NCAA Football Rankings 2014: Week 7 Standings and Analysis for Latest Polls

Over the course of the past week, half of The Associated Press Top 25 took a dive.

Those left to pick up the pieces found themselves with a historic task in terms of poll construction—and that's not to mention the outlook for the inaugural College Football Playoff.

Oregon, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and UCLA all suffered crushing losses, throwing everything into chaos. Desmond Howard offered some thoughts before UCLA took a punch square on the chin late Saturday night:

By way of merely standing tall amid the chaos, Florida State and Auburn stand firm. Baylor and Notre Dame get bumped up in a big way. One problem for the pollsters: The Seminoles and the Fighting Irish go at it in a mere two weeks.

For now, though, here is what we are left with after arguably the most memorable weekend of action in years.

2014 College Football Week 7 Rankings

Rank	Associated Press Top 25	Amway Top 25	B/R Top 25
1	Florida State Seminoles	Florida State Seminoles	Auburn Tigers
2	Auburn Tigers	Auburn Tigers	Florida State Seminoles
3	Mississippi State Bulldogs	Baylor Bears	Baylor Bears
4	Ole Miss Rebels	Ole Miss Rebels	Mississippi State Bulldogs
5	Baylor Bears	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
6	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Mississippi State Bulldogs	Ole Miss Rebels
7	Alabama Crimson Tide	Alabama Crimson Tide	Michigan State Spartans
8	Michigan State Spartans	Michigan State Spartans	Alabama Crimson Tide
9	TCU Horned Frogs	Oklahoma Sooners	Oklahoma Sooners
10	Arizona Wildcats	Georgia Bulldogs	Oregon Ducks
11	Oklahoma Sooners	Oregon Ducks	Georgia Bulldogs
12	Oregon Ducks	TCU Horned Frogs	Arizona Wildcats
13	Georgia Bulldogs	Arizona Wildcats	TCU Horned Frogs
14	Texas A&M Aggies	Texas A&M Aggies	Texas A&M Aggies
15	Ohio State Buckeyes	Ohio State Buckeyes	Ohio State Buckeyes
16	Oklahoma State Cowboys	Kansas State Wildcats	UCLA Bruins
17	Kansas State Wildcats	UCLA Bruins	East Carolina Pirates
18	UCLA Bruins	Oklahoma State Cowboys	Oklahoma State Cowboys
19	East Carolina Pirates	East Carolina Pirates	Kansas State Wildcats
20	Arizona State Sun Devils	Arizona State Sun Devils	Arizona State Sun Devils
21	Nebraska Cornhuskers	Nebraska Cornhuskers	Clemson Tigers
22	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	Stanford Cardinal	Stanford Cardinal
23	Missouri Tigers	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
24	Utah Utes	Missouri Tigers	Nebraska Cornhuskers
25	Stanford Cardinal	Clemson Tigers	Missouri Tigers

Week 7 Rankings Highlights

Notable Faller: Alabama

Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide team is groggy and on the ropes.

This is not a typical Saban-led team, but, even more so, this is not a typical SEC conference. Entering the jaw-dropping weekend, six of the seven teams in the SEC West were ranked No. 15 or better.

The Crimson Tide were No. 3 and had seemingly found an answer to the quarterback issue in the form of Blake Sims. He was by no means spectacular against No. 11 Ole Miss on his way to a 19-of-31 line for 228 yards and an interception.

That said, an old foe reared its head once more and doomed the Crimson Tide, as ESPN Stats & Info details:

Adam Griffith went 1-for-3 on his kicking attempts, and in a game decided by late turnovers, that is simply not good enough. Forget that the defense gave up 251 passing yards and three touchdowns to Rebels senior quarterback Bo Wallace. Forget that Alabama managed 168 yards on the ground.

A tightly contested matchup was expected, and when the Crimson Tide commit critical turnovers and fail to nail down the basics on the road, it certainly calls into question whether the team can run the table against a downright brutal schedule.

Date	Opponent
Sat, Oct. 11	at Arkansas
Sat, Oct. 18	vs. Texas A&M
Sat, Oct. 25	at Tennessee
Sat, Nov. 8	at LSU
Sat, Nov. 15	vs. Mississippi State
Sat, Nov. 22	vs. Western Carolina
Sat, Nov. 29	vs. Auburn

Can Alabama run the table and make the CFP? Sure, but it is going to take a serious bounce-back effort on the road to the SEC title game.

For the time being, the dip in the ratings is deserved, although fans should have an inkling that the end result arguably has more to do with just how great the Rebels are this year than the deficiencies of a strong Alabama roster.

Notable Riser: TCU

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Many tried to warn the nation about TCU, but few listened. 

Now, the Horned Frogs, who were previously ranked No. 25, have the attention of the globe. 

They welcomed Oklahoma, then ranked No. 4, to town Saturday. TCU totaled 469 yards of total offense and sent the Sooners packing with a 37-33 defeat. Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports noted that this is rather routine for this iteration of the Horned Frogs:

As had been the case for most of the season before Saturday, the Horned Frogs rolled thanks to junior dual-threat quarterback Trevone Boykin, who posted 318 yards and a 2-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio through the air while also leading the team in rushing with 22 totes for 77 yards.

"It basically gives us confidence," Boykin said, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "Knowing that we can play with guys like OU, because a lot of Big 12 championships have went through there."

The rise up the ranks has been much overdue for TCU, a team that butters its bread on the defensive side of the football but still matched the explosive Sooners offense point for point. 

Playoff whispers seem a bit premature at this juncture, but the resume will be fully realized or hurt in less than a week when the Horned Frogs take a trip to Baylor to dance with the nation's No. 1 offense, which averages 51.0 points per game.

Should the defense stand strong once again, whispers of a CFP berth for the Horned Frogs will morph into full-blown screams.

Stats via ESPN.com. Amway Poll via USA Today. AP Poll via The Associated Press.