Auburn Is the Best Team in the Country and Deserves to Be Ranked No. 1

Week 6 will go down as one of the craziest weeks in college football history, with 11 of the Associated Press Top 25 suffering losses, including previous No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Alabama and No. 4 Oklahoma. 

The two teams that battled it out for a full 60 minutes for last season's national championship remain standing.

Florida State topped Wake Forest 43-3 on Saturday to run its record to 5-0, while Auburn obliterated then-No. 15 LSU 41-7 on Saturday night in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated to match the Noles' record. It should come as no surprise that the Seminoles and Tigers are ranked in the top two spots in the new Amway Coaches Poll.

The order, however, should be reversed—as it is in the new B/R Top 25.

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Auburn has proven this year that it not only is the same team as it was last year, but that it has improved by leaps and bounds. The offense has picked up right where it left off, with running back Cameron Artis-Payne stepping in for Heisman finalist Tre Mason and promptly topping the century mark in four of Auburn's five games. 

Quarterback Nick Marshall has replicated his success on the ground and has shown more touch on his passes—particularly over the last three games in which he has tossed seven touchdowns and only one interception. On Saturday, Marshall completed 14 of 22 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns, spreading the ball around to seven different receivers. This was in addition to the 119 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

"Nick played very well," head coach Gus Malzahn said after the game. "He threw the ball well and made some very good runs, and decisions on the read zone. Nick played like one of the better quarterbacks in the entire country."

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New wide receiver Duke Williams has joined veteran Sammie Coates to create one of the most dangerous wide receiver one-two punches in the nation.

What stands out with this Auburn team, though, is the defense.

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The Tigers currently rank 14th in the nation in total defense (306.6 YPG), 13th in yards per play (4.58) and 13th in rush defense (100.20). This despite opening the season against Arkansas—the seventh-best rushing attack in the country (316.6 YPG). The Tigers have held three opponents—San Jose State, Kansas State and Louisiana Tech—to under 3.2 yards per rushing attempt, and held LSU to 3.83 yards per rushing attempt on Saturday night.

"We know LSU is mostly a run team so we tried to stop that," said defensive tackle Montravius Adams in player quotes released by Auburn. "Whenever we stopped the run they would have to throw the ball and we stopped that too. We played a complete defensive game and that's what we wanted to do."

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They've done it.

Meanwhile, the No. 1 Florida State Seminoles were inconsistent yet again.

Sure, the 43-3 score makes it look like the 'Noles dominated Wake Forest, but it took a while. It was just 13-3 at halftime, and quarterback Jameis Winston—the reigning Heisman Trophy winner—wasn't as crisp as he has been against other teams, as Bud Elliot of TomahawkNation.com pointed out.

His stats were certainly good—23-of-39 for 297 yards, one touchdown and one interception—but he's asked to do different things than Marshall.

Florida State boasts the ACC's second-worst rushing attack (133.2 YPG), have allowed the third-most sacks in the conference (13) and allowed opponents to convert 43.21 percent of their third-down conversions—93rd in the nation.

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The Seminoles are getting credit for beating Auburn in last season's national championship game, which is a big reason why they've retained the No. 1 spot in the rankings. Since that game—a 34-31 nail-biter in which Florida State scored the game-winning touchdown with 13 seconds left—Florida State has proven that it is one of the best teams in the country, but not the best.

It's struggling to find a running game, the offensive line has issues, Winston hasn't been himself and the defense has proven to be a middle-of-the-pack unit in the ACC (347.8 YPG). Florida State has regressed. Not to a point where it should be out of the top four, but certainly enough to knock it from the No. 1 spot based on this season's body of work.

Auburn has progressed.

The offense has been able to replicate last season's success and added a new dimension with Williams, and the defense has taken a giant leap forward.

Florida State was the best team last year, but last year is history. Auburn has proven that it deserves the No. 1 ranking this year for its work this year, with the Noles battling it out with Baylor, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and others for the No. 2 spot.

It should be no contest.

Barrett Sallee is the Lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.