Hawaii's Rainbow Warriors (30-5) climbed from No. 3 to claim the No. 1 ranking, supplanting UCLA (29-2), which dropped two spots to No. 3 despite carrying just two losses all season. The Warriors' 30-win campaign and late-season surge gave voters enough to slide them past a Bruins squad that had held the top position the previous week.
The poll's biggest mover was UC Irvine. The Anteaters (21-9) rocketed four spots from No. 6 to No. 2, leapfrogging Long Beach State, Pepperdine, and USC in one fell swoop. Meanwhile, Stanford (26-5) nudged up two spots to No. 5, and Penn State (22-8) climbed three places to No. 12 — quietly positioning the Nittany Lions as a sleeper worth tracking.
The shakeup tells you everything about this race: six teams held the top seven spots a week ago, and five of them moved. There is no runaway favorite. There is only a pack of elite programs trading blows, and right now, Hawaii is the last one standing.
Data via ESPN · Summarized by D1Ball's editorial engine from official statistics.
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