They climbed from being unranked in week four to No. 1 for the first time in school history by week 7, which is the fastest rise to the top in AP Poll history, breaking the 1954 record set by Ohio State.
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Ohio State, which won the national championship last season, is considered a favorite to repeat as Big Ten conference and national champions this year.
This is just the first of many college football rankings that will come out this season, but it certainly gives an idea to fans about which teams are favored to make the 2015 College Football Playoff. That all changed on Sunday. The 42-20 victory over the Ducks silenced any critics that felt Ohio State should have been passed over for TCU or Baylor in the final selections. The Horned Frogs might have the most likely Heisman Trophy victor in quarterback Trevone Boykin, who threw for 3,901 yards, 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions previous year. It is the same preseason ranking the Tigers received by the USA Today Coaches Poll two weeks ago.
Florida State was the lone program from Florida to appear in the AP’s preseason top 25, which was released Sunday.
You can check the top 25 poll in its entirety here to see where other teams are ranked.
Compare that to the SEC, which has three teams – Alabama, Auburn at No. 6 and Georgia at No. 9 – in the top 10, and being in a devalued league could mean opportunity.
Both schools had slightly higher marks than they did in the preseason coaches’ poll, where USC was ranked No. 10 and UCLA No. 14.
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Although the Gators weren’t among the many eight SEC packages ranked, they acquired 4 votes. The program has gone on to also finish in the top 25 at total of 13 of those 23 seasons. The Buckeyes return 15 starters and have such depth at quarterback that the player expected to lead the team last season has been converted to a receiver. 2007, 2011 and 2012 were the only times the Buckeyes didn’t crack the top ten in the minds of AP poll voters. Finley finished spring practice as the clear leader in the competition, but an April misdemeanor arrest clouded his status.
