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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.

In the USA Today coaches’ poll, only Alabama (55) and Ohio State (four) received first-place votes.

via Boise State Broncos pick up 7 first-place votes in AP poll – ESPN.

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State’s two-headed quarterback may be here to stay.

The Bulldogs opened with junior Chris Relf Saturday in a 49-7 thumping of Memphis. But highly regarded redshirt freshman Tyler Russell came in early and played late, throwing for 256 yards and a school-record four TDs.

Russell completed 13 of 16 passes overall and six straight at one point. On his first collegiate series, he directed the Bulldogs 91 yards, going 3-for-3 through the air.

“I feel like I have the confidence now where, in tight game situations, if you’re one of the best players you want the ball in your hand,” Russell said.

State coach Dan Mullen wouldn’t tip his hand this week which quarterback will get the nod against Auburn — be shocked if it’s not Relf.

But prepare to see a lot of Russell again.

“We’ll see how practice goes,” Mullen said. “I plan on us playing both quarterbacks and they’re doing a nice job. When you’re on the sidelines with the headphones on and you hear the play called, you might see some of the things that you don’t always see while you’re standing out there with a 300-pound guy coming at you trying to hit you.”

via Mississippi State likes 2-QB system enough to stick with it against Auburn | al.com.

The Heisman Trophy Trust is expected to strip former USC running back Reggie Bush of his 2005 Heisman Trophy and leave the award vacant, Yahoo Sports reported.

Two sources close to the trust said the organization is completing its investigation and will agree with the NCAA’s finding that Bush accepted improper benefits while at USC and was ineligible during the 2005 season, according to the report. The NCAA cited USC for “lack of institutional control” and handed the Trojans four years’ probation, a two-year bowl ban and a reduction in football scholarships.

The Heisman Trophy Trust will reportedly strip Reggie Bush of the Heisman Trophy he won in a landslide in 2005.However, ESPN’s Chris Fowler said the report was “completely false” and “premature.”

Fowler told “SportsCenter” that although members of the eight-person trust have had informal conversations among themselves about what to do about Bush’s Heisman, “they certainly have not made any decision” about rescinding it.

“They haven’t made a decision. No announcement is imminent,” Fowler said Tuesday. “They have not had any formal meetings about this.”

The trust does have a regularly-scheduled meeting in September, Fowler said.

via Report: Reggie Bush to be stripped of 2005 Heisman Trophy – ESPN Los Angeles.

WASHINGTON — The New Orleans Saints marched in to the White House on Monday and got a salute from President Barack Obama for lifting up “the hopes and the dreams of a shattered city” with their Super Bowl win.

Obama welcomed the Saints in an East Room ceremony where he congratulated the players, owner and coaches several months after they beat the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17, for their first ever football championship. Obama said it was unbelievable season for the team after decades of frustration.

“I’m a Bears fan, I’m not going to lie, but this was a big win for the country — not just New Orleans,” the president said. He noted that after Hurricane Katrina the Saints had to play an entire season on the road because their home stadium, the Superdome, was ruined in the storm.

“Back then people didn’t even know if the team was coming back. People didn’t even know if the city was coming back,” said Obama.

Now, said the president, “New Orleans and the New Orleans Saints are here to stay.”

via Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints meet with President Obama | al.com.