NEW YORK — By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 yesterday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents," Carroll said. "Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."