LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Coming off a 4-1 week, which included a victory over then-No. 1 Florida State, Florida returned to the top ranking in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Gators (40-3) are back in the No. 1 position since last holding it in the first poll of the regular season on Feb. 14, while the Seminoles have their eight-week run at No. 1 snapped.

UF collected 26 first-place votes and 791 points after posting shutout victories over then-No. 19 Georgia, the Seminoles and then No. 21 Kentucky. After completing the SEC sweep of the Bulldogs on April 10, the Gators walked off with a 1-0 win over FSU snapping the Seminoles’ 24-game winning and 29-game undefeated streaks. They capped off the week taking two-of-three from the Wildcats.

The Seminoles (39-3-1) grabbed two first-place votes and 747 points and fell to No. 2. Playing out of conference, FSU also split a two-game series at RV South Carolina, taking game two, 3-1, following a 7-2 loss a day earlier.

Arizona dropped to No. 3 as it lost its first Pac-12 series of the season at then-No. 14 Utah. The Wildcats (41-3), who received a first-place vote and 730 points, opened with a 5-1 win over the Utes (28-8), but were knocked off in the final two games of the series (6-3, 3-2), snapping a 26-game win streak. With the two wins, Utah (first place vote) made a four-position leap to No. 10.

With Oregon dropping to No. 6, Texas A&M and Minnesota slid up one spot each to No. 4 and 5, respectively. The Aggies (37-4) took two of three at No. 24 Arkansas (3-0, 3-2, 3-4), while the Gophers (38-3), who picked up two first-place votes, swept a home Big Ten series from Northwestern (6-2, 3-2, 8-0).

The Ducks (37-4) slipped to No. 6 as it dropped a home Pac-12 series to then-No. 12 Washington (2-4, 4-1, 3-5). With the two wins over the Ducks, the Huskies (31-10) returned to the top-10 at No. 9. 

Auburn stayed put at No. 7 with three wins, including two over RV Missouri, while Oklahoma inched up one position to No. 9 after sweeping Kansas in Big 12 action on the road. 

Tennessee made the biggest move, leaping five spots to No. 11 and has won 18 straight games, the longest current winning streak in NCAA Division I. LSU dropped from No. 11 to No. 16 as it was swept on the road by then-No. 22 Ole Miss. The Rebels (30-13) made their way into the top-20 at No. 18, following the sweep of the Tigers (32-12).

Making its first appearance of 2017 is Illinois at No. 25, replacing Big Ten foe Ohio State. 

The 2017 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Records reflect games played through April 16. 

2017 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll
Week 9 – April 18, 2017

Rank Team Totals 2017 Record Last Poll     1 Florida (26) 791 40-3 3   2 Florida State (2) 747 39-3-1 1   3 Arizona (1) 730 41-3 2   4 Texas A&M 689 37-4 5   5 Minnesota (2) 664 38-3 6   6 Oregon 646 37-4 4   7 Auburn 591 36-7 7   8 Oklahoma 544 38-7 10   9 Washington 532 31-10 12   10 Utah (1) 521 28-8 14   11 Tennessee 495 39-5 16   12 Alabama 435 36-9 9   13 UCLA 429 29-12 8   14 James Madison 364 37-6 15   15 Baylor 362 35-7 13   16 LSU 315 32-12 11   17 Louisiana 266 32-6 17   18 Ole Miss 257 30-13 22   19 Michigan 215 31-9-1 18   20 Kentucky 189 26-13 21   21 BYU 185 31-10 20   22 Georgia 104 29-15 19   23 Arizona State 101 26-12 23   24 Arkansas 67 26-16 24   25 Illinois 25 31-10 RV                      

 

Dropped Out: No. 25 Ohio State

New to Poll: No. 25 Illinois 

Receiving Votes: Ohio State (21), California (19), Missouri (17), Texas State (14), South Carolina (12), Oregon State (12), North Carolina (11), Marshall (7), Wisconsin (6), Mississippi State (5), Tulsa (5), Florida International (3), Oklahoma State (2), Saint Francis (Pa.) (2).

 

The USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference.  Records reflect games played through April 16.