LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Extending its winning streak 24 games and undefeated streak to 29, Florida State expanded its hold on the No. 1 ranking in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll.
The Seminoles (38-1-1) garnered 21 first-place votes and 785 points to finish 30 points ahead of new-No. 2 Arizona, who picked up seven first-place votes and 755 points. FSU swept an ACC road series at Syracuse, knocking off the Orange in three games (18-9, 13-4, 6-5).
The Wildcats (40-1) leapfrogged Florida and Oregon for the No. 2 ranking. They dismantled Stanford over the weekend in Pac-12 play, outscoring the Cardinal 41-2 (20-1, 12-0, 9-1) to become the first 40-game winner in Division I.
The third-ranked Gators stayed put after knocking off North Florida (5-1) and taking the first two contests from Georgia (5-0, 4-1) in SEC play. Picking up three first-place votes and 749 points, UF has won seven straight and 28 of its last 29.
The Ducks (36-2) matched the Division I record for best start to a season (35-0) with two mid-week wins over Portland State. The program that Oregon tied, UCLA, was its weekend’s opponent. The then-No. 9 Bruins (28-10) halted the streak with a 2-0 victory on April 7 and followed that up with a 1-0 (9) triumph on April 8. The Ducks avoided the Pac-12 series sweep with a 11-4 game three-triumph. The wins for UCLA helped it inch up one position to No. 8.
Texas A&M and Minnesota each advanced one spot after sporting undefeated weeks. The Aggies (35-3) registered four non-conference home wins over McNeese State (10-3) and RV Oklahoma State (9-2, 9-1, 7-0), while the Gophers (35-3) swept North Dakota (8-0, 12-0) in a mid-week doubleheader and Indiana (11-6, 10-2, 8-0) in Big Ten play.
Auburn fell to No. 7 after winning its SEC series against then-No. 21 Ole Miss. The Tigers (33-6) sandwiched two 3-1 wins around a 10-4 game-two loss. Following UCLA is No. 9 Alabama and No. 10 Oklahoma.
The Tide (35-7) went 3-1 which included a 2-1 SEC series win against then-No. 8 LSU, claiming games one (3-0) and three (4-2). The Sooners (35-7) won all four of their contests, defeating then-No. 25 Arkansas and taking care of business in Big 12 play against Texas, sweeping the series from the Longhorns (3-2, 3-1, 6-0). OU is the third program in the poll with a current 20-plus game winning streak, pushing its to 21 after the weekend sweep.
Missouri, which dropped two of three to Arkansas, fell out of the poll.
The 2017 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Records reflect games played through April 9.
2017 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll
Week 9 – April 11, 2017
Rank | Team | Totals | 2017 Record | Last Poll | |||||
1 | Florida State (21) | 785 | 38-1-1 | 1 | |||||
2 | Arizona (7) | 755 | 40-1 | 4 | |||||
3 | Florida (3) | 749 | 36-2 | 3 | |||||
4 | Oregon (1) | 704 | 36-2 | 2 | |||||
5 | Texas A&M | 662 | 35-3 | 6 | |||||
6 | Minnesota | 618 | 35-3 | 7 | |||||
7 | Auburn | 612 | 33-6 | 5 | |||||
8 | UCLA | 582 | 28-10 | 9 | |||||
9 | Alabama | 508 | 35-7 | 12 | |||||
10 | Oklahoma | 496 | 35-7 | 11 | |||||
11 | LSU | 485 | 32-9 | 8 | |||||
12 | Washington | 456 | 29-9 | 10 | |||||
13 | Baylor | 439 | 35-6 | 13 | |||||
14 | Utah | 371 | 26-7 | 15 | |||||
15 | James Madison | 348 | 34-6 | 14 | |||||
16 | Tennessee | 336 | 35-5 | 17 | |||||
17 | Louisiana | 302 | 29-5 | 16 | |||||
18 | Michigan | 254 | 28-8-1 | 18 | |||||
19 | Georgia | 201 | 27-12 | 19 | |||||
20 | BYU | 165 | 27-10 | 22 | |||||
21 | Kentucky | 145 | 24-11 | 20 | |||||
22 | Ole Miss | 134 | 26-13 | 21 | |||||
23 | Arizona State | 72 | 23-12 | 23 | |||||
24 | Arkansas | 59 | 24-14 | 25 | |||||
25 | Ohio State | 47 | 23-9 | 25 | |||||
Dropped Out: No. 24 Missouri
New to Poll: None.
Receiving Votes: Marshall (32), Illinois (16), Missouri (16), California (14), Wisconsin (14), North Carolina (9), South Carolina (9), Tulsa (3), Oklahoma State (1), Cal Poly (1).
The USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Records reflect games played through April 9.