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WVU Third in FWAA Poll
Story URL: http://westvirginia.scout.com/2/672623.html

FWAA Release
BlueGoldNews.com

Aug 27, 2007

West Virginia nabbed third place in the Football Writers Association of America's preseason Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll, released today by the FWAA.

The USC Trojans are the top-ranked team in the poll, easily outdistancing second-ranked LSU. USC picked up 109 of the 133 first-place votes cast. It's the third time in four years USC has been picked No. 1 by the FWAA in the preseason.

USC has won a record six Grantland Rice Trophies, including back-to-back national titles in 2003-04. The Trojans finished the 2006 season ranked No. 5 in the Grantland Rice Super 16. LSU starts 2007 where it finished a year ago. The Tigers were tied with Ohio State at No. 2 in last season's final rankings.

Including LSU, with its 17 first-place votes, six teams received first-place votes. No. 3 West Virginia had two, followed by No. 4 Michigan (1), No. 5 Texas (3) and defending Grantland Rice Trophy winner, No. 6 Florida (1). Rounding out the preseason top 10 are Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech and Louisville.

The Southeastern Conference leads all conferences with five ranked teams, including two of the top six. The Big Ten and Pac-10 each boast three teams, while the Big East and Big 12 each have two ranked teams. The ACC is the other conference represented in the poll with one team.

GRANTLAND RICE SUPER 16 POLL (PRESEASON)

Rank School [1st] Conference W-L Pts Pvs Opening Game

1. USC [109] Pacific-10 11-2 2,090 5 vs. Idaho

2. LSU [17] SEC 11-2 1,883 t2 at Mississippi State

3. West Virginia [2] Big East 11-2 1,622 t9 vs. Western Michigan

4. Michigan [1] Big Ten 11-2 1,602 t9 vs. Appalachian State

5. Texas [3] Big 12 10-3 1,565 14 vs. Arkansas State

6. Florida [1] SEC 13-1 1,376 1 vs. Western Kentucky

7. Wisconsin Big Ten 12-1 1,167 7 vs. Washington State

8. Oklahoma Big 12 11-3 1,157 12 vs. North Texas

9. Virginia Tech ACC 10-3 1,062 - vs. East Carolina

10. Louisville Big East 12-1 950 6 vs. Murray State

11. Ohio State Big Ten 12-1 666 t2 vs. Youngstown State

12. California Pacific-10 10-3 551 13 vs. No. 16 Tennessee

13. Georgia SEC 9-4 424 - vs. Oklahoma State

14. Auburn SEC 11-2 265 8 vs. Kansas State

15. UCLA Pacific-10 7-6 258 - at Stanford

16. Tennessee SEC 9-4 210 - at No. 12 California

Records and previous rankings are from the 2006 season

Also receiving votes: Rutgers 191, Florida State 183, Penn State 170, Arkansas 108, Nebraska 89, Hawaii 77, TCU 64, Boise State 48, Texas A&M 42, South Carolina 40, Alabama 38, Miami 33, Georgia Tech 28, Notre Dame 25, Boston College 22, Oregon 21, Oregon State 14, Missouri 11, Illinois 8, Oklahoma State 6, Arizona State 5, BYU 5, USF 4, Wake Forest 2, Clemson 1, Colorado 1, Iowa 1, Kentucky 1, Southern Miss 1, Purdue 1.

By conference: SEC 5, Big Ten 3, Pac-10 3, Big East 2, Big 12 2, ACC 1.