Miami Is No. 1 in the BCS

Miami moved back atop the bowl championship series rankings Monday -- but barely.

The defending national champion Hurricanes inched ahead of Ohio State, which needed overtime to beat Illinois, 23-16, Saturday. Miami (9-0) has 3.69 points,0.01 of a point ahead of Ohio State (12-0). The top two BCS teams have never been closer. Washington State (9-1) is third with 9.11.

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The NCAA upheld California’s one-year bowl ban, but restored nine scholarships it had revoked in June after an investigation into academic fraud and other infractions. First-year Coach Jeff Tedford said Cal players were being punished for multiple misdeeds committed under his predecessor, Tom Holmoe. In restoring the scholarships, the NCAA said its original sanctions were excessive for an array of minor violations.

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Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen returned to practice after a week off and was optimistic he would be able to play Saturday against Vanderbilt. Clausen sprained his right foot and ankle Nov. 9 against Miami. .... Florida’s leading receiver, junior Carlos Perez, had surgery on his broken right leg and will begin rehabilitation in four weeks.... Wisconsin’s standout receiver, Lee Evans, will have knee surgery this week and is expected to take six months to recover. It will be the second surgery for Evans, who has been sidelined all season. He led the Big Ten in receiving last year.... Wyoming fired Coach Vic Koenning, 42, with the team struggling at 2-9 and one game left on the schedule. Koenning, who is 5-28 in three seasons, will coach the Cowboys’ finale at New Mexico on Nov. 30....Austin Peay fired Coach Bill Schmitz, who was 19-46 with the Governors in six seasons. The team finished 7-5 this year, its first winning season since 1984.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

THE AP TOP 25

*--* Rk. Team Rec Pts Pv Next Game 1. Miami (74) 9-0 1,850 1 No. 17 Pittsburgh, Thursday 2. Ohio State 12-0 1,766 2 No. 12 Michigan, Saturday 3. Washington State 9-1 1,628 3 Washington, Saturday 4. Oklahoma 9-1 1,622 4 No. 24 Texas Tech, Saturday 5. Iowa 11-1 1,617 6 Bowl game, TBD 6. Georgia 10-1 1,472 7 Georgia Tech, Nov. 30 7. USC 8-2 1,341 8 at No. 25 UCLA, Saturday 8. Notre Dame 9-1 1,284 9 Rutgers, Saturday 9. Alabama 9-2 1,264 10 Auburn, Saturday 10. Kansas State 9-2 1,171 11 at Missouri, Saturday 11. Texas 9-2 1,124 4 Texas A&M;, Nov. 29 12. Michigan 9-2 1,060 12 at No. 2 Ohio St., Saturday 13. Virginia Tech 8-2 847 13 West Virginia, Wednesday 14. Florida State 8-3 796 15 at N. Carolina St., Saturday 15. Penn State 8-3 755 16 Michigan St., Saturday 16. Colorado 8-3 754 17 at Nebraska, Nov. 29 17. Pittsburgh 8-2 638 18 at No. 1 Miami, Thursday 18. Maryland 9-2 637 19 at Virginia, Saturday 19. Florida 8-3 572 20 at No. 14 Florida St., Nov. 30 20. Colorado State 9-2 511 21 New Mexico, Saturday 21. Louisiana State 7-3 344 14 Mississippi, Saturday 22. Texas Christian 8-1 246 25 at East Carolina, Saturday 23. Boise State 10-1 212 -- at Nevada, Saturday 24. Texas Tech 8-4 145 -- at No. 4 Oklahoma, Saturday 25. UCLA 7-3 121 -- No. 7 USC, Saturday

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