HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED

1. Miami Hurricanes were on the verge of having their Rose Bowl aspirations possibly getting nipped in the bud when Hokies’ upset bid slipped through Ernest Wilford’s hands.

Won at No. 14 Virginia Tech, 26-24.

Record: 11-0. BCS: No. 1

Next: Rose Bowl, Jan. 3.

2. Florida The Florida State athletic director said Steve Spurrier deserved a spanking for his comments about Bobby Bowden. Tennessee gladly volunteers to do the honor.

Lost to No. 5 Tennessee, 34-32

Record: 9-2. BCS: No. 2

Next: Bowl game, TBA

3. Texas Chris Simms got the hook-’em-horn after three interceptions and fumbling once in his first pressure situation in eight weeks.

Lost to No. 9 Colorado, 39-37

Record: 10-2. BCS: No. 3

Next: Bowl game, TBA

4. Oregon This won’t go down in the Ken Burns’ chronicles as one of the Ducks’ better Civil War games, but the win keeps them on the BCS’ Mason-Dixon line.

Defeated Oregon State, 17-14

Record: 10-1. BCS: No. 5

Next: BCS bowl game, TBA

5. Tennessee The Volunteers, steaming over being 171/2-point underdogs, showed who was superior--pounding Gator defense for 242 yards on ground.

Won at No. 2 Florida, 36-34

Record: 10-1. BCS: No. 6

Next: No. 22 LSU, Saturday

6. Nebraska Eric Crouch can strike Heisman pose even after Colorado debacle. It wasn’t his fault black-shirt defense got starched for 62 points.

Didn’t play

Record: 11-1. BCS: No. 4

Next: Bowl game, TBA

7. Maryland How close did the Terrapins come to going from 5-6 to the national championship game? A bad fourth quarter in 56-31 loss to Florida State on Oct. 27.

Didn’t play

Record: 10-1. BCS: No. 11

Next: BCS bowl game, TBA

8. Illinois Almost the same story line as Maryland. Illini went from 5-6 to a one-loss season and won its first outright Big Ten championship since 1983. (The Terrapins won their last conference title in 1985).

Didn’t play

Record: 10-1. BCS: No. 8

Next: BCS bowl game, TBA

9. Colorado After scoring 101 points in beating the BCS’ No. 1 and 3 teams, what else in dalmation must the Buffaloes do to earn a spot in the national championship game?

Defeated No. 3 Texas, 39-37

Record: 10-2. BCS: No. 7

Next: BCS bowl game, TBA

10. Brigham Young The Cougars may still be kept off the air in BCS prime time, but in scoring nearly 47 points a game, they should at least make a cameo on Entertainment Tonight.

Won at Mississippi State, 41-38

Record: 12-0. BCS: No. 12

Next: at Hawaii, Saturday

11. Oklahoma The last names of Josh Heupel and Nate Hybl are close in pronunciation. The big difference is Sooners won a national championship with one, and were on borrowed time with the other.

Didn’t play

Record: 10-2.

BCS: No. 9

Next: Bowl game, TBA

12. Stanford Luke Powell was nifty and shifty for the Cardinal with touchdowns on a 54-yard pass play and 58-yard punt return that left Spartans slipping all over a muddy field.

Won at San Jose State, 41-14

Record: 9-2. BCS: No. 10

Next: Seattle Bowl, Dec. 26

13. Washington St. Coach Mike Price likes Cougars’ place in the Sun: “I have been playing the country western song ‘El Paso’ by Marty Robbins since last week.”

Didn’t play

Record: 9-2. BCS: No. 13

Next: Sun Bowl, Dec. 31

14. Virginia Tech Jackie Smith had 485 receptions in a 15-year NFL career and is remembered for one end-zone drop in the Super Bowl. Got a feeling, Ernest Wilford will be remembered in the same way.

Lost to No. 1 Miami, 26-24

Record: 8-3

Next: Florida State in Gator Bowl, Jan. 1

15. South Carolina Gamecocks and quarterback Phil Petty have come a long way in four seasons--from a 21-game losing streak to consecutive bowl berths.

Didn’t play

Record: 8-3

Next: Bowl game, TBA

16. Georgia Diamond in the rough: Bulldog senior Verron Haynes rushed for 521 yards in three games as a feature back after running for 216 in 30 games as a blocking back.

Defeated Houston, 35-7

Record: 8-3. BCS: No. 15

Next: Bowl game, TBA

17. Michigan Looks as if John Navarre (10 interceptions in the last five games) selected Elvis Grbac in NFL career shadowing day for Wolverine quarterbacks.

Didn’t play

Record: 8-3

Next: Citrus Bowl, Jan. 1

18. Syracuse The Orangemen are back in the bowl business after a year’s absence, but Coach Paul Pasqualoni give this Insight: team should be in higher profile Gator Bowl.

Didn’t play

Record: 9-3

Next: Insight.com Bowl,

Dec. 29

19. Washington The Huskies will need a Holiday to get over that 65-7 whuppin’ they took from the Miami Pound Machine.

Didn’t play Record: 8-3. BCS: No. 14

Next: Holiday Bowl, Dec. 28

20. Marshall After taking a 23-0 lead, the Thundering Herd got caught in a Chester Taylor stampede as the Rocket tailback finished with 188 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Lost to Toledo, 41-36, Friday

Record: 10-2

Next: GMAC Bowl, Dec. 19

21. Fresno State Bulldogs should have been able to parlay a season-opening victory over Colorado into something better than a New Year’s Eve game, but couldn’t beat Boise State when BCS chips were down.

Defeated Utah State, 70-21

Record: 10-2

Next: Silicon Valley Classic,

Dec. 31

22. Louisiana St. Rohan Davey, LaBrandon Toefield and Josh Reed have become college football’s equivalent of Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison--circa 1999-2000.

Defeated No. 25 Auburn, 27-14

Record: 8-3

Next: No. 5 Tennessee, Saturday

23. Ohio State The head coach didn’t survive the Buckeyes’ last visit to the Florida Outback--John Cooper was fired after a 24-7 loss to South Carolina.

Didn’t play

Record: 7-4

Next: Outback Bowl, Jan. 1

24. Louisville He doesn’t wear black high-top shoes, but Dave Ragone is following in the tradition of Johnny Unitas at Louisville--and might even win the award named after him next year.

Didn’t play

Record: 10-2

Next: Liberty Bowl, Dec. 31

25. Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville tried a new hand with a different starting quarterback and tailback, for this game, but Tigers still got lost in the shuffle.

Lost at No. 22 Louisiana State

Record: 7-4

Next: Bowl game, TBA

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Compiled by Jim Rhode