Tech rises to No. 11; Trojans tumble to No. 12

NEW YORK -- In the wake of its 16-15 victory over Nebraska on Saturday, Virginia Tech rose two spots to No. 11 in The Associated Press college football poll.

Southern California dropped nine spots and out of the top 10, and Washington moved into the rankings for the first time in six years.

A day after the Huskies upset the Trojans 16-13 on a late field goal, USC fell from No. 3 to No. 12. The Trojans became the second preseason top-five team to lose in the first three weeks of the season. Preseason No. 3 Oklahoma lost its opener to BYU.

Washington, ranked for the first time since Sept. 28, 2003, is No. 24.

No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Texas have held firm to their spots all season. No. 3 Alabama and No. 4 Mississippi moved up one spot in the latest poll, giving the Southeastern Conference three of the top four teams in the nation. Penn State remained No. 5.

Miami made the biggest jump of the ranked teams from last week, moving up 11 spots to No. 9 after a 33-17 victory against Georgia Tech. Miami is in the top 10 for first time since the final regular-season poll of the 2005 season.

Irish WR likely out for year

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame likely will be without wide receiver Michael Floyd for the rest of the regular season and quarterback Jimmy Clausen might not be 100 percent when the Fighting Irish play at Purdue on Saturday.

Floyd underwent surgery yesterday for a broken left collar bone. Coach Charlie Weis said he hasn't been told how long Floyd will be out, but he expects to be without him the rest of the way.

The 6-3, 220-pound sophomore went into the Michigan State game second in the nation in receiving yards at 160 yards a game. He was injured in the 33-30 victory falling to the ground trying to make a touchdown catch.

Weis said it appeared Clausen has something between a turf toe and an arch injury on his right foot. Clausen will undergo an MRI.Weis said he expects Clausen to play Saturday against Purdue (1-2).

Flu hits Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida's flu bug is cause for alarm, at least for coach Urban Meyer and his staff. Running back Jeff Demps, tight end Aaron Hernandez and defensive end Jermaine Cunningham were isolated in the days leading up to Saturday's game against Tennessee.

Although Meyer did not say any of the players had swine flu, he was worried the virus could hit his top-ranked team.

"It is a panic level of proportion I've never seen before," Meyer said yesterday, a day after his team's 23-13 victory. "That's coming from me. You hear about, I think, Wisconsin had 40 players. Ole Miss had 20 players."

On the injury front, Meyer said linebacker Brandon Spikes will be placed in a protective boot. Spikes missed most of the second half of Saturday's game because of tendinitis in his Achilles' tendon.