Ohio State No. 1 After Weekend Full of Upsets

Losses by LSU, Cal clear way to top for Buckeyes in first BCS rankings

By Doug Sweeney

Posted Oct 14, 2007 9:00 PM CDT

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Ohio State No. 1 After Weekend Full of Upsets — Ohio State defensive back Donald Washington, right, returns an interception 70-yards for a touchdown during the second quarter of a college football game Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007 in Columbus, Ohio. At left is Ohio State's Malcolm Jenkins. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete) (Associated Press)

The first bowl series rankings of the year released today declared traditional power and undefeated Ohio State the best college football team in the US; more surprisingly, the BCS combination of human polls with computer rankings placed South Florida second. They were helped when AP poll #1 LSU and #2 Cal lost yesterday, the first time that's happened on the same day since 1996, the AP reports.

Ohio State has only one win against a ranked team at any point this season, but avoiding an upset was enough to put them on top. South Florida's rise to #2, meanwhile, has been meteoric: USF didn't start playing football until 1997, and had never been ranked in the writers' or coaches' Top 25 polls until last month. Boston College, LSU, and Oklahoma round out the initial BCS top five. (More football stories.)

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