Sooners Move a Little Closer to Hurricanes

Oklahoma gained ground on No. 1-ranked Miami, picking up four first-place votes in the Associated Press poll.

The second-ranked Sooners (7-0) beat Iowa State, 49-3, Saturday. The Hurricanes (6-0), who had a bye, got 61 first-place votes to the Sooners’ 13. Miami’s margin over Oklahoma decreased 15 points, 1,837 to 1,787.

Four other undefeated teams followed: Virginia Tech (7-0), Ohio State (8-0), Georgia (7-0) and Notre Dame (7-0).

Notre Dame moved up one spot from No. 7 because Oregon (6-1) went from sixth to 14th after a 45-42 loss to Arizona State.

The first bowl championship series standings will be released today. That’s a compilation of the AP’s media poll, the coaches’ poll, seven computer rankings, strength of schedule and won-loss records. The BCS standings determine which teams will play for the national championship.

No. 12 North Carolina State (8-0) and No. 24 Bowling Green (6-0) are the other ranked unbeaten teams.

The top five in the USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll are Miami, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Ohio State and Georgia.

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North Carolina quarterback Darian Durant, who leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in offense with 293.7 yards a game, will be sidelined the rest of the season after breaking his right thumb during the team’s 37-27 loss to Virginia on Saturday.... Georgia will be without Musa Smith, its leading rusher, and Fred Gibson, its second-leading receiver, Saturday at Kentucky because of thumb injuries. They were hurt during the Bulldogs’ 48-17 victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday.... Timmy Chang passed for 403 yards and four touchdowns to lead Hawaii over Tulsa, 37-14, Saturday night in Honolulu, extending the nation’s longest losing streak to 17 games.

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La Verne quarterback Rollie Dykstra remained in critical condition with a head injury Sunday, a day after taking a hard helmet-to-helmet hit in a game against visiting Redlands. La Verne spokeswoman Deborah Mandabach said Dykstra, a senior, was being treated in Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center’s intensive care unit. A team source said Dykstra’s breathing was assisted by a respirator.