UC Irvine holding strong atop rankings

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UC Irvine is the model of consistency this season.

The Anteaters hadn’t lost a series entering the Pacific series over the weekend. The amazing streak didn’t end as the Anteaters swept the Tigers. For that and more, the ‘Eaters are still the nation’s top team in the Rivals.com Top 25.

The top five has some West Coast flavor this week with No. 3 Cal State Fullerton and No. 4 Arizona State joining the Anteaters. The top five also includes LSU and Rice.

North Carolina fell three spots this week after a disappointing series loss to rival N.C. State. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, climbed a spot following a home series win over red-hot Florida State. Ole Miss, though, dropped two spots after a surprising home series loss to Mississippi State.

Also worth noting, Virginia climbed from No. 15 to No. 11 after a series win over Duke, Oklahoma climbed from No. 19 to No. 13 after a series win over Oklahoma State and Alabama made the biggest jump this week, going from No. 22 to No. 12 following a home series sweep over Arkansas.

Miami and Oregon State dropped out of this week’s rankings. Minnesota and South Carolina entered at No’s 24 and 25, respectively.

Here are the conference breakdowns: SEC (7), ACC (5), Big 12 (4), Big West (3), Mountain West (2), Conference USA (2), Pac-10 (1), Big Ten (1).

Records in the rankings do not include ties.

RIVALS.COM BASEBALL TOP 25

1. UC Irvine (37-11) – Last week: 3-0, Previous rank: 1
The Anteaters had that winning feeling again with a road series sweep over Pacific.

2. LSU (38-14) – Last week: 2-1, Previous rank: 3
The Bayou Bengals pretty much assured themselves of a national seed with a series win over Florida over the weekend.

3. Cal State Fullerton (36-13) – Last week: 4-1, Previous rank: 6
The Titans officially are back to their old ways. They took a pair of mid-week games from Arizona and two of three from Cal Poly.

4. Arizona State (38-11) – Last week: 5-0, Previous rank: 5
The Sun Devils likely are without left-hander Josh Spence for a while, but they still swept Winthrop over the weekend.

5. Rice (33-13) – Last week, 2-2, Previous rank: 2
The Owls actually didn’t play very good baseball last week, but still finished the week with a series win over UCF.

6. Texas (36-12) – Last week: 3-1, Previous rank: 7
The Longhorns clinched the Big 12 regular season title over the weekend with a series win over rival Texas A&M.

7. North Carolina (38-13) – Last week: 3-2, Previous rank: 4
The Tar Heels were expected to slip up at some point, but against brutally bad rival N.C. State, this season? We didn’t see that coming.

8. Georgia Tech (33-12) – Last week: 2-1, Previous rank: 9
The Yellow Jackets all of a sudden are in good shape for a national seed after taking two of three from Florida State.

9. Florida State (36-14) – Last week: 3-2, Previous rank: 10
The Seminoles got some help in the rankings. They also win a pair of mid-week games and suffered a close series loss to Georgia Tech.

10. Mississippi (37-15) – Last week: 1-2, Previous rank: 8
It was a rather strange weekend for the Rebels, who managed to lose two of three at home to a bad Mississippi State team.

11. Virginia (37-10) – Last week: 2-1, Previous rank: 15
The Cavaliers might’ve moved themselves back in as a regional host with a series win against Duke over the weekend.

12. Alabama (35-15) – Last week: 3-0, Previous rank: 22
The Crimson Tide simply is red-hot and made a huge statement by sweeping Arkansas over the weekend.

13. Oklahoma (37-16) – Last week: 3-2, Previous rank: 19
The Sooners received a wealth of help in this week’s rankings and finished the weekend with a series win over rival Oklahoma State.

14. Cal Poly (33-15) – Last week: 1-3, Previous rank: 11
The Mustangs had a week to forget with a tough mid-week loss to USC and a tough home series loss to Cal State Fullerton.

15. Florida (35-17) – Last week: 1-3, Previous rank: 15
O’Sullivan’s Gators had a tough weekend at LSU but still have an impressive resume and a good standing in the SEC.

16. Texas A&M (33-18) – Last week: 2-2, Previous rank: 16
The Aggies don’t have much of a reason to sulk this week. They also won’t be sending umpire Dave Yeast many Christmas cards this year.

17. Georgia (34-17) – Last week: 1-2, Previous rank: 12
Can anyone explain what’s wrong with the Bulldogs? They were absolutely dominated at home by a young Vanderbilt team over the weekend.

18. Kansas State (38-13) – Last week: 3-2, Previous rank: 18
The Wildcats had a tough series against Texas Tech over the weekend, but salvaged the week with a pair of early week wins over BYU.

19. Arkansas (31-17) – Last week: 0-3, Previous rank: 13
If you want to see falling stock, just check out Arkansas’s trend the past few weeks. The Razorbacks were swept by Alabama over the weekend.

20. TCU (31-14) – Last week: 2-1, Previous rank: 20
The Horned Frogs recorded a home series win over Utah this past weekend. However, it wasn’t pretty at times.

21. Clemson (34-17) – Last week: 2-1, Previous rank: 21
The Tigers are in pretty good shape for a regional host and took care of UNC Wilmington over the weekend.

22. East Carolina (37-15) – Last week: 2-1, Previous rank: 24
The Pirates washed ashore in Houston and took care of the Cougars in a crucial three-game set.

23. San Diego State (34-18) – Last week: 3-0, Previous rank: 23
The Aztecs had a great week that included a series sweep over Air Force and a no-hitter by stud right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg.

24. Minnesota (33-14) – Last week: 3-1, Previous rank: NR
The Golden Gophers took care of Michigan on the road this past weekend and now lead the Big Ten standings.

25. South Carolina (32-19) – Last week: 2-1, Previous rank: NR
After sweeping Vanderbilt two weeks ago and taking care of Tennessee on the road, who knows what to expect from the Gamecocks the rest of the way.

DROPPED OUT

No. 17 Miami (FL), No. 25 Oregon State

OTHERS CONSIDERED

Texas State, Kansas, Gonzaga, Miami (FL), Oregon State