STARKVILLE, Miss. – A loss by previous No. 1 UCLA and a perfect 10-0 start to the 2011 campaign proved to be the magic formula that Georgia needed to rise to the top spot in the latest USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 poll that was released by the Association on Tuesday. The Bulldogs, who are coming off of their second straight 5-0 week, received 16 of the 30 first place votes and were followed by UCLA (9-1) with 11 first place votes. Dropping one spot to No. 3 was Arizona (10-1), while undefeated Florida (9-0) and Alabama (10-0) rounded out the top five.
Staying put at sixth were the Sooners of Oklahoma (11-1), while Washington (8-0) moved up three spots to seventh. Falling five spots to No. 8 was Tennessee (9-1) who lost twice on the week , while Michigan (10-0) and Hawaii finished in ninth and 10th, respectively.
Moving into the poll for the first time in over two years this week was No. 23 Houston (9-1), who scored two wins over No. 18 LSU and a win over No. 20 Oklahoma St. The lone team to fall out of the latest edition of the rankings was No. 22 North Carolina, who was swept in a three-game set by Florida.
The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference.
To view the entire poll, click here.
