Tigers Continue to Climb in Football Polls

by TigerNet Staff - Sun Sep 23 15:19:59 GMT-04:00 2007

CLEMSON -- Clemson is ranked 13th by Associated Press and USA Today. The Tigers were not ranked in the preseason,

but moved into the top 25 after defeating 19th ranked Florida State. Clemson moved into the USA Today Poll

after beating Louisiana Monroe and was ranked 20th in both polls after that game. This marks the second

time in the last three years that Clemson was not ranked in the AP preseason poll, then defeated a top 25

team in the season opener to move into the top 25 by the second week. In 2005, Clemson defeated

17th ranked Texas A&M in the season opener 25-24, then moved into the poll the following week at number

25 in the AP poll.

Clemson was ranked in the preseason of the AP poll in 2006 and reached a

high of number-10 in the nation after a 7-1 start. Tommy Bowden?s team was ranked in the top 25

in the nation 11 weeks during the 2006 season.

Clemson had last appeared in the top 25 prior to this

year on November 19, 2006 prior to the September 4, 2007 ranking. Clemson?s highest ranking under

Tommy Bowden is a number four national ranking in the USA Today poll on October 22, 2000.

This

is the sixth season in Tommy Bowden?s nine years that Clemson has been ranked at least once in

the top 25 of one of the polls. Clemson was ranked in all 17 polls in 2000, and was also ranked

in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006 and now 2007. Clemson was not ranked the entire year until the final

poll in 2003, the only season in Clemson history that has happened.

Clemson has been ranked in

the final top 25 three times in Bowden?s career, 2000, 2003 and 2005. In 2003 and 2005 Clemson

was not ranked in the preseason, but was ranked in the final poll. Clemson has been ranked in

the top 25 of each poll (but not necessarily at the same time) 46 weeks under Bowden.

AP Top 25

RANK TEAM REC PTS LAST

1 Southern Cal (43) 3-0 1601 1

2 LSU (22) 4-0 1580 2

3 Oklahoma 4-0 1456 4

4 Florida 4-0 1417 3

5 West Virginia 4-0 1388 5

6 California 4-0 1263 6

7 Texas 4-0 1196 7

8 Ohio St. 4-0 1193 8

9 Wisconsin 4-0 1030 9

10 Rutgers 3-0 1008 11

11 Oregon 4-0 944 13

12 Boston College 4-0 927 14

13 Clemson 4-0 807 15

14 Kentucky 4-0 708 21

15 Georgia 3-1 631 22

16 South Carolina 3-1 586 12

17 Virginia Tech 3-1 568 17

18 South Florida 3-0 539 23

19 Hawaii 4-0 471 19

20 Missouri 4-0 401 25

21 Penn St. 3-1 337 10

22 Alabama 3-1 265 16

23 Arizona St. 4-0 206 NR

24 Cincinnati 4-0 164 NR

25 Nebraska 3-1 134 24

Others receiving votes: Purdue 73, Miami 72, Michigan St. 60, UCLA 27, Michigan 21, Texas A&M 21, Arkansas 10, Kansas 6, Florida St. 5, UCF 4, Connecticut 3, Virginia 2, Tennessee 1.

USA Today Coaches' Poll

Rank Team (first-place votes) Rec Pts Last week

1. Southern California (44) 3-0 1,481 1

2. LSU (8) 4-0 1,438 2

3. Florida (4) 4-0 1,347 3

4. Oklahoma (4) 4-0 1,336 4

5. West Virginia 4-0 1,260 5

6. California 4-0 1,137 8

7. Texas 4-0 1,103 6

8. Ohio State 4-0 1,092 9

9. Wisconsin 4-0 1,026 7

10. Rutgers 3-0 901 11

11. Boston College 4-0 881 12

12. Oregon 4-0 878 13

13. Clemson 4-0 767 14(tie)

14. Virginia Tech 3-1 585 17

15. Kentucky 4-0 545 23

16. Georgia 3-1 516 21

17. Hawaii 4-0 479 18

18. South Florida 3-0 451 24

19. Penn State 3-1 397 10

20. Missouri 4-0 369 25

21. South Carolina 3-1 335 14 (tie)

22. Nebraska 3-1 209 22

23. Michigan State 4-0 167 NR

24. Alabama 3-1 154 20

25.(tie) Arizona State 4-0 151 NR

25.(tie) Purdue 4-0 151 NR

Dropped out: No.16 Texas A&M (3-1, lost to Miami, Fla. 34-17), No. 19 Louisville (2-2, lost to Syracuse 38-35)

Others receiving votes: Cincinnati (4-0) 84; UCLA (3-1) 69; Miami (Fla.) (3-1) 52; Kansas (4-0) 20; Texas A&M (3-1) 20; Boise State (2-1) 18; Louisville (2-2) 18; Michigan (2-2) 17; Georgia Tech (2-2) 10; Florida State (2-1) 8; Virginia (3-1) 7; TCU (2-2) 6; Central Florida (2-1) 5; Tennessee (2-2) 4; Iowa (2-2) 3; Air Force (3-1) 2; Mississippi State (3-1) 1.