COLLEGE FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NATION : Fresno State in, USC Out of Top 25

Fresno State, which opens its season Saturday against Baylor, broke into the Top 25 while USC dropped out after its 31-9 loss to North Carolina in the Pigskin Classic.

USC started the season at No. 18. North Carolina moved up four spots to No. 16.

Fresno State, unranked in the preseason poll, is ranked No. 25. The Bulldogs finished No. 24 last season after beating USC in the Freedom Bowl.

Washington Coach Jim Lambright said he was offended by Stanford Coach Bill Walsh’s criticism of the Huskies’ football program during the off-season. Walsh said former Husky Coach Don James ran an outlaw program and branded the Washington players “mercenaries.”

“He took apart every element of our program and our school,” Lambright said. “He touched on all of all our admissions policies. He touched on the type of player that, in theory, we were recruiting: (a player) that shouldn’t have been in a college atmosphere.”. . . The University of Miami formally notified the NCAA of allegations that six former football players received thousands of dollars from a sports agent while they were with the Hurricanes in 1987.