Tennessee drops out of AP Top 25

Tennessee has gone from preseason No. 3 to not even receiving a vote in The Associated Press Top 25.\nThe Volunteers (3-4) fell from the rankings Sunday for the first time in three years after losing 16-15 to South Carolina and old nemesis Steve Spurrier.\nNo. 1 Southern California, No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Virginia Tech, all 8-0, hold the top three spots in the media poll for the sixth straight week. USC received 57 of 65 first-place votes, adding two from last week, and extending its record streak at No. 1 to 28 straight polls. The Trojans beat Washington State 55-13 on Saturday\nTexas received eight first-place votes, down two from last week, after having to rally from a 19-point deficit to beat Oklahoma State 47-28.\nDoug Segrest of The Birmingham News in Alabama started the season with USC No. 1, switched to Texas for three weeks and went back to the Trojans this week.\n"I think it's so close you have to evaluate them on a week-by-week basis," he said. "It's that close and I don't think Virginia Tech is all that far behind -- and remember where I'm calling from."\nUnbeaten Alabama (8-0) moved up a spot to No. 4 but UCLA, the other 8-0 team, is No. 7 behind a couple of once-beaten squads in the Top 25.\nMiami, which plays at Virginia Tech on Saturday, is No. 5 and LSU is sixth.\nThe Bruins rallied in the fourth quarter for the fourth time this season and beat a Stanford 30-27 in overtime. UCLA has its highest rankings since October on 2001.\nNotre Dame is No. 8, followed by Florida State and Penn State.\nIn the USA Today coaches' poll, the top seven is the same as the AP poll with USC, Texas, Virginia Tech, Alabama, Miami, LSU and UCLA. The Harris Interactive poll had a top five of USC, Texas, Virginia Tech, Alabama and Miami, with UCLA sixth and LSU seventh.\nTennessee becomes the sixth team ranked in the AP preseason top 15 to fall out of the rankings at some point this season. The others are Michigan, Oklahoma, Iowa, Louisville and Purdue.\nThe last time the Volunteers dropped out of the rankings was Nov. 3, 2002. That season was very similar to this one for the Vols. Tennessee started the 2002 season No. 5 in the country and ended it unranked.\nGeorgia fell seven spots out of the AP top 10 to No. 11 after losing 14-10 to Florida without starting quarterback D.J. Shockley. The Bulldogs still control their destiny in the Southeastern Conference race.\nOhio State is No. 12, Florida moved up three spots to No. 13 and Wisconsin is No. 14.\nThe Badgers play at Penn State on Saturday with first-place in the Big Ten on the line.\nOregon is 15th followed by Texas Tech, Auburn, West Virginia, Boston College and TCU.\nThe final five are Fresno State, Michigan, California, Colorado and Louisville. The Buffaloes and Cardinals moved back into the rankings this week, as Northwestern fell out along with Tennessee.