LSU and Penn State each moved up a spot in The Associated Press Top 25, taking advantage of Miami's loss to move behind unbeaten Southern California and Texas.

The Tigers were No. 3 with 1,449 points in the media poll yesterday, ahead of the Nittany Lions' 1,390 points.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno's resurgent team, which had won a total of seven games the past two seasons, won his second Big Ten title on Saturday with a 31-22 victory at Michigan State. The Nittany Lions (10-1) will play in the Bowl Championship Series for the first time and they'll do it with their highest ranking since they were No. 2 entering November of 1999.

LSU (9-1) beat Mississippi 40-7 and needs only a victory over Arkansas to earn a spot in the Southeastern Conference title game Dec. 3.

Top-ranked USC survived a scare, defeating Fresno State 50-42 for its 33rd straight victory. The Trojans have run their record streak of No. 1 rankings to 31 straight polls, but their fight to the finish against the Bulldogs cost USC six first-place votes.

USC (11-0) received 50 first-place votes, and 1,616 points. No. 2 Texas, which has been on the Trojans' tail since the preseason, received 14 first-place votes and 1,550 points.

The Longhorns (10-0) were off Saturday and play next at Texas A&M on Friday. The Trojans are off until Dec. 3, when they play UCLA. A USC-Texas Rose Bowl for the national title still looms.

Virginia Tech moved up after beating Virginia 52-14 to No. 5, two points ahead of No. 6 Notre Dame.

In the USA Today coaches' poll, USC lost six first-place votes (49-13) to Texas. LSU, Penn State and Virginia Tech rounded out the top five. In the Harris Interactive poll, the top four teams occupied the same spots as in the AP poll — with Notre Dame fifth, Virginia Tech sixth and Ohio State seventh.