Boise State gains ground in AP Top 25

More AP Top 25 voters are buying into Boise State as the No. 1 team in the country.

Boise State gained seven first-place votes and closed in on No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Ohio State as the top three teams in the first regular season Associated Press football poll held their spots from the preseason.

The Broncos remained third after a thrilling 33-30 victory against Virginia Tech on Monday night, receiving eight first-place votes and 1,399 points from the media panel, 13 points behind the Buckeyes.

Ohio State received four first-place votes and 1,412 points.

Alabama had 47 first-place votes, down seven from the preseason poll, and 1,484 points in the rankings released Tuesday.

TCU from the Mountain West Conference moved up two spots to No. 4, marking the first time since the Bowl Championship Series was implemented in 1998 that two teams from conferences without automatic BCS bids have been in the top five. Boise State is the defending Western Athletic Conference champion.

Texas remained No. 5 and received one first-place vote.

No. 8 Florida dropped four spots after a sloppy 34-12 victory against Miami (Ohio) and No. 10 Oklahoma fell three places after beating Utah State 31-24.

The rest of the top 10 is Nebraska at No. 6, followed by Oregon, which moved up four spots after beating New Mexico 72-0. Iowa is No. 9.

No. 13 Virginia Tech dropped three spots after Boise State scored a touchdown with 1:09 left to beat the Hokies at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.

Falling out of the rankings after close opening losses were Pittsburgh and North Carolina. Moving in were No. 23 South Carolina and No. 24 Stanford.

But the big story is Boise State and the Broncos very well could be the talk of college football all season.

They entered Monday with their best preseason ranking and a legitimate chance to be national championship contenders — if they could beat the Hokies and then flawlessly navigate a schedule with no games more difficult than the first.

Boise State jumped to a 17-0 first-quarter lead, watched that lead evaporate, then needed a two-minute drill capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass from Kellen Moore to Austin Pettis to win its 15th straight game.