OHIO STATE REMAINS ATOP FWAA'SGRANTLAND RICE SUPER 16 POLL

DALLAS (FWAA) The Ohio State Buckeyes, off to a 7-0
    start after opening the season as the preseason No. 1, remain the top
    ranked team in the Football Writers Association of America's
    Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll
.


Ohio State, a five-time winner of the Grantland Rice Trophy as the
    national champion as chosen by the FWAA, has yet to
    falter in gaining 15 of the 16 first-place votes. West Virginia, at 6-0,
    received the only other No. 1 vote.


While the Buckeyes lay claim to the top spot in the first
    regular-season rankings released by the FWAA, it's conference rival
    Michigan that has moved up to No. 2 from the No. 12 spot in the
    preseason poll.


Though the Big Ten has the top two teams in the rankings, the
    Southeastern Conference boasts five of the 16 ranked teams. Florida, at
    No. 6, is the highest-ranked SEC team. Auburn (No. 8), Tennessee (No.
    9), Arkansas (No. 13) and LSU (No. 15) show the SEC's strength at the
    midway point of the season.


Three other conferences each have a pair of teams in the poll,
    including the Big East as No. 7 Louisville joins West Virginia in the
    poll. USC and California represent the Pac-10 and ACC foes Clemson and
    Georgia Tech - who play each other this week - are among the ranked
    teams.


Texas is the lone ranked team from the Big 12, while Boise State
    joins the rankings at No. 16 and is the only team from the WAC in the
    poll. Notre Dame, No. 2 in the preseason poll, drops to No. 10.


The complete poll through games of Oct. 15 is as follows:


The Grantland Rice Trophy has been presented to the national champion
    in college football since 1954. Named in honor of the legendary
    sportswriter who passed away in 1954, the trophy was the first national
    championship award to be presented following college football's
    traditional post-season.


In 2002, the FWAA introduced the Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll to
    determine the association's national champion. The 16
    regionally-balanced voters will not present weekly rankings and will make their ballots public. For the first time,
    those ballots will be also posted online at
    grantlandrice.com
,
    an interactive weblog.


In addition to the poll, the 16 pollsters also decide the Tostitos
    Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week
. For the second straight season,
    the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl will take part in presenting the weekly honor. Since
    1971, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl has hosted five games
    that have decided the college football national championship, including
    two Bowl Championship Series title games. The 2007 game will be played
    on Jan. 1. The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, along with the Tostitos BCS
    Championship Game, moves to the new stadium in Glendale, Ariz., this
    season.


For more information on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week, go to footballwriters.com or fiestabowl.org.


The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit
    organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 900 men and women
    across North America who cover college football for a living. The
    membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as
    key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to
    govern areas that include gameday operations, major awards, a national
    poll and its annual All-America team.