NCAA Football Playoff 2014: Latest Predictions After Week 7 Standings
Although Week 7 of the college football season couldn't possibly have matched Week 6's unpredictability and excitement, it did help bring into focus the four teams best positioned for the final playoff at the moment.
Of course, last week is evidence of how quickly things can change across the college football landscape, so expecting the most recent playoff projections to hold until the end of the season would be a fool's errand.
That doesn't mean it isn't fun to imagine how the top four would shake out if the season ended right now. The cream is certainly rising to the top already.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
| 1 | Florida State Seminoles | 6-0 (4-0 ACC) |
| 2 | Ole Miss Rebels | 6-0 (3-0 SEC) |
| 3 | Mississippi State Bulldogs | 6-0 (3-0 SEC) |
| 4 | Baylor Bears | 6-0 (3-0 Big 12) |
The King Stays the King
Simply put, Florida State entered the week ranked No. 1 overall in both The Associated Press and USA Today Polls, and it should stay there. The Seminoles beat Syracuse 38-20 and never really looked threatened.
They're the defending national champion and one of the few teams continuing to consistently look like a great team with few flaws.
The 'Noles are also riding a 22-game winning streak, per ESPN Stats & Info:
Florida State hasn't really done anything to not be ranked No. 1. FSU left it late against Oklahoma State and Clemson. The Cowboys are 5-1 and ranked 16th in the country, while the Tigers' two losses have come against Top 25 opponents, not to mention that Jameis Winston was suspended for that game.
Beating those two teams close isn't really a knock on the 'Noles.
You could make strong cases for both Ole Miss and Mississippi State to be the top teams in the country, but at least for now, FSU continues to hold on to its ranking.
Mississippi Becomes the Epicenter of College Football
It's a shame that Ole Miss and Mississippi State don't play one another until Nov. 29. That's the kind of gigantic battle college football fans want to see right now in order to determine whether the Rebels or the Bulldogs are the better team.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 38-23 win over No. 2 Auburn. Quarterback Dak Prescott amassed 367 total yards and three total touchdowns, and the defense forced four turnovers. The Tigers got to within eight points on two occasions in the second half, but the Bulldogs answered the call and secured the victory.
"Every time we needed to make a play, a guy stepped up and made a play," said Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen after the game, per The AP, via ESPN.com. "We always wondered how to take the next step in this league ... that's it."
You can't find too many holes in the Bulldogs. They have a dynamic QB in Prescott who possesses enough offensive weapons to beat anybody, and the defense is opportunistic enough to force turnovers and change the game.
With all of that said, Ole Miss gets the slight edge for one reason: defense. The Rebels look to have the best defense in the country, even better than Mississippi State's.
Defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche is establishing himself as one of the premier players in the country at any position. ESPN.com's Travis Haney is already broaching the idea of Nkemdiche entering the Heisman Trophy discussion:
The Ole Miss defense accounted for two touchdowns in the 35-20 win over Texas A&M and held a Kevin Sumlin-coached team scoreless in the first half for the first time in his career, per Hugh Kellenberger of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi:
What should encourage Ole Miss fans is the fact that Bo Wallace looked good for the second week in a row. He threw for only 178 yards and a touchdown, but his decision-making was good and he didn't have the kind of mental mistakes that have plagued his performances in the past.
As long as Wallace doesn't shoot himself in the foot, the Rebels defense is good enough to take the team to the promised land.
Baylor Distances Itself from Competition
With a 61-58 win over No. 9 TCU, Baylor demonstrated that it's deserving of the fourth and final playoff spot. The fifth-ranked Bears came back from a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to upend the Horned Frogs on a last-second field goal.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Baylor had a 1.9-percent chance of winning after going down 58-37 with 11:38 to play:
Quarterback Bryce Petty threw for a career-high 510 yards and six touchdowns. He said after the game that the win proved the Bears are for real, per Baylor Football:
This game not only established the Bears as the team to beat in the Big 12, but it also decidedly elevated them ahead of Notre Dame and Michigan State, both of whom could've laid a claim on the fourth spot last week.
The Spartans already have a loss to their name, while the Fighting Irish's best win came in the final minutes over a poor Stanford team.
Notre Dame can climb into the top four with a win over Florida State next week.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
