AP College Football Poll 2014: Complete Week 8 Rankings Released
How crazy has this season been?
On Saturday, the madness was ratcheted up another notch. One state in particular continued to dominate college football. Several teams needed insane offensive outbursts to survive. A slew of teams either made another strong case for their playoff worthiness or dropped out of the conversation.
It's almost hard to keep up with all the craziness. But with the Week 8 Associated Press poll below alongside Bleacher Report's Top 25, as well as a recap of the week that was and what comes next, you'll be in the loop.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Rankings
| 1 | Mississippi State | 6-0 | Mississippi State |
| 2 | Florida State | 6-0 | Florida State |
| 3 | Ole MIss | 6-0 | Ole Miss |
| 4 | Baylor | 6-0 | Baylor |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 6-0 | Notre Dame |
| 6 | Auburn | 5-1 | Auburn |
| 7 | Alabama | 5-1 | Michigan State |
| 8 | Michigan State | 5-1 | Alabama |
| 9 | Oregon | 5-1 | Oregon |
| 10 | Georgia | 5-1 | Oklahoma |
| 11 | Oklahoma | 5-1 | Georgia |
| 12 | TCU | 4-1 | TCU |
| 13 | Ohio State | 4-1 | Ohio State |
| 14 | Kansas State | 4-1 | Kansas State |
| 15 | Oklahoma State | 5-1 | East Carolina |
| 16 | Arizona | 5-1 | Oklahoma State |
| 17 | Arizona State | 4-1 | Arizona State |
| 18 | East Carolina | 5-1 | Arizona |
| 19 | Nebraska | 5-1 | Nebraska |
| 20 | Utah | 4-1 | Stanford |
| 21 | Texas A&M | 5-2 | Clemson |
| 22 | USC | 4-2 | Texas A&M |
| 23 | Stanford | 4-2 | UCLA |
| 24 | Clemson | 4-2 | USC |
| 25 | Marshall | 6-0 | Marshall |
Analysis
Once again, college football was left orbiting around the state of Mississippi on Saturday.
For the third week in a row, Mississippi State knocked off a Top 10 team, this time downing Auburn 38-23. Quarterback Dak Prescott (246 passing yards, 121 rushing yards, three total touchdowns) and the Mississippi State defense (four forced turnovers) were the heroes in this one.
“It shows we can win against anybody,” Prescott told Ray Glier of The New York Times after the game. Given their last three wins, the Bulldogs have certainly proven that much to be true.
Of course, Ole Miss wasn't to be outdone, as the Rebels handled Texas A&M in College Station, winning 35-20. Once again, the defense was the star of the show. SportsCenter on Twitter passed along one of the defense's highlights from the huge win:
On Nov. 29, Ole Miss hosts Mississippi State with a place in the SEC Championship potentially on the line and huge implications at stake for the College Football Playoff. It will be interesting to see how the Top Four teams play out, but at the moment you would have to say that the two Mississippi schools have as good a chance as any team in the country to reach it.
Of course, we'll learn a lot more about two more teams next week, as Florida State and Notre Dame will meet in a matchup of programs with serious playoff aspirations. Notre Dame was surprisingly tested by North Carolina this weekend, eventually winning 50-43, so Florida State will be the favorite heading into that contest.
Notre Dame also set a bit of history in its tight victory, per ESPN Stats & Info:
What a fascinating game Notre Dame vs. Florida State should be. Of course, while all of the talk at the moment is about Mississippi State ascending to the top of the rankings, the Seminoles might appreciate the nation's gaze deviating from them for the moment, as Max Bretos of ESPN tweeted:
And then there's Baylor, which survived in one of the craziest games you'll ever see, beating TCU by a 61-58 margin. Yes, you read that score correctly. The Bears now absolutely control their own destiny when it comes to reaching the College Football Playoff, though major tests in Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Kansas State still remain on the schedule.
But at the moment, it doesn't appear as though many—if any—teams can keep pace with Baylor's electrifying offense. It's hard to win a national championship without a great defense—its defense has generally been pretty good, but nobody is going to mistake it for being great on that side of the ball anytime soon—but it sure will be fun watching the Bears try.
At the moment, it appears the winner of the Florida State vs. Notre Dame game next week, Baylor and either Ole Miss or Mississippi State—depending on how the rest of the season shakes out—are the front-runners for the playoff.
So which team will slide into that fourth slot? Will we see a true contender emerge from the deep Pac-12? Will Michigan State or Ohio State make a strong bid out of the Big Ten? Will a second SEC team simply make too strong of a case to be denied?
A new format, but the same old intrigue and speculation. God bless college football.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
