Tigers pull even with Sooners

Auburn caught Oklahoma in the Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday, creating a tie for second place behind No. 1 Southern California.

It’s the just the second tie for No. 2 in the history of the AP media poll. The other was Nov. 3, 1991, when Miami and Washington were tied behind No. 1 Florida State.

That year, the Hurricanes and Huskies eventually shared the national title. Miami finished No. 1 in the AP poll and Washington took the top spot in the coaches poll.

Auburn and Oklahoma each received 1,536 points. The Tigers got six first-place votes and the Sooners received eight. Last week, Oklahoma led Auburn by 43 points and had 10 first-place votes to the Tigers’ three.

But Auburn made a convincing case Saturday against Georgia. The Tigers beat the Bulldogs 24-6, a loss that dropped Georgia three spots to No. 11.

The Sooners beat Nebraska 30-3 on Saturday night, but it was probably their close calls the previous two weeks against Oklahoma State and Texas A&M that left the voters questioning Oklahoma’s credentials.

The Sooners beat the Cowboys by three and the Aggies by seven, playing poorly on defense in each game.

Oklahoma is still No. 2 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, just two points ahead of Auburn.

The next thing to change could be the Bowl Championship Series standings, which come out today.

Auburn has been third behind USC and Oklahoma in the BCS the last two weeks.

USC is still a comfortable No. 1 in the AP Top 25 with 1,608 points and 51 first-place votes. California is No. 4 and Utah is No. 5.