NCAA Football Rankings 2014: Hits and Misses from Week 6
A wild Week 6 of the 2014 college football season is over, as folks all across the country ask themselves if what they saw Saturday was real life.
In fact, it was real, and voters everywhere now have to put together a top 25. Martin Rickman of Sports Illustrated has an early preview of what this might look like.
As is customary every Sunday, The Associated Press and USA Today released their new Top 25 polls. You can also check out the latest Bleacher Report Top 25 for comparison.
I must let you know ahead of time that everyone who turned in a ballot was in panic mode, so black is bound to be white, up will be down, etc., etc.
So which teams were appropriately ranked in the latest Top 25 polls? Which ones weren't? The answers are in the following slides.
Miss: Florida State
1 of 7
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 2 ; AP, No. 1
Current Coaches Poll: No. 1
Current AP Poll: No. 1
Current B/R Poll: No. 2
Overall Record: 5-0
So, Florida State is No. 1 again, right? Maybe?
With so many upsets, it's a little hard to tell who's really the No. 1 team right now. The Seminoles took care of business against Wake Forest, so there's only so much one can deduce from that game.
However, Florida State still has a solid resume with wins over Oklahoma State and an ever-improving Clemson team. The Seminoles are also banged up in a big way right now.
B/R colleague Barrett Sallee makes the case that Auburn should be No. 1. If making the choice between the two, the Tigers have looked better than the Seminoles.
Both have a couple of quality wins. The Week 1 victory over Arkansas looks better now for Auburn than it did at the time, and a sloppy road win at Kansas State is still legit. Conversely, the win over LSU is losing luster, and quickly.
It's close, there's no doubt about that, but Auburn, even if for a week, gets the edge.
Hit: Mississippi State
2 of 7
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 14; AP, No. 12
Current Coaches Poll: No. 6
Current AP Poll: No. 3
Current B/R Poll: No. 4
Overall Record: 5-0
It's not just that Mississippi State has won two big games in a row over LSU and Texas A&M; it's that Mississippi State has dominated in two big games in a row over LSU and Texas A&M. Of course, the Tigers might very well be a bottom dweller in the SEC West, and A&M's best win came against a struggling South Carolina team.
Quarterback Dak Prescott is going to get the Heisman hype and some unfair comparisons to Tim Tebow, but the Bulldogs have been bullying teams up front on the offensive and defensive lines all season. That's the formula for a great football team.
You could make the argument that Mississippi State is playing as well as anyone in the country. College GameDay is heading to Starkville next week when the Bulldogs host Auburn in what will be another critical SEC West game with playoff implications.
If Mississippi State wins that game, you can bet it'll be in the conversation for the best team in the country. For now, a Top Five-ish spot works fine. And tying with Ole Miss at No. 3 in the AP poll is just good humor.
Miss: Oregon
3 of 7
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 4; AP, No. 2
Current Coaches Poll: No. 11
Current AP Poll: No. 12
Current B/R Poll: No. 10
Overall Record: 4-1
Oregon's patchwork offensive line and vulnerable defense created some question marks for the Ducks over the past couple of weeks. In a 31-24 loss to Arizona, those concerns were validated.
Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota is still one of the best players in the country, but any quarterback is as good as the protection allows him to be. As John Canzano of The Oregonian wrote, "There is nothing innovative about Oregon right now. Nothing edgy. Nothing mysterious. They're solved, totally and completely. Not from a talent standpoint, but from scheme."
Those aren't encouraging words. Oregon, nor the Pac-12, should be counted out of the playoff discussion yet. But of the major one-loss teams, it would appear the Ducks have the most improving to do.
It remains to be seen if Arizona finishes with a better record than Oregon, but to put the Ducks above the Wildcats in the coaches poll? Come on now.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Miss: TCU
4 of 7
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 25; AP, No. 25
Current Coaches Poll: No. 12
Current AP Poll: No. 9
Current B/R Poll: No. 13
Overall Record: 4-0
Similar to Arizona, it could be time that everyone just gives TCU credit for being good and not simply for disrupting the established order of things.
The Frogs straight-up beat Oklahoma in a 37-33 shootout. The offense, especially quarterback Trevone Boykin, looks much improved. This is a team that could do some serious damage in the Big 12.
Yet the Sooners are three spots ahead of TCU in the coaches poll and four spots ahead in the B/R poll. Given the history of polls doing wonky things like this, it's not completely unexpected. It's still not okay, though.
Of course, if TCU beats Baylor at Baylor next week, this won't be an issue. The Frogs will be around the Top Five, if not higher.
Hit: Clemson
5 of 7
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, NR ; AP, NR
Current Coaches Poll: No. 25
Current AP Poll: NR
Current B/R Poll: No. 21
Overall Record: 3-2
I'm going to go out on a limb for Clemson, which coincidentally is the last thing one says before perishing.
The Tigers are 3-2, but losses came in Week 1 to a Georgia team that may (by default?) win the SEC East and in Week 4 to Florida State. (Let's not spend any more time on that loss to the Seminoles, as that was a monumental disappointment for the Tigers.)
Now that freshman Deshaun Watson is running things at quarterback, the offense is matching what the defense has been doing for most of this young season. Yes, North Carolina and North Carolina State may not be the ACC's best, but it's also possible that the Tigers are a better team now than they were last month.
It's another reminder that wins and losses are important but not everything. Clemson has the look of a team that's only going to get stronger as the season progresses.
Now watch Clemson lose to Louisville next.
Miss: Baylor
6 of 7
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 6; AP, No. 7
Current Coaches Poll: No. 3
Current AP Poll: No. 5
Current B/R Poll: No. 3
Overall Record: 5-0
Again, this isn't a matter of "hating" Baylor. The Bears are as exciting as any team in college football. The fact remains, however, that Baylor has zero quality wins through the first six weeks of the year.
So why is this team ranked anywhere in the Top Five?
The AP poll at least had the decency to put Mississippi State and Ole Miss ahead of the Bears, but there's no excuse for Baylor to be ahead of either in the coaches poll or the B/R poll.
This could change in a matter of a week. Next, Baylor hosts TCU, which is coming off a huge win over Oklahoma. That would be a quality statement, as would a win at Oklahoma on Nov. 8.
So, yes, there's still plenty of time for Baylor to prove itself.
Hit: Ohio State
7 of 7
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 18 ; AP, No. 20
Current Coaches Poll: No. 15
Current AP Poll: No. 15
Current B/R Poll: No. 15
Overall Record: 4-1
Ohio State has been a quiet team this year. That is largely because the Buckeyes lost to Virginia Tech in early September and were lumped into the general narrative that the Big Ten was irrelevant in the playoff discussion. The other factor is that the Buckeyes haven't played a compelling game since.
However, Ohio State has been clawing its way back and taking care of business.
Quarterback J.T. Barrett looks more comfortable than he did a month ago, and the offensive line is starting to assert itself. As Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports tweets, that's a credit to offensive coordinator Tom Herman.
The defense, especially up front, is still formidable.
Ohio State won't get a ton of exposure (unless it loses) until the Nov. 8 game against Michigan State, which could still have major playoff implications. Until then, the Buckeyes are just trucking along and looking good as the weekly favorite.
Putting Ohio State somewhere in the middle of the Top 25 seems appropriate.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
