Sunday, December 3
Oklahoma gains seven first-place votes



ARLINGTON, Va. -- Big 12 Conference champion and Orange Bowl-bound Oklahoma gained seven first-place votes and finished the regular season atop the ESPN/USA Today coaches' football poll, which was released Sunday.

The Sooners (12-0), who defeated No. 9 Kansas State (10-3), 27-24, on Saturday night in Kansas City, Missouri, received a total of 56 first-place votes and 1,471 points from a nationwide panel of coaches.

Oklahoma now has been ranked first by the coaches for six consecutive weeks. It began the season at No. 20 and took over the nation's top spot on Oct. 29. The Sooners will play for their first national title in 15 years on Jan. 3 in Miami.

Second-ranked Miami (10-1) lost three of its five first-place votes and trails Oklahoma by 71 points. No. 3 Florida State (11-1) had four of its five first-place votes taken away and has 1,366 points.

Oklahoma, Miami and Florida State have been ranked first, second and third, respectively, for five straight weeks.

Washington (10-1), which will play in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day, is ranked fourth and is followed by Virginia Tech (10-1), Oregon State (10-1), Florida (9-2) and Nebraska (9-2). Notre Dame (9-2) is 10th.

The Huskies opponent in Pasadena will be 14th-ranked Purdue (8-3), which is heading to the Rose Bowl for the first time since January 1967. Other Big Ten teams in the poll are No. 15 Michigan (8-3), No. 18 Ohio State (8-3) and No. 19 Northwestern (8-3).

No. 11 Oregon, Texas and Clemson all had 9-2 regular seasons, while 16th-ranked Texas Christian's 10-1 campaign earned it a spot in the Mobile Alabama Bowl, which will be the first postseason game played on December 20.

Georgia Tech (9-2), which is ranked 17th, will play in the Peach Bowl.

Rounding out the poll are 20th-ranked Auburn (9-3), Tennessee (8-3), Colorado State (9-2), Louisville (9-2), Georgia (7-4) and Toledo (10-1).





ALSO SEE
ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll

AP Top 25: Oklahoma, Miami finish 1-2

Associated Press poll

Sooners win Big 12 title, will play for national championship






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