FWAA > News > Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll

DALLAS (FWAA) – The Southern California Trojans remain the top-ranked team in the Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll. USC (10-0), the defending Football Writers Association of America national champs, garnered 12 No. 1 votes votes after beating Arizona, 49-9, to win their 19th straight game.

Auburn (10-0) moved ahead of Oklahoma (10-0) into the No. 2 spot after beating Georgia, 24-6. The Sooners, despite a 30-3 win over Nebraska, dropped to No. 3. Auburn was voted No. 1 by three of the pollsters, while OU received one first-place vote.

Wisconsin (9-1), after a 49-14 loss at Michigan State, fell to No. 8 as California (8-1), Utah (10-0), Texas (9-1) and Michigan (9-1) all moved up. Georgia dropped to No. 11 after its loss to Auburn. Miami (7-2), Iowa (8-2) and LSU (7-2) are new entries this week.

The Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll, introduced prior to the 2002 season, ranks the nation's top 16 Division I-A football teams. A regionally-balanced group of 16 selectors votes in the poll. The pollsters also select the FedEx Orange Bowl National Team of the Week, which is also announced each Monday during the regular season.

In addition, the 16 voters representing four regions, cast a ballot each week and give a brief synopsis of their ballot. Unlike other college football polls, the FWAA makes each of its pollster's ballot public, along with the weekly synopsis.

Among eight conferences represented in the Super 16, the SEC features four teams among the Top 16, while the Big Ten has three.

FWAA GRANTLAND RICE SUPER 16 POLL (NOV. 15, 2004)
Rk.	School [1st]	Conf.	W-L	Pts	Pvs	This Week (Nov. 20)
1.	USC [12]	Pac-10	10-0	252	1	Idle
2.	Auburn [3]	SEC	10-0	237	3	at Alabama
3.	Oklahoma [1]	Big 12	10-0	231	2	at Baylor
4.	California	Pac-10	8-1	195	5	vs. Stanford
5.	Utah	MWC	10-0	192	6	vs. BYU
6.	Michigan	Big Ten	9-1	175	9	at Ohio State
7.	Texas	Big 12	9-1	165	t7	Idle
8.	Wisconsin	Big Ten	9-1	114	4	at No. 15 Iowa
9.	Louisville	C-USA	7-1	94	12	at Houston
10.	Georgia	SEC	8-2	93	t7	Idle
11.	Florida State	ACC	8-2	92	13	vs. Florida
12.	Miami	ACC	7-2	84	-	vs. Wake Forest
13.	Boise State	WAC	9-0	76	11	vs. Louisiana Tech
14.	Tennessee	SEC	7-2	41	15	at Vanderbilt
15.	Iowa	Big Ten	8-2	35	-	vs. No. 8 Wisconsin
16.	LSU	SEC	7-2	33	-	vs. Ole Miss
FedEx Orange Bowl National Team of the Week: Michigan State.
First-place votes: USC 12 (Blaudschun, Davis, Dodd, Henson, Higgins, Mandel, Meisler, Miller, Moran, Richards, Robbins, Shain); Auburn 3 (Coyle, Fiutak, Griffith); Oklahoma 1 (Burchette).
Also receiving votes: Virginia Tech 32, Arizona State 15, Virginia 11, Boston College 7, Texas A&M 1, West Virginia 1.
Dropped out: Virginia (10), West Virginia (14), Virginia Tech (16).
By conference: SEC 4, Big Ten 3, ACC 2, Big 12 2, Pac-10 2, Conference USA 1, Mountain West 1, WAC 1.

The FWAA has presented the Grantland Rice Trophy, named in honor of the legendary sportswriter, to college football's national champion each year since 1954. This is the third season that a season-long poll will be concurrent with the award.