Football Writers Association of America Nov. 28, 2006
For Immediate Release
Contact: Ted Gangi
214-909-9314
Trojans move past Michigan after route of Notre Dame
OHIO STATE, USC NOW TOP TWO IN
FWAA'S GRANTLAND RICE SUPER 16 POLL

DALLAS (FWAA) – While the Ohio State Buckeyes have finished their regular season at 12-0 and the top-ranked team in the Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll, USC has moved up to No. 2 after a convincing 44-24 drubbing of Notre Dame. The Trojans hopped over 11-1 Michigan, whose regular season is also complete. USC still has to get past UCLA in the Rose Bowl this weekend to try to preserve that spot.

The FWAA debuts the Grantland Rice
Super 16 Blog. Check out how each pollster
voted and why at grantlandrice.com

Ohio State, a five-time winner of the Grantland Rice Trophy as the national champion as chosen by the FWAA, will play for the BCS national championship and the opportunity to win a sixth FWAA national title.

No. 4 Florida retained its hopes of a national title and will face No. 8 Arkansas in the SEC title game. Arkansas, however, was dealt a blow with its 31-26 loss to LSU. That win moved the Tigers into a tie for fifth in the poll with 11-1 Wisconsin. LSU was ranked tenth a week ago.

The SEC still leads all conferences with four ranked teams and, as the conference settles its championship Saturday, the Big East title is still up for grabs among three ranked teams. No. 11 Rutgers and No. 14 West Virginia face off Saturday while No. 7 Louisville hosts Connecticut.

Oklahoma moved up to No. 10 in the poll and will play for the Big 12 title after getting some help from Texas A&M, which knocked Texas from the poll with a 12-7 upset win in Austin. The Sooners take on longtime rival Nebraska in the Big 12 title game. And, surprising Wake Forest is back in the poll along with Virginia Tech from the ACC. The 10-2 Demon Deacons will face Georgia Tech, which fell from the rankings after losing to Georgia, in the ACC championship.

The complete poll through games of Nov. 26 is as follows:

FWAA GRANTLAND RICE SUPER 16 POLL (NOV. 28)
Rk. School [1st] Conference W-L Pts. Pvs. Upcoming game
1. Ohio State [16] Big Ten 12-0 256 1 Regular season complete
2. USC Pac-10 10-1 235 3 12/2 at UCLA
3. Michigan Big Ten 11-1 226 2 Regular season complete
4. Florida SEC 11-1 210 4 12/2 vs. No. 8 Arkansas
t5. LSU SEC 10-2 167 10 Regular season complete
t5. Wisconsin Big Ten 11-1 167 8 Regular season complete
7. Louisville Big East 10-1 159 9 12/2 vs. Connecticut
8. Arkansas SEC 10-2 129 5 12/2 vs. No. 4 Florida
9. Boise State WAC 12-0 110 12 Regular season complete
10. Oklahoma Big 12 10-2 108 13 12/2 vs. Nebraska
11. Rutgers Big East 10-1 99 14 12/2 at No. 14 West Virginia
12. Notre Dame Independent 10-2 86 6 Regular season complete
13. Auburn SEC 10-2 66 15 Regular season complete
14. West Virginia Big East 9-2 41 7 12/1 vs. No. 11 Rutgers
t15. Wake Forest ACC 10-2 29 - 12/2 vs. Georgia Tech
t15. Virginia Tech ACC 10-2 29 - Regular season complete
Also receiving votes: BYU (10-2) 11, Texas (9-3) 10, Texas A&M (9-3) 9, Nebraska (9-3) 8, California (9-3) 6, Boston College (9-3) 4, Tennessee (9-3) 4, Hawaii (10-2) 3, Georgia Tech (9-3) 2, Georgia (8-4) 1, Princeton (9-1) 1.
Dropped out: Texas (11), Georgia Tech (16).
By conference: SEC (4), Big East (3), Big Ten (3), ACC (2), Big 12 (1), Independents (1), Pac-10 (1), WAC (1).

The Grantland Rice Trophy has been presented to the national champion in college football since 1954. Named in honor of the legendary sportswriter who passed away in 1954, the trophy was the first national championship award to be presented following college football's traditional post-season.

In 2002, the FWAA introduced the Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll to determine the association's national champion. The 16 regionally-balanced voters will not present weekly rankings and will make their ballots public. For the first time, those ballots will be also posted online at grantlandrice.com, an interactive weblog.

In addition to the poll, the 16 pollsters also decide the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week. For the second straight season, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl will take part in presenting the weekly honor. Since 1971, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl has hosted five games that have decided the college football national championship, including two Bowl Championship Series title games. The 2007 game will be played on Jan. 1. The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, along with the Tostitos BCS Championship Game, moves to the new stadium in Glendale, Ariz., this season.

For more information on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week, go to footballwriters.com or fiestabowl.org.

The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 900 men and women across North America who cover college football for a living. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include gameday operations, major awards, a national poll and its annual All-America team.

2006 Grantland Rice Super 16 Polls (No. 1 team)
Aug. 31 (Ohio State)
Oct. 17 (Ohio State)
Oct. 24 (Ohio State)
Oct. 31 (Ohio State)
Nov. 7 (Ohio State)
Nov. 14 (Ohio State)
Nov. 21 (Ohio State)
Nov. 28 (Ohio State)
Jan. 9 (Florida)

2006 FWAA/GRANTLAND RICE SUPER 16 POLLSTERS
Mark Anderson
Las Vegas Review Journal
Olin Buchanan
Rivals.com
Jordan Burchette
Maxim Online
Bob Condotta
Seattle Times
Frank Coyle
MSNBC | draftinsiders.com
Brian Davis
The Dallas Morning News
Dennis Dodd
CBS SportsLine
Pete Fiutak
College Football News
Teddy Greenstein
Chicago Tribune
Mike Griffith
Knoxville News-Sentinel
Matt Hayes
The Sporting News
Ron Higgins
The Commercial Appeal
Brian Koonz
Danbury News-Times
Lenn Robbins
New York Post
Jeff Shain
Miami Herald
Kalani Simpson
Honolulu Star-Bulletin