Florida State Bumped From Top 25

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The New York Sun

The Florida State Seminoles became the latest Top 25 fixture to fall from the Associated Press poll this season, dropping out yesterday after losing their third straight game. Florida State is unranked this week for the first time since late November 2001.


With much of the Top 25 idle last weekend, and no big upsets in the limited schedule, there was little movement in the media poll.


USC, which was off this week, is no. 1 for a record 32nd straight poll. USC finishes its season Saturday against UCLA.


Texas is no. 2, but the Longhorns lost four first-place votes this week to USC after a tougher-than-expected 40-29 victory at Texas A&M. Texas plays Colorado in the Big 12 title game. If USC and Texas stay undefeated, they’ll play in the Rose Bowl for the Bowl Championship Series title.


No. 3 LSU, no. 4 Penn State, and no. 5 Virginia Tech held their places.


Florida State is the seventh team ranked in the AP preseason top 15 to fall out of the rankings at some point this season. The others are Tennessee, Michigan, Oklahoma, Iowa, Louisville, and Purdue.


No. 17 Florida defeated then-no. 23 Florida State 34-7, sending the Seminoles to three consecutive losses for the first time since the 1983 season. Prior to 2001, the last time the Seminoles were unranked under coach Bobby Bowden was in September 1989, when they they started the season with losses to Southern Mississippi and Clemson, but finished with 10 straight victories.


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COACHES AXED AT TENNESSEE


Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer fired offensive assistants Jimmy Ray Stephens and Pat Washington yesterday following the Volunteers’ first losing season since 1988. Stephens, 51, was the offensive line coach and had been at Tennessee for three years. Washington, 42, was wide receivers coach and had been with the program for 10 years.


The moves come about a month after offensive coordinator Randy Sanders resigned during a season in which the Vols finished 5-6.


Fulmer said the next offensive coordinator will select the replacements for Stephens and Washington. Former Vols offensive coordinator and Mississippi head coach David Cutcliffe s believed to be the front-runner to take over the team’s offense next season.


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