College Rankings: Week 10… Oklahoma on Top for 8th Straight Week but Suffers First Loss of Season Tuesday Night

Tuesday, earlier in the day, the college rankings came out and Oklahoma was No. 1 and—at the time—undefeated but the Sooners would fall for the first time last night, 7-6, in a nine-inning game against Georgia in Athens.

OU would come back strong in the second game of the double header to win 12-3 in five innings, but saw their 40 game win streak come to an end going back to last season.

Next week, will the Sooners stay on top or will a team like UCLA move to No. 1? A lot to be determined for sure as Oklahoma plays Texas Tech at home this weekend while the Bruins are at home against Washington.

Prior to the Sooners’ loss last night, here are the latest college rankings per the two big polls: USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball.

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No. 1 Oklahoma runs undefeated start to 33 games

Oklahoma, coming off a convincing three-game sweep of then-No. 7 Texas, entered its eighth straight week at No. 1 in the 2021 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. With the trifecta of run-rule victories, the Sooners (33-0) extended their win streak to 40 games.

OU’s return to Big 12 play saw it outscore the Longhorns (31-6) 30-3 and launch nine more home runs, bringing its season total to 102. The Sooners also extended their Big 12 win streak to 52 games and league series streak to 57. They have not lost a league game since 2017 and a series since 2011.

Unanimous No. 2 UCLA (25-2) posted a three-game sweep of Oregon State. Four different Bruin pitchers, highlighted by a Rachel Garcia no-hitter, held the Beavers to no runs and just three hits over 21 innings.

No. 3 Florida and No. 4 Washington each won their respective conference series and moved up two positions in the rankings, while the teams that they defeated, No. 5 Alabama and No. 6 Oregon, dropped two spots. The Gators (32-6) bounced back from a mid-week defeat to then-No. 23 UCF and took two-of-three from the Crimson Tide (33-7) in Tuscaloosa. The Huskies (34-6) captured three-of-four from the Ducks (28-8) at home, taking all three Pac-12 contests.

Florida State and Arkansas swept through conference play last weekend. The Seminoles (31-6) won their fourth straight Atlantic Conference Coast series with four triumphs at Syracuse, extending their win streak to 15 games. The Razorbacks knocked off then-No. 20 Georgia with three victories over the Bulldogs (27-11) in Athens.

No. 9 Texas and No. 10 Arizona dipped two spots each after falling in their respective league series on the road. The Longhorns were defeated by the top-ranked Sooners, while the Wildcats (27-8) dropped three-of-four to the new-No. 12 ranked Arizona State Sun Devils (28-11).

Making an appearance for the first time in 2021 is James Madison, tying UCF at No. 25. The Dukes (22-1) pushed their win streak to 12 with a Colonial Athletic Association sweep of Elon last week.

Highlighting this upcoming week’s schedule is a top-four Pac-12 matchup in Los Angeles, featuring the second-ranked Bruins and the fourth-ranked Huskies. In non-conference head-to-heads, No. 1 Oklahoma travels east today, April 20, for a doubleheader at No. 21 Georgia, and No. 13 Louisiana heads to Tuscaloosa this weekend for two contests against No. 5 Alabama.

The 2021 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 18. Programs not competing in 2021 will not be eligible for ranking consideration. 

2021 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll – April 20 (Week 10)

New to Poll: t-No. 25 James Madison 

Dropped Out: None.

Receiving Votes: Auburn (23), Fresno State (12), Northwestern (11), Miami University (10), Texas state (9), Liberty (4), BYU (2), Western Kentucky (2), Ole Miss (1).

The 2021 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches with one representing each of the NCAA’s Division I Conferences. Records reflect games played through April 18.

*Programs not competing in 2021 will not be eligible for ranking consideration.

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ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25

2021 Season – Week 10 – April 20, 2021

Completing the series sweep over then-No. 8 Texas, No. 1 Oklahoma (33-0, 9-0 Big 12) posted three run-rule victories over the Longhorns in Week 10. The Sooners, having beat teams via run rule in 25 of their 33 games, improve their NCAA-best win streak to 40 games dating back to the 2020 season.

No. 2 UCLA (25-2, 8-1 Pac-12) hosted Oregon State at home and outscored the Beavers 20-0 to collect three shutout victories. Despite a midweek loss against UCF, No. 3 Florida (32-6, 12-3 SEC) clinched their fifth SEC series of the season by winning two-of-three games over then-No. 3 Alabama.

Riding their ten-game win streak in Pac-12 play, No. 4 Washington (34-6, 12-2 Pac-12) slides up two spots in the Week 10 ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll following a sweep of then-No. 5 Oregon.

Rounding out the Top 5 is No. 5 Alabama (33-7, 12-6 SEC), who claimed a midweek victory over Alabama State before dropping their three-game series against the Gators.

1.	Oklahoma (20) Big 12 Record: 33-0	Previous Rank: 1
		Points: 500
2.	UCLA Pac-12 Record: 25-2	Previous Rank: 2
		Points: 480
3.	Florida SEC Record: 32-6	Previous Rank: 4
		Points: 443
4.	Washington Pac-12 Record: 34-6	Previous Rank: 6
		Points: 428
5.	Alabama SEC Record: 33-7	Previous Rank: 3
		Points: 421
6.	Arkansas SEC Record: 36-5	Previous Rank: 10
		Points: 375
T7.	Florida State ACC Record: 31-6	Previous Rank: 9
		Points: 365
T7.	Oregon Pac-12 Record: 28-8	Previous Rank: 5
		Points: 365
T9.	Arizona State Pac-12 Record: 28-11	Previous Rank: 13
		Points: 315
T9.	Oklahoma State Big 12 Record: 35-5	Previous Rank: 11
		Points: 315
11.	Arizona Pac-12 Record: 27-8	Previous Rank: 7
		Points: 292
12.	Texas SEC Record: 31-6	Previous Rank: 8
		Points: 290
13.	Virginia Tech ACC Record: 28-7	Previous Rank: 14
		Points: 241
14.	Kentucky SEC Record: 30-10	Previous Rank: 12
		Points: 213
15.	LSU SEC Record: 26-14	Previous Rank: 15
		Points: 211
16.	Clemson ACC Record: 32-4	Previous Rank: 18
		Points: 184
17.	Tennessee SEC Record: 32-7	Previous Rank: 16
		Points: 177
18.	Louisiana Sun Belt Record: 34-7	Previous Rank: 17
		Points: 170
19.	Missouri SEC Record: 32-10	Previous Rank: 19
		Points: 144
20.	Michigan Big Ten Record: 21-4	Previous Rank: 22
		Points: 107
21.	Duke ACC Record: 30-10	Previous Rank: 21
		Points: 81
22.	Georgia SEC Record: 27-11	Previous Rank: 20
		Points: 78
23.	Wichita State AAC Record: 32-5-1	Previous Rank: RV
		Points: 71
24.	James Madison CAA Record: 22-1	Previous Rank: 24
		Points: 63
25.	Minnesota Big Ten Record: 22-6	Previous Rank: 23
		Points: 52

Parenthesis denotes first place votes.

Dropped Out: UCF
New to Poll: Wichita State

Others receiving votes: Auburn (37), UCF (31), Louisville (16), Northwestern (15), Ole Miss (11), Boston (5), Liberty (2), Southern Illinois (2), Fresno State (1), NC State (1).