AP College Football Poll 2014: Complete Week 5 Rankings Released

Week 4 of the 2014 college football season may have been better described as Survival Saturday. Each of the nation's Top Five teams were in action and extended their respective unbeaten streaks. Very few (if any) of them can feel too great about how they played, though. 

Florida State, Oregon and Auburn escaped with one-touchdown victories. Alabama and Oklahoma stretched their wins to the double digits but were sweating bullets deep into the second half.

With none of the nation's best separating themselves, The Associated Press rankings for Week 5 remain in an inert state. The Seminoles remain atop the rankings after their overtime win against Clemson, followed by Oregon, Alabama, Oklahoma and Auburn, respectively.

Here's a look at how the rest of the Top 25 played out, along with Bleacher Report's official Top 25:

Ranking	Team (First-Place Votes)	Points	Previous	B/R Top 25
1	Florida State (34)	1439	1	Oregon
2	Oregon (11)	1398	2	Florida State
3	Alabama (7)	1378	3	Alabama
4	Oklahoma (4)	1344	4	Oklahoma
5	Auburn	1268	5	Auburn
6	Texas A&M (4)	1232	6	Texas A&M
7	Baylor	1143	7	Baylor
8	Notre Dame	967	9	Notre Dame
9	Michigan State	905	11	Michigan State
10	Ole Miss	889	10	Ole Miss
11	UCLA	806	12	UCLA
12	Georgia	789	13	Georgia
13	South Carolina	764	14	South Carolina
14	Mississippi State	706	NR	Mississippi State
15	Arizona State	702	15	Stanford
16	Stanford	564	16	Arizona State
17	LSU	541	8	BYU
18	USC	459	17	USC
19	Wisconsin	451	19	LSU
20	BYU	376	21	Wisconsin
21	Nebraska	296	24	Nebraska
22	Ohio State	196	23	East Carolina
23	East Carolina	180	NR	Ohio State
24	Oklahoma State	132	25	Clemson
25	Kansas State	131	20	Oklahoma State

Despite escaping the fierce fight against Clemson, Florida State's near-loss was by far the most talked-about game of the day. The Seminoles were forced to play without Heisman winner Jameis Winston, who was suspended for Saturday's game after shouting obscenities in the student union.    

Backup Sean Maguire struggled for most of the game, battling accuracy issues and looking overwhelmed by the big stage. It wasn't until Florida State's back was planted firmly against the wall that he finally came through with a crucial play. Maguire's 74-yard strike to Rashad Greene tied the game at 17-17 with six minutes remaining and eventually became the score that forced overtime.

After Clemson, which saw kicker Ammon Lakip miss two critical field goals, went for it on fourth down and failed in the extra session, Karlos Williams did the rest of the work. A 13-yard gain on first down was followed by a 12-yard scamper that extended the Seminoles' winning streak to 19. Winston was one of the first people to rush the field in celebration.

"(Winston) told me he's proud of me," Williams told reporters after the game, per the Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "He's a great leader. He did something you really don't see in a lot of starting quarterbacks, which is rally behind the backup."

As Florida State was escaping, Oregon was experiencing quite a scare too. Washington State was able to keep up with the Ducks' high-powered offense with a banner outing of its own, led by 436 yards and four touchdowns from quarterback Connor Halliday. The Cougars held a lead early and were never down more than a touchdown.

Oregon forced a fourth-down stop deep inside its own territory and then ran out the final 3:34 with an eight-play drive to earn the 38-31 win. Heisman contender Marcus Mariota threw for 329 yards and five touchdowns, adding 58 yards on the ground.

"He did a great job of rattling the defense in the second half," Oregon coach Mark Helfrich told reporters, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "The guy is special."

The divergent evenings of Mariota and Winston, expected to be the top two quarterbacks off the board in next year's draft, are no doubt being talked about in NFL front offices. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. (subscription required) dropped Winston from third to 25th on his most recent big board; Mariota is now alone at the top.

Also trending in opposite directions are SEC rivals Alabama and LSU, with one able to escape a scare from a conference foe and the other not so much. Alabama's 42-21 win over Florida was much closer than the score indicates. The Gators tied the score at 21-21 early in the third quarter; the Tide didn't take their final lead of the game until there were a little over 20 minutes remaining.

But Derrick Henry's three-yard touchdown began a 21-0 run that looked like the game most expected. Amari Cooper scored the final two touchdowns as part of a 10-catch, 201-yard day. Quarterback Blake Sims threw for 445 yards and four touchdowns.

Likewise, LSU managed some rapid second-half scoring against Mississippi State. Unfortunately for the Tigers, it came as part of a failed comeback bid. The Tigers, down 34-10 early in the fourth, reeled off three straight touchdowns but couldn't convert the necessary two-point conversions. Their last drive stalled with a Will Redmond interception of Brandon Harris' Hail Mary attempt as time expired.

Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott had 373 total yards (268 passing, 105 rushing) and three touchdowns, including two plays of 50-plus yards in the second quarter. Running back Josh Robinson needed only 16 carries to gain his 197 yards.

The win was Mississippi State's first in Baton Rouge in nearly a quarter-century.

"It's not necessarily just the players. I'm putting first of all the responsibility on me," LSU head coach Les Miles told reporters, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "I know our guys on our team expect more from themselves. ... They're stung and it's not something that they enjoyed."

Miles' team moves down from No. 8 to No. 17. Mississippi State, meanwhile, moves into the rankings at No. 14 as it prepares for Texas A&M in two weeks. The Bulldogs then host Auburn on Oct. 11, rounding out a three-game gauntlet featuring Top 10 opponents—all from the SEC West.

The only other Top 25 team to fall to an unranked opponent also came from the SEC. Missouri's hot offensive start against also-rans proved to be a bit of fool's gold, as Indiana rushed for 241 yards in a 31-27 upset in Columbia. D'Angelo Roberts scampered in for the game-winning touchdown with 22 seconds remaining.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, the win was only Indiana's fourth in program history against a nonconference AP Top 25 team on the road. This same Hoosiers team lost on the road in Bowling Green last week—not a great sign for a Missouri squad that begins its SEC schedule in South Carolina next Saturday.

The Tigers are one of two teams to drop out of the rankings, the other being Clemson. Replacing them are Mississippi State and East Carolina, which found its latest upset victim Saturday in North Carolina. Led by quarterback Shane Carden, the Pirates have had three consecutive strong showings against Big Five schools. They look like a favorite in the American Athletic Conference.

 

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