NEW ORLEANS — Uncertainly could only rule the NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll for so long.

NCAA DIVISION I NATIONAL COACHES POLL TOP 5 – WOMEN 1) t2) t2) 4) 5) Providence New Mexico Colorado Oregon NC State View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

With questions surrounding previously top-ranked New Mexico’s roster and having not seen Joe Franklin’s squad race a full lineup this season, the voting coaches removed the Lady Lobos from the No. 1 spot in the most recent poll released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Providence, instead, is the top dog with less than two months until the 2016 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana. This marks the first time since Week 7 in 2013 that the Friars are ranked No. 1 by the coaches. Providence won the NCAA title that same year, so Ray Treacy’s team is hoping history repeats itself.

This continued a steady rise for the Friars, as they were third in the Preseason and Week 1, and then climbed to No. 2 in Week 2. Now Providence owns four of 12 possible first-place votes and takes over the top spot from the reigning national champions.

National PDFs: Summary | Week-by-Week 2016 | Week-by-Week All Time
Regional Rankings: Week 3 Summary | Week 3 Recap

MEN’S WEEK THREE NATIONAL POLL

What happened to those other eight first-place votes? We’ll tell you.

Colorado and New Mexico are now tied for second and shared the rest. The Lady Lobos hold the lion’s share at five, while the Buffaloes nabbed three.

Back to the Friars for a second, as they already brandished their power this season. A few weeks ago at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown, Providence dominated the field as it put all five of its runners inside the top-7 en route to a 54-point win over Dartmouth. The Friars will try to make another statement this upcoming weekend as they travel to the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational.

Another team that proved its mettle this season was Portland — and was rewarded in kind.

This past weekend at the 31st annual Roy Griak Invitational, the Pilots won the team title over eight teams that were ranked higher than them last week (30th). Thanks to the surprise victory, Portland vaulted from the bottom of the poll into the top-10. The Pilots are now 7th, the highest billing they’ve ever received in program history (30th had been the record).

And while SMU wasn’t able to pull a Portland and win the Panorama Farms Invitational, its runner-up effort was noticed. The previously-unranked Mustangs were within shouting distance of now 15th-ranked BYU and jumped into the top-25 at No. 21 between Virginia and Penn. That ties the program’s best spot in the poll since 2010, when it was 21st as well.

SMU is one of two new teams to the poll this week as it’s joined by No. 26 Tulsa and No. 29 UCLA.