Second to None Might Be the Way to Go

With Auburn’s loss to Arkansas Saturday, the No. 2 spot in the Associated Press poll is up for grabs and No. 3 USC, No. 4 West Virginia, No. 5 Florida and No. 6 Michigan all have legitimate cases to fall in behind Ohio State.

The question is, do they really want to?

The No. 2 spot has been cursed this season, causing all who dare take it to suddenly become vulnerable.

Notre Dame started the season No. 2, but was less than impressive in a 14-10 victory over Georgia Tech in the season opener and dropped.

Texas took over, then promptly lost to Ohio State. Notre Dame moved back and was shellacked by Michigan, 47-21.

That’s when Auburn took over.

The Tigers held the No. 2 ranking for three weeks, but led only 10-0 at halftime against Buffalo before rallying for a 38-7 victory, then needed a last-minute pass deflection to hold off South Carolina, 24-17.

The curse of No. 2 finally caught up with the Tigers, who lost, 27-10, Saturday, becoming this season’s first top-10 team to lose to an unranked team.

“We almost didn’t do it last week, and we surely didn’t do it this week,” Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville said. “We’re disappointed.”

USC is the logical choice to move up. It whacked Arkansas, 50-14, in Week 1. That’s the same Arkansas that beat Auburn on Saturday.

But the Trojans have not impressed anyone the last two weeks in six-point victories over Washington State and Washington.

West Virginia has outscored opponents, 208-61, but hasn’t played a ranked opponent.

Florida’s biggest victory came Saturday over Louisiana State, but the Tigers now have two losses.

Michigan’s victory over Notre Dame is perhaps the most impressive victory among No. 2 contenders, but can the Wolverines move past the others?

USC Coach Pete Carroll seems to think not.

During his postgame news conference Saturday, he asked reporters if Arkansas had defeated Auburn.

Told the Razorbacks won, he seemed confident it would mean the Trojans took the No. 2 spot.

“Good deal,” he said.

Judging by the fate of the other No. 2’s this season, however, it might not be.

A Fresh Start

Kansas State got a boost from two freshmen, each making his first start, in a 31-27 victory over Oklahoma State.

Josh Freeman, the first freshman to start at quarterback for Kansas State since Duane Howard in 1976, ran for a 21-yard touchdown with 1 minute 11 seconds to play for the winning score.

Running back Leon Patton rushed for 151 yards and a touchdown and returned a kickoff 95 yards for another touchdown.

First-Year Jitters

San Diego State lost, 47-17, to Brigham Young and fell to 0-5, matching the worst start in school history.

The last time the Aztecs started 0-5 was 2002, former coach Tom Craft’s first season.

Craft was fired last December and replaced by Chuck Long.

Long apparently has no bad feelings toward his predecessor, however, because he started Kevin Craft, Tom’s son, at quarterback against Brigham Young.

The younger Craft was 20-32 for 216 yards in his first career start.

Land, Air and Sea

Navy defeated Air Force, 24-17, giving the Midshipmen the inside track on winning their fourth consecutive Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, awarded to the best of the three service academies.

Navy (5-1) needs a victory over Army on Dec. 2 to give it the first senior class in school history to go 4-0 against both Air Force and Army.

Air Force struggled running Saturday, so the Falcons went to their passing game, throwing a season-high 19 passes.

The switch to an air attack caught Navy off guard and led to a second-quarter Air Force touchdown that tied the score, 7-7.

But if going to an air attack caught Navy off guard, imagine this:

How surprised would it have been had Air Force attacked from the sea?

Kickin’ It

When Minnesota’s Jason Giannini shanked an extra point attempt in overtime that led to a 28-27 loss against Penn State, Kevin Kelly went looking for him.

Kelly, Penn State’s kicker, had been in Giannini’s shoes before and wanted to console his kicking comrade.

Kelly missed two short field goals against Florida State last year in the Orange Bowl before regrouping to kick the winner in the third overtime.

“It’s really frustrating when that happens, especially in overtime,” Kelly said.

But he never found Giannini in Saturday’s postgame scrum.

Dancing With the Stars

David Ball of New Hampshire caught his 51st career touchdown pass, breaking the Division I record previously shared by Jerry Rice and Troy Edwards.

He had gone two games without a touchdown reception since tying Rice’s mark.

“I’m glad it’s over with. It’s been a fun experience but it’s been haunting me for a while,” Ball said.

Rice set the record playing for Mississippi Valley State from 1981 to 1984.

He went on to set NFL records of 1,549 receptions for 22,895 yards and 197 receiving touchdowns.

Edwards, who tied the record while at Louisiana Tech from 1996 to 1998, played seven seasons in the NFL and had 203 catches.

*

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Who’s No. 2?

Ohio State has been No. 1 in the Associated Press poll since the first week of the season, but the No. 2 spot has been a merry-go round. A look at who has been No. 2, how they fared and where they ended up the next week:

* Week 1: Notre Dame. Defeated Georgia Tech, 14-10, dropped to No. 4.

* Week 2: Texas.

Lost to Ohio State, 24-7, dropped to No. 8.

* Week 3: Notre Dame.

Lost to Michigan, 47-21, dropped to No. 12.

* Week 4: Auburn.

Defeated Buffalo, 38-7, remained No. 2.

* Week 5: Auburn.

Defeated South Carolina, 24-17, remained No. 2.

* Week 6: Auburn.

Lost to Arkansas, 27-10.

Los Angeles Times