Football rises to No. 9 in AP

October 4, 2010

Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Wildcat The Arizona Wildcats opened Pacific 10 Conference play against the University of California on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Ariz. The Wildcats rallied from a six-point deficit and scored the go-ahead touchdown in the final two minutes to edge the Golden Bears 10-9.

Despite not playing a single snap Saturday, Arizona surged five spots up the latest AP poll to No. 9 in the country — its highest ranking since the 1999 preseason.

Both Stanford and Florida fell out of the Top 10, and Wisconsin dropped from No. 11 to No. 20, opening the door for Arizona to join the nation’s elite.

The 4-0 Wildcats are amidst their best start in the last 12 years, and between the No. 9 ranking and cornerback Robert Golden’s recent appearance on ESPN’s talk show program “”Rome is Burning,”” the nation is taking notice.

It was an up-and-down weekend for the Pacific 10 Conference, though, as Oregon leap-frogged Boise State to move into No. 3 in the country, but Stanford dropped and USC fell out of the Top 25.

The Wildcats also moved up from No. 14 to No. 11 in the USA Today coaches poll.

Arizona has a chance to continue to climb up the rankings and improve to 5-0 when Oregon State and the Rodgers brothers come to Tucson on Saturday.

— Mike Schmitz

AP TOP 10

1. Alabama

2. Ohio State

3. Oregon

4. Boise State

5. TCU

6. Oklahoma

7. Nebraska

8. Auburn