes.
	14 (15)	Penn State	6-1	180	The Big Ten’s stingiest defense held Minnesota to just 138 yards and no points in a 20-0 win. The Nittany Lions now gear up for a two-game road trip against Michigan and Northwestern.
	15 (18)	Oklahoma State	5-1	160	Oklahoma State scored 19 unanswered points to earn a comeback victory at Missouri, 33-17. Keith Toston and Hubert Anyiam picked up the offensive slack for the Cowboys with Dez Bryant and Kendall Hunter out.
	16 (19)	Brigham Young	6-1	153	Max Hall’s 346 passing yards and three TDs helped earn BYU a 38-28 win over San Diego State — its 500th win in school history. The Cougars host TCU on Saturday in a battle of MWC unbeatens.
	17 (23)	Houston	5-1	120	Houston opened Conference USA play with a 44-16 win over Tulane behind Case Keenum’s 334 passing yards and two TDs. The Cougars host SMU on Saturday.
	18 (25)	Pittsburgh	6-1	113	Pitt got an early start to Week 7 with a Friday night win over Rutgers. The Panthers’ freshman sensation Dion Lewis rushed for 180 yards and two TDs in the win — the third time in seven games he’s rushed for more than 150 yards.
	19 (27)	Utah	5-1	97	Utah won its third straight game — 35-15 over UNLV — since losing to Oregon on Sept. 19. The Utes are still unbeaten in MWC play and face a three-game homestand starting with Air Force on Saturday.
	20 (7)	Ohio State	5-2	87	Five turnovers (four by Terrelle Pryor) doomed Ohio State in a crushing, 26-18 loss to Purdue. The Buckeyes can forget about a national title and instead focus on the Big Ten crown, starting Saturday with a visit from Minnesota.
	21 (29)	West Virginia	5-1	52	West Virginia dropped Marshall over the weekend behind Noel Devine’s 103 rushing yards and two TDs. QB Jarrett Brown is listed as day to day after suffering a helmet-to-helmet hit.
	22 (NR)	Texas Tech	5-2	51	Texas Tech raced to a 21-0 lead over Nebraska and never looked back in a 31-10 win. QB Steven Sheffield led the Red Raiders to their third straight win since a loss at Houston on Sept. 26.
	23 (22)	South Carolina	5-2	36	South Carolina’s four-game winning streak came to an end in Tuscaloosa, as the Gamecocks couldn’t muster enough offensively to overcome Alabama. They’ll look to get back above .500 in the SEC with a visit from Vanderbilt on Saturday.
	24 (16)	Oklahoma	3-3	35	It’s rare that a three-loss team appears in these rankings in October, but not too many teams have lost to the caliber of teams OU has. But the bad luck continues to pile on for the Sooners, as Sam Bradford reinjured his shoulder in the loss to Texas.
	25 (21)	South Florida	5-1	23	Despite Tony Pike’s absence for most of the second half, South Florida couldn’t slow down Cincinnati’s offense enough as the Bulls suffered their first loss 34-17. They’ll face another unbeaten Big East team Saturday with a visit to Pitt.
	25 (17)	Kansas	5-1	23	Kansas almost saved its perfect record after mounting a furious comeback in Colorado. But the Jayhawks fell short, 34-30 in a loss they may live to regret as their schedule only gets tougher from here on out.
Others receiving votes: Notre Dame (18), Central Michigan (12), Arizona (10), Nebraska (10), Mississippi (8), Michigan (3), Wisconsin (3)