Cavs Claim No. 16 Spot in AP Poll

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August 16, 1998

NEW YORK (AP) – Ohio State starts the season where it hopes to end up for the first time in 30 years — ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll.

Ohio State received 30 first-place votes and 1,668 points from the 70 sports writers and broadcasters on the AP panel, edging No. 2 Florida State by five points. The voting was the second closest in the 48-year history of the AP preseason poll — in 1994, Florida beat out Notre Dame by two points.

The Seminoles received 22 first-place votes and 1,663 points in gaining their 11th straight Top 5 preseason ranking. Florida State ended last season with a 31-14 win over Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.

Florida, with five first-place votes and 1,547 points, is third, followed by No. 4 Nebraska (four first-place votes, 1,534 points) and No. 5 Michigan (four first-place votes, 1,475 points).

Kansas State, with two first-place votes and 1,335 points, is No. 6, followed by No. 7 UCLA (one first-place vote, 1,331 points), No. 8 Arizona State (two first-place votes, 1,256 points), No. 9 LSU and No. 10 Tennessee.

West Virginia, which plays host to the Buckeyes in the season-opener Sept. 5, is No. 11, followed by No. 12 North Carolina, No. 13 Penn State, No. 14 Texas A&M and No. 15 Colorado State.

Colorado State cracked the preseason Top 25 for the first time, while Kansas State and West Virginia received their highest preseason ranking.

Virginia is No. 16, followed by No. 17 Syracuse, No. 18 Washington, No. 19 Georgia, No. 20 Wisconsin, No. 21 Southern Mississippi, No. 22 Notre Dame, No. 23 Michigan State, No. 24 Arizona and No. 25 Auburn.

This season, the Bowl Championship Series, formerly the bowl alliance, will match the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 4 based on a new and complex ratings system that involve polls, computer rankings, strength-of-schedule and won-loss record.

The final AP poll will be released Jan. 5. The Top Twenty Five teams in The Associated Press preseason college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 1997 records, total points based on 25 points for a first place vote through one point for a 25th place vote and ranking in 1997 final poll:

                         Record   Pts  Pv  1. Ohio St. (30)        10-3   1,668  12 2. Florida St. (22)     11-1   1,663   3  3. Florida (5)          10-2   1,547   4  4. Nebraska (4)         13-0   1,534   2  5. Michigan (4)         12-0   1,475   1  6. Kansas St. (2)       11-1   1,335   8  7. UCLA (1)             10-2   1,331   5  8. Arizona St. (2)       9-3   1,256  14  9. LSU                   9-3   1,237  13 10. Tennessee            11-2   1,094   7 11. West Virginia         7-5     985  -- 12. North Carolina       11-1     864   6 13. Penn St.              9-3     804  16 14. Texas A&M             9-4     760  20 15. Colorado St.         11-2     631  17 16. Virginia              7-4     620  -- 17. Syracuse              9-4     608  21 18. Washington            8-4     494  18 19. Georgia              10-2     480  10 20. Wisconsin             8-5     444  -- 21. Southern Miss.        9-3     341  19 22. Notre Dame            7-6     291  -- 23. Michigan St.          7-5     211  -- 24. Arizona               7-5     208  -- 25. Auburn               10-3     201  11 

Others receiving votes: Texas 145, Southern Cal 121, Georgia Tech 86, Missouri 72, Colorado 60, Oklahoma St. 31, Purdue 30, Mississippi 24, Mississippi St. 21, Utah 17, Brigham Young 10, Miami 10, Wake Forest 9, Oregon 8, Arkansas 7, Kentucky 4, Washington St. 4, Tulane 3, Marshall 2, South Carolina 2, Louisiana Tech 1, Toledo 1.