College Football Rankings 2014: Week 6 Standings and Top 25 Team Records
So far, the Top 25 teams in college football reads like a who's who in terms of the inaugural College Football Playoff.
Jameis Winston and Florida State are obvious contenders. Alabama solved its quarterback question thanks to Blake Sims and is a contender. Marcus Mariota and Oregon are not going anywhere for the time being. Oklahoma continues to run right into contention.
As things bleed into Week 6, though, conference play does nothing short of kick things up another notch. The teams set to make it to the playoff become even more difficult to predict.
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Let's take a look at the full standings and dial in on a few teams that seem sure to seize a playoff if a member of the top four falters.
2014 College Football Week 6 Rankings
| 1 | Florida State (4-0) | Alabama (4-0) | Oregon (4-0) |
| 2 | Oregon (4-0) | Florida State (4-0) | Alabama (4-0) |
| 3 | Alabama (4-0) | Oklahoma (4-0) | Oklahoma (4-0) |
| 4 | Oklahoma (4-0) | Oregon (4-0) | Florida State (4-0) |
| 5 | Auburn (4-0) | Auburn (4-0) | Auburn (4-0) |
| 6 | Texas A&M (5-0) | Baylor (4-0) | Baylor (4-0) |
| 7 | Baylor (4-0) | Texas A&M (5-0) | Texas A&M (5-0) |
| 8 | UCLA (4-0) | Notre Dame (4-0) | Michigan State (3-1) |
| 9 | Notre Dame (4-0) | UCLA (4-0) | Notre Dame (4-0) |
| 10 | Michigan State (3-1) | Michigan State (3-1) | UCLA (4-0) |
| 11 | Ole Miss (4-0) | Ole Miss (4-0) | Mississippi State (4-0) |
| 12 | Mississippi State (4-0) | Georgia (3-1) | Ole Miss (4-0) |
| 13 | Georgia (3-1) | Stanford (3-1) | Georgia (3-1) |
| 14 | Stanford (3-1) | Mississippi State (4-0) | Stanford (3-1) |
| 15 | LSU (4-1) | LSU (4-1) | USC (3-1) |
| 16 | USC (3-1) | Wisconsin (3-1) | LSU (4-1) |
| 17 | Wisconsin (3-1) | Nebraska (5-0) | BYU (4-0) |
| 18 | BYU (4-0) | Ohio State (3-1) | Wisconsin (3-1) |
| 19 | Nebraska (5-0) | BYU (4-0) | Nebraska (5-0) |
| 20 | Ohio State (3-1) | USC (3-1) | East Carolina (3-1) |
| 21 | Oklahoma State (3-1) | East Carolina (3-1) | Ohio State (3-1) |
| 22 | East Carolina (3-1) | Kansas State (3-1) | Oklahoma State (3-1) |
| 23 | Kansas State (3-1) | Oklahoma State (3-1) | Kansas State (3-1) |
| 24 | Missouri (4-1) | Arizona State (3-1) | Clemson (2-2) |
| 25 | TCU (3-0) | TCU (3-0) | Arizona State (3-1) |
College Football Playoff Sleepers
Texas A&M
The first big test of the Kenny Hill era for Texas A&M proved to be a close call, but it was a game the sophomore was more than ready to handle.
Arkansas' elite ground game and stingy defense took the Aggies to overtime at home a week ago, but Hill saved his best for last en route to 386 yards and four touchdowns to one interception, as illustrated by College GameDay:
Hill's play has been of a higher quality than most could have ever predicted, which in turn has made the Aggies a serious playoff threat. He is completing 65.6 percent of his passes and has 1,745 yards and 17 touchdowns to just two interceptions on the year.
For the time being, it is safe to assume that the Texas A&M defense's allowing 285 rushing yards is an anomaly rather than a rule. The team did hold South Carolina to 28 points to start the season and allowed a total of 19 over the course of three games after that.
While the schedule the rest of the way is brutal thanks to road trips to Alabama and Auburn, along with visits from Missouri and LSU, the saving grace for the Aggies is that they tout the best quarterback out of the teams listed and can certainly lose one game in the wild SEC West and still make the playoff.
Baylor
It is entirely too easy to forget about Baylor, another program with a downright wicked offensive attack—no matter who lines up under center.
Bryce Petty would firmly be in the Heisman conversation at the moment if he had been on the field for every snap so far, but the system in place is so potent that even his backup has been able to post gaudy numbers in spot duty:
| Bryce Petty | 66 | 101 | 913 | 65.3 | 7 | 1 |
| Seth Russell | 33 | 57 | 647 | 57.9 | 7 | 1 |
There have been no close calls for the Bears to date. The latest contest was a 49-28 drubbing of Iowa State, which saw Petty get some help in the form of a dominant ground game (244 rushing yards and six scores) behind the talented legs of starter Shock Linwood.
The Bears rank No. 1 in the nation with an average of 56.8 points per game and eighth overall in terms of total defense as the unit surrenders less than 14 points. While these numbers are inflated due to an easy schedule to date, it is hard to not be impressed with the alarming consistency.
Baylor has yet to be tested and must overcome a schedule that includes Oklahoma and TCU. Remember, though, that Petty is back and this is a team that went 11-2 last season and lost just one game in the conference.
To discredit the Bears entirely because of strength of schedule to date is a good way to set oneself up for disappointment.
Auburn
What, forget about the Tigers already?
Gus Malzahn's team has a wicked schedule in comparison to the rest of the current playoff hopefuls, but that is no reason to write off the team that shocked the globe last year.
As long as Malzahn is at the helm, the Tigers offense is going to score. It helps, though, that he has more confidence than ever in his passing attack.
"I feel good about where we are. I'm confident we’ll improve," he said, per Charles Goldberg of AuburnTigers.com. "This year, unlike last year, I feel a lot more confident in our passing game, too. We don’t just have to rely on one thing."
The team has Nick Marshall to thank for that. In limited action, the senior has 548 passing yards and six touchdowns to a single interception, not to mention 273 yards and two more scores on the ground.
Marshall's raw ability, paired with a strong defense, allows Auburn to rank No. 15 overall in points for (42.3) and against (16.3) averages. There was a brief hiccup on the road against then-ranked No. 20 Kansas State, but that seems to speak more to the ability of the 3-1 Wildcats than any Auburn deficiency.
The biggest concern for Auburn at this point is simply the schedule. LSU is in town Saturday before a trip to Mississippi State. Then South Carolina comes to town, which is followed by encounters with Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Georgia.
Then a clash with Alabama to end the season.
That is a lot to digest. It is even more to overcome. But the Tigers seem better than last year's squad, and again, a loss—perhaps two—may not ruin things for a member of the SEC West.
Stats via ESPN. Amway Poll via USA Today. AP Poll via The Associated Press.
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