College Football Rankings 2014: Final NCAA Overview of Week 6 Standings
Oregon already made its statement this week. It...wasn't great. Now we're hours away from Florida State's opportunity to avoid the same fate.
The Seminoles are one of many teams heading into prove-it games in Week 6, though theirs comes much more from an expectation of dominance. Lowly Wake Forest makes a trip to Tallahassee later Saturday afternoon, counting only Gardner-Webb and Army among its two victories. The Demon Deacons have lost at UL Monroe and Utah State and were handily taken care of by Louisville last week despite some sloppiness.
More than anything, Florida State needs to use Wake Forest as a pulpit for re-establishing its dominance. The Seminoles have four straight wins; getting that done isn't the problem. But where their 2013 championship run was defined by weekly embarrassments, Jameis Winston and Co. have looked like they're in a title hangover.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
| 1 | Florida State |
| 2 | Oregon |
| 3 | Alabama |
| 4 | Oklahoma |
| 5 | Auburn |
| 6 | Texas A&M |
| 7 | Baylor |
| 8 | UCLA |
| 9 | Notre Dame |
| 10 | Michigan State |
| 11 | Ole Miss |
| 12 | Mississippi State |
| 13 | Georgia |
| 14 | Stanford |
| 15 | LSU |
| 16 | USC |
| 17 | Wisconsin |
| 18 | BYU |
| 19 | Nebraska |
| 20 | Ohio State |
| 21 | Oklahoma State |
| 22 | East Carolina |
| 23 | Kansas State |
| 24 | Missouri |
| 25 | TCU |
After not allowing a team to come within two touchdowns during last regular season, the Seminoles have already allowed two teams to come within one. Their four games have featured a nail-biter against Oklahoma State, an overtime triumph sans Winston over Clemson and a 17-point comeback against N.C. State last week.
"We're still not playing the football we're capable of, which at times is frustrating," coach Jimbo Fisher told reporters. "But it's also very encouraging, because we're finding ways to win games and we are getting better."
The first team with arguably the most to gain this week, though, is third-ranked Alabama, which plays the game of the week at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium against Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide have settled into a new, offense-first groove under offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, scoring 42 points per game during their 4-0 start. Blake Sims has settled in to become arguably a more dynamic quarterback than A.J. McCarron ever was.
Sims has thrown for 1,091 yards and eight touchdowns while adding 141 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. He'll face his biggest test Saturday—an athletic, dominant Ole Miss front seven. Robert Nkemdiche is a mammoth human being in the middle, pushing the pile and allowing linebackers to eliminate run threats at the line of scrimmage.
The true calling card of the Ole Miss defense, though, has been its secondary. Opponents have thrown for a measly 534 yards through four games, compiling one touchdown against nine interceptions. The Rebels are third nationally in opponent scoring average and play with a physicality reminiscent of a vintage Alabama side.
The winner of this game will deservedly challenge Florida State atop the rankings.
Alabama-Ole Miss is one of six games pitting two Top 25 opponents against each other, half of which come from the SEC. LSU looks to avoid starting its intraconference slate 0-2 when it visits fifth-ranked Auburn. Les Miles' team got back to its winning ways with a 63-7 thrashing of New Mexico State last week. A trip to Gainesville follows on Oct. 11, so it's at least theoretically possible the Tigers will face an 0-3 start.
Auburn had a scare two weeks ago against Kansas State but has been able to maintain its sunny disposition. Nick Marshall has thrown for 548 yards and six touchdowns and added 273 yards and two scores on the ground. The senior quarterback has been helped along by Cameron Artis-Payne, who takes the Tre Mason role for 2014.
Much like a year ago, the biggest question facing Auburn is whether it can get a stop. LSU has settled into a four-headed running back groove of its own led by freshman Leonard Fournette, and fellow youngster Brandon Harris has been stellar since taking over the starting quarterback job. It will be interesting to see how Harris handles his first major road test.
Also handling a major road test will be Texas A&M, which will try to earn its first 6-0 record in two decades against Mississippi State. The upstart Bulldogs have been the toast of the conference since taking down LSU and have found a star in quarterback Dak Prescott. Prescott earned himself looks on Heisman watch lists by leading Mississippi State to its first win in Baton Rouge since 1991.
"I think Dak Prescott is the player that [Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen] has been wanting," Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said, per Sam Khan Jr. of ESPN.com. "[He’s] the complete dual-threat quarterback to make this thing go."
Saturday's game comes as the second in a string of possibly three straight contests against ranked opponents. Texas A&M is starting its own similar string, as a visit from Ole Miss and a trip to Tuscaloosa round out its October schedule. Such is life in the SEC West.
Outside the rigors of the nation's best conference, Notre Dame and Oklahoma each get their biggest test of the young season. The Sooners visits 25th-ranked TCU, a team that remembers how close it came to an upset last season. The Horned Frogs have allowed 21 total points while racking up nearly 45 points per game in wins over a trio of also-ran opponents. Minnesota is their only semi-legitimate opponent thus far.
Barring a collapse offensively—which, I guess is totally possible considering the source material—Oklahoma should win this game handily.
More interesting will be Notre Dame's visit from Stanford, which should separate which "undefeated" Irish we're looking at. The ninth-ranked Golden Domers have gone on a cupcake mashing spree to start their season, with their toughest game coming against whoever the hell you think is the best of the Michigan, Purdue, Syracuse trio.
Everett Golson looks like a revelation, the defense looks like one of the nation's best and there really isn't much to complain about. Except the whole latent skepticism we've been conditioned to have any time Notre Dame goes soaring up the rankings. Outside of 2012, which itself was capped with an embarrassing loss, the Irish have an ugly habit of pulling out the rug just when people start to believe.
A home win against a shaky Stanford offense will go a long way toward proving the Irish belong in the national conversation. But given that the schedule is setting up for at least one major upset this weekend, I'm curious to see how this turns out.
Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
