LSU returns to No. 2 in AP's Top 25 poll

LSU is back where it started in the Top 25. The Tigers moved up to No. 2 in The Associated Press poll released Sunday, right where they began the season. No. 3 Oregon also moved up a spot and was close behind LSU. The Tigers received 1,523 points and the Ducks had 1,517.

Ohio State was No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week, getting 60 out of 65 first-place votes from the media panel. LSU received the other five first-place votes.

No. 4 Oklahoma and unbeaten Kansas round out the top five. The Buckeyes, Jayhawks and Hawaii, which is ranked 14th, are the remaining undefeated major college teams.

LSU benefited from Boston College's 27-17 loss to Florida State on Saturday night. BC became the fourth team to lose as No. 2 this season, joining Southern California, South Florida and California.

The Eagles dropped six places to eighth after their first defeat of the season.

The Tigers were No. 2 behind USC in the preseason poll and jumped to No. 1 the last weekend of September. LSU held on to the top ranking for two weeks before losing to Kentucky in triple overtime and falling to No. 5. The Tigers had been No. 3 the previous two weeks.

The rest of the top 10 has West Virginia at No. 6, just two points behind Kansas, followed by Missouri, BC, Arizona State, which lost to Oregon 35-23 on Saturday to fall from the ranks of the unbeaten, and Georgia.

After an unpredictable stretch of the season in which the rankings were thrown into disarray weekly, the past two weeks have been much tamer.

BC and Arizona State were the only top 10 teams to lose this week, and while the order has changed, the first 10 teams are the same as last week's. It's the first time this season that's happened.

No. 11 Virginia Tech starts the second 10, followed by Southern California, Michigan, Hawaii and Texas.

No. 16 is Connecticut and Auburn, Florida, Boise State and Clemson round out the first 20.

The final five are Alabama, Tennessee and three teams re-entering the rankings this week — No. 23 Virginia, No. 24 California and No. 25 Kentucky.

The Wildcats give the Southeastern Conference seven ranked teams, the most of any conference, even with South Carolina falling out this week.

Also falling out after losses were Wake Forest and South Florida.

USF has had a wild ride up and down the rankings this season. The Bulls started the season unranked, entered the rankings for the first time in school history after the third week of the season at No. 23 and were No. 2 in the country a month later.

Since then, the Bulls have lost three straight, including Saturday's 38-33 setback to Cincinnati.

The last team to reach No. 2, and then fell out of the rankings in the same season was Virginia in 1990. The Cavaliers were No. 2 on Oct. 7, 1990, and were No. 1 the following three weeks. Three weeks after being No. 1, Virginia dropped out of the rankings. The Cavaliers finished the season ranked No. 23.