South Florida is part of the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time since 2018 after recording back-to-back victories over ranked teams.
The Bulls are No. 18 in the latest poll, released Sunday, while Ohio State, Penn State and LSU remained as the three best teams in the land. The Buckeyes received 57 of the 65 first-place votes.
South Florida pulled off a last-second 18-16 victory over then-No. 13 Florida on Saturday. In their opener, the Bulls mauled then-No. 25 Boise State 34-7.
Now South Florida shoots to become the first team since Miami in 1987 to beat three straight ranked opponents to start the season. Coincidentally, the Bulls visit the Hurricanes on Saturday.
There are a record 11 Southeastern Conference teams in the poll. The Big Ten is next with six.
Ohio State beat Grambling 70-0 to stay atop the poll. Penn State routed FIU 34-0 and LSU beat Louisiana Tech 23-7.
Oregon moved up two spots to No. 4 after demolishing Oklahoma State 69-3. Miami is No. 5 after an easy 45-3 win over Bethune-Cookman.
Georgia dropped two spots to No. 6 after a 28-6 win over Austin Peay. Texas is No. 7 after a 38-7 win over San Jose State. No. 8 Notre Dame had a bye, and Illinois and Florida State round out the top 10.
South Carolina is No. 11, while Clemson fell four spots to No. 12 after it needed to overcome a 16-point deficit to notch a 27-16 win over Troy.
Oklahoma is No. 13, followed by Iowa State, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Ole Miss.
After South Florida at No. 18, Alabama and Utah round out the top 20.
Texas Tech is No. 21, followed by Indiana. Michigan lost 24-13 to Oklahoma and fell eight spots to No. 23.
Auburn and Missouri entered the poll at the bottom with wins over Ball State and Kansas, respectively.
Arizona State (No. 12), Florida and SMU (No. 17) fell out with losses. The Sun Devils lost 24-20 at Mississippi State on a long touchdown pass with 30 seconds left and SMU blew a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead to lose 48-45 in double overtime to Baylor.
–Field Level Media
