AP College Football Poll 2014: Complete Week 6 Rankings Released
Look at the postgame records, and Week 5 looked like a typically mundane early-season college football slate. If you watched the games on Saturday, though, you quickly realized it was anything but.
Top-ranked Florida State and every other Top 10 team was able to hold steady. It just wasn't without some scares. The Seminoles came back from a 10-point second-half deficit against North Carolina State, Texas A&M needed overtime to take down Arkansas, and a host of the nation's best teams looked much more vulnerable than they'd have liked.
Of course, vulnerability only matters when it causes a loss. Despite the handwringing from Tallahassee to College Station and beyond, the Week 6 Associated Press poll looks much like the last iteration. Florida State leads one of the more inert Top 25s in recent memory, as all but one ranked team came away victorious against unranked opponents.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
| 1 | Florida State | Oregon |
| 2 | Oregon | Alabama |
| 3 | Alabama | Oklahoma |
| 4 | Oklahoma | Florida State |
| 5 | Auburn | Auburn |
| 6 | Texas A&M | Baylor |
| 7 | Baylor | Texas A&M |
| 8 | UCLA | Michigan State |
| 9 | Notre Dame | Notre Dame |
| 10 | Michigan State | UCLA |
| 11 | Ole Miss | Mississippi State |
| 12 | Mississippi State | Ole Miss |
| 13 | Georgia | Georgia |
| 14 | Stanford | Stanford |
| 15 | LSU | USC |
| 16 | USC | LSU |
| 17 | Wisconsin | BYU |
| 18 | BYU | Wisconsin |
| 19 | Nebraska | Nebraska |
| 20 | Ohio State | East Carolina |
| 21 | Oklahoma State | Ohio State |
| 22 | East Carolina | Oklahoma State |
| 23 | Kansas State | Kansas State |
| 24 | Missouri | Clemson |
| 25 | TCU | Arizona State |
That team, of course, was South Carolina, which collapsed down the stretch in a 21-20 loss to Missouri. Russell Hansbrough scored two rushing touchdowns in the final 6:49 to erase a 13-point deficit, and the Gamecocks' potential game-winning drive stalled at their own 25, as Steve Spurrier's team fell to a disappointing 3-2.
"Our defensive players were really ready to play," Spurrier told reporters after the game. "I thought we would do a little better offensively. Obviously, Missouri is a lot better team than what they showed last week. They came to play. We had our chances, but we didn't get it done."
South Carolina came into 2014 expected by some to compete for its first SEC championship under Spurrier—if not enter the national title picture. Instead, inconsistencies on both sides of the ball have made it highly unlikely the Gamecocks can even overcome the weaker SEC East. The loss was already their second in the conference, with a third very likely coming next month when they travel to Auburn.
Dr. Saturday of Yahoo Sports weighed in on what the Gamecocks' loss meant for the SEC East:
The first team that took down Spurrier and Co., Texas A&M, was almost an upset victim itself in its second SEC game of the season. Controlling the game on the ground, Arkansas rushed for 285 yards and three touchdowns while Brandon Allen offered a steady hand under center as the Razorbacks led 28-14 going into the fourth quarter.
Two long Kenny Hill touchdowns later—86 yards to Edward Pope and 59 to Josh Reynolds, the latter coming with two minutes remaining—and Texas A&M had forced overtime. Hill needed one play in the extra period to find Malcome Kennedy for a 25-yard touchdown, and the Aggies defense held Alex Collins to no gain on a 4th-and-1 at the 16-yard line to close it out.
"In order to win a game like that, it takes a complete team. Every phase had its poor moments in the first half. Offensively, we were a beat off. Defensively, we gave up some big plays, and special teams, we gave up a fake," coach Kevin Sumlin told reporters. "Our defense stopped them not just in overtime, but on the last couple series."
For all of the individual accomplishments of the past couple of seasons, Texas A&M may have its best all-around team under Sumlin. The program is 5-0 for the first time since 2001 and will have an opportunity to make a real statement over the next three weeks. The Aggies open October traveling to Mississippi State and then host Ole Miss before a matchup with Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
An 8-0 start and Texas A&M might find itself atop every major poll.
Teams like Texas A&M have a shot at the No. 1 slot because Florida State continues to give hints that it is not the same monolith as last season. The Seminoles went down 24-7 to NC State in the first half and were losing 38-28 late in the third quarter before scoring 28 of the day's final 31 points to come away with a 56-41 win.
Florida State, which allowed 20 points or more just once during the regular season during its national championship run in 2013, has already doubled that mark. More concerning, it's allowed two teams to come within a touchdown—feats that did not happen at all until the national title game last season.
"When's the last time the offense and defense actually clicked on the same note?" Jameis Winston, who threw for 365 yards and four touchdowns in his return to the starting lineup, told reporters. "I don't know. We've got so much potential. We've got so much to look for. I'm telling you, that's the most exciting part."
The Seminoles will have to get better fast. Their next two games are essentially gimmes against Wake Forest and Syracuse, but a surging Notre Dame squad awaits on Oct. 18. The Fighting Irish have won each of their games by two touchdowns or more and are firing on all cylinders heading into next week's matchup with Stanford.
Notre Dame ranks fourth nationally in points against per game, and Everett Golson has picked up right where he left off in 2012 after missing all of 2013 with academic issues. Golson is completing nearly 70 percent of his passes and has thrown 11 touchdowns against two interceptions. He completed a Notre Dame record 25 straight passes in Saturday's 31-15 win over Syracuse.
As for the rest of the Top 25, the noteworthy results were few and far between. Georgia escaped its second SEC loss against Tennessee thanks to a career-best day from Todd Gurley. Brett Hundley reminded everyone why he's considered a potential first-round draft choice in a 62-27 blowout of Arizona State on Thursday night. Stanford got a five-yard touchdown run from Kevin Hogan with less than five minutes remaining to escape Washington with a 20-13 win.
The ranked teams changed by a product of two, as South Carolina and Arizona State dropped out. The Bruins' defeat of the Sun Devils led to a tie for the greatest leap of teams in last week's Top 25, as they moved up to No. 8 from No. 11. Oklahoma State moved up three spots to No. 21 after beating Texas Tech.
Moving into the rankings are Missouri and TCU. The Horned Frogs are 3-0 following their 56-0 rout of SMU. They will get a chance to stake their claim in the conference title race against Oklahoma next week.
Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter
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