COLLEGE FOOTBALL REPORT : WEEKDAY UPDATE : AROUND THE NATION : Early Loss No Liability for Wolverines

An early defeat didn’t stop Michigan from an early rise to No. 1.

Losses by last week’s top two teams lifted the once-beaten Wolverines to the top of the Associated Press college football poll. It’s the earliest a team with a loss has ever been ranked No. 1.

“It’s nice, but we’ve got a long way to go,” Coach Gary Moeller said. “If we’re No. 1 at the end of the year, then we’ll get excited.”

Michigan, which has won three in a row since losing its opener to Notre Dame, replaced the Irish as the nation’s No. 1 team. The Wolverines moved up from No. 3 after Notre Dame lost to Stanford, 36-31, and Florida State was beaten by Miami, 31-22, Saturday.

Michigan received 34 first-place votes and 1,453 points from a nationwide panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Undefeated Virginia, which didn’t play last week, was second with 14 first-place votes and 1,384 points.

Once-beaten Miami jumped six spots to No. 3 with six first-place votes and 1,324 points. Rounding out the Top 10 are Oklahoma, Tennessee, Auburn, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Florida and Florida State.

The No. 8 ranking is the lowest for Notre Dame in two years.

Before this week, no team with a loss had been ranked No. 1 before November. The earliest No. 1 ranking for a once-beaten school had been Nov. 13, 1950, when Ohio State took over the top spot with a 6-1 record.