College Football Rankings 2014: Week 7 Standings and Top 25 Team Records
A number of upsets shook up the college football landscape, but entering Week 7, no team suffered a bigger blow than the Oregon Ducks.
Losing at home to Arizona knocked them out of the playoff picture at the moment, dropping the Marcus Mariota-led Ducks from second to 12th in the AP Top 25 poll. A previously No. 8 UCLA team quarterbacked by another premier prospect in Brett Hundley lost 30-28 to Utah, falling out of the top 10 in the process.
Ole Miss also catapulted into the thick of the postseason race thanks to a rousing victory over the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
But with some of the letdowns for several premier programs, there were a number of sensational performances that saw drastic changes take place in the rankings.
Here is a closer look at the three teams atop the AP poll, along with a listing of records for all the ranked teams and Bleacher Report's own Top 25.
| 1 | Florida State (35) | 5-0 | 1,461 | 1 | Auburn |
| 2 | Auburn (23) | 5-0 | 1,459 | 5 | Florida State |
| T3 | Mississippi State (2) | 5-0 | 1,320 | 12 | Baylor |
| T3 | Mississippi | 5-0 | 1,320 | 11 | (4) Mississippi State |
| 5 | Baylor | 5-0 | 1,258 | 7 | Notre Dame |
| 6 | Notre Dame | 5-0 | 1,186 | 9 | Ole Miss |
| 7 | Alabama | 4-1 | 1,060 | 3 | Michigan State |
| 8 | Michigan State | 4-1 | 981 | 10 | Alabama |
| 9 | TCU | 4-0 | 979 | 25 | Oklahoma |
| 10 | Arizona | 5-0 | 951 | NR | Oregon |
| 11 | Oklahoma | 4-1 | 904 | 4 | Georgia |
| 12 | Oregon | 4-1 | 888 | 2 | Arizona |
| 13 | Georgia | 4-1 | 854 | 13 | TCU |
| 14 | Texas A&M | 5-1 | 731 | 6 | Texas A&M |
| 15 | Ohio State | 4-1 | 534 | 20 | Ohio State |
| 16 | Oklahoma State | 4-1 | 527 | 21 | UCLA |
| 17 | Kansas State | 4-1 | 486 | 23 | East Carolina |
| 18 | UCLA | 4-1 | 460 | 8 | Oklahoma State |
| 19 | East Carolina | 4-1 | 344 | 22 | Kansas State |
| 20 | Arizona State | 4-1 | 325 | NR | Arizona State |
| 21 | Nebraska | 5-1 | 283 | 19 | Clemson |
| 22 | Georgia Tech | 5-0 | 235 | NR | Stanford |
| 23 | Missouri | 4-1 | 212 | 24 | Georgia Tech |
| 24 | Utah | 4-1 | 206 | NR | Nebraska |
| 25 | Stanford | 3-2 | 143 | 14 | Missouri |
Analyzing Best Top 25 Teams
No. 1 Florida State Seminoles
Falling behind 3-0 to Wake Forest in the first quarter was a bit of a scare for the reigning national champions, who'd had close calls in three previous games this season.
Then Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston led the team on myriad scoring drives, as FSU scored 43 unanswered points for a statement win. ESPN's College GameDay noted how steady coach Jimbo Fisher's team has been:
Winston has kept the passing attack operating at a high level, as it's averaged 325.4 yards per game. The concerning thing is that big-bodied ball-carrier Karlos Williams has had a hard time getting it going on the ground.
But Williams has been banged up, and Jared Shanker of ESPN reports that the running back likely won't be in action at Syracuse:
That might be fine for now. When Florida State plays host to Notre Dame in the game thereafter, it will be a different story. The Seminoles need balance to complement Winston, especially with a defense ranked 54th in the nation versus the run, per NCAA.com.
If top receiver Rashad Greene can't recover from a concussion in time for the Fighting Irish game, it will be all the more up to Winston to carry the weight.
As long as Winston is under center operating Fisher's complex, pro-style offense, though, FSU has a great chance to remain atop the rankings.
No. 2 Auburn Tigers
Apparently there isn't much of a hangover from Auburn's national title game loss to Florida State last year. Tigers coach Gus Malzahn continues to make magic with his run-heavy offense.
Against vaunted LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis in Week 6, Malzahn drew up a game plan that saw Auburn crush its SEC adversary 41-7. Greg Ostendorf of ESPN.com highlighted how Auburn came flying out of the gates in that one:
Something similar will be necessary to seize the momentum on the road this next Saturday, when the Tigers take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. That will mark the biggest game on the 2014 college football slate thus far.
ESPN Stats & Info's numbers suggest the Bulldogs are the first of several potential pitfalls that could hamper Auburn's bid to return to the championship game:
But what does help is that the defense is vastly improved from a season ago, conceding just 14.4 points per contest, which ranks ninth in the nation. As long as QB Nick Marshall can avoid critical throwing mistakes and the well-oiled ground game stays intact, Auburn will be a tough out.
With the ability to defend so well and chew up a ton of clock on offense, opponents will be hard-pressed to get into any rhythm against the Tigers for the rest of the season.
No. 3 Mississippi State Bulldogs
Given the massive implications of their tilt with Auburn on Saturday, the Bulldogs are the team worth delving a bit deeper into among the two tied at No. 3 in the AP—not to take anything away from Ole Miss.
Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott has been playing like a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. Former Florida signal-caller Tim Tebow took home that hardware wearing No. 15, and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport offered some insight in that context:
Prescott had five total TDs in the Bulldogs' rout of Texas A&M last week, but the defense was most impressive in slowing down Kenny Hill and the Aggies' air-raid offense until the outcome was well decided.
Most of Texas A&M's scores came in garbage time after the Bulldogs had taken a 41-17 lead into the fourth. The numbers reflect MSU's dominance:
ESPN's Mike Greenberg believes Mississippi State is the best overall team in the country:
The Bulldogs will certainly get a chance to prove that versus Auburn. If the strong front seven, led by linebacker Benardrick McKinney, can stuff the Tigers' prolific run game, that will open up Prescott to take the game over. MSU is yielding just 2.91 yards per carry through five games.
As deep and competitive as the SEC is, Mississippi State has the chance to protect its home Davis Wade Stadium and secure a landmark triumph for the program. It will justify the retention of coach Dan Mullen following three seasons of hovering around .500.
Most important, the turnaround from a 7-6 campaign in 2013 to national-championship contention this year would be among the most amazing achievements in recent college football history.
We will find out what the Bulldogs are truly made of come Sunday against an Auburn team whose nucleus rose from even greater obscurity to be an elite team a year ago.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
