NEW YORK (AP) - For the first time ever, the Georgia Bulldogs
begin the year ranked atop the AP's Top 25 college football poll.
      The Bulldogs return 16 starters to a team that finished last
season second in the rankings. They collected 22 of the 65
first-place votes in the poll. Second-ranked Ohio State had 21
first-place votes. Southern Cal Oklahoma, and Florida round out the
top five. Each of those schools had at least four first-place
votes.
      Defending national champion L-S-U starts the year ranked
seventh, just behind Missouri. West Virginia, Clemson and Auburn
finish out the top 10.
      Six of the top 25 schools play in the SEC and a seventh, South
Carolina, missed the top 25 by just a point.

         Record  Pts  Pvs
 1. Georgia (22)         11-2   1,528   2
 2. Ohio St. (21)        11-2   1,506   5
 3. Southern Cal (12)    11-2   1,490   3
 4. Oklahoma (4)         11-3   1,444   8
 5. Florida (6)           9-4   1,415  13
 6. Missouri             12-2   1,266   4
 7. LSU                  12-2   1,135   1
 8. West Virginia        11-2   1,116  21
 9. Clemson               9-4   1,105   6
10. Auburn                9-4     968  10
11. Texas                10-3     966  15
12. Texas Tech            9-4     786  22
13. Wisconsin             9-4     771  24
14. Kansas               12-1     707   7
15. Arizona St.          10-3     631  16
16. BYU                  11-2     590  14
17. Virginia Tech        11-3     578   9
18. Tennessee            10-4     509  12
19. South Florida         9-4     496   -
20. Illinois              9-4     483  20
21. Oregon                9-4     366  23
22. Penn St.              9-4     293   -
23. Wake Forest           9-4     227   -
24. Alabama               7-6      89   -
25. Pittsburgh            5-7      85   -
      Others receiving votes: South Carolina 84, Fresno St. 83,
California 59, Utah 53, Cincinnati 44, Florida St. 41, Michigan 36,
Boston College 32, Rutgers 32, Michigan St. 21, Boise St. 17,
Arkansas 14, North Carolina 14, Connecticut 10, Tulsa 7, UCLA 6,
Oregon St. 5, Mississippi St. 4, Virginia 4, Arizona 3, Nebraska 2,
Notre Dame 2, Hawaii 1, Washington 1.

      (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)