College Football Rankings 2014: Week 8 AP and Amway Standings Revealed

A week of shootouts and close calls has once again shaken up the college football rankings.

Nothing could match the array of upsets that plagued the top schools in Week 6, but several notable teams found themselves at the brink of defeat on Saturday. Baylor, Notre Dame, Alabama and Oklahoma held on for dear life, while Arizona suffered a setback after vaulting up the ranks.

Then there was the monumental SEC showdown between Auburn and Mississippi State, the latter of which defeated its third premier conference opponent in as many weeks in convincing fashion. The Bulldogs' victory forced everyone to think long and hard about whether they or the Florida State Seminoles deserve the No. 1 spot.

After another chaotic Saturday, the updated polls are now out. Let's take a look at how the Top 25 were ordered in the Associated Press Poll and Amway Coaches Poll, along with Bleacher Report's weekly outlook.

Rank	Associated Press	Amway	Bleacher Report
1	Mississippi State	Mississippi State	Mississippi State
2	Florida State	Florida State	Florida State
3	Ole Miss	Ole Miss	Ole Miss
4	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor
5	Notre Dame	Notre Dame	Notre Dame
6	Auburn	Michigan State	Auburn
7	Alabama	Alabama	Michigan State
8	Michigan State	Auburn	Alabama
9	Oregon	Oregon	Oregon
10	Georgia	Georgia	Oklahoma
11	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Georgia
12	TCU	TCU	TCU
13	Ohio State	Ohio State	Ohio State
14	Kansas State	Kansas State	Kansas State
15	Oklahoma State	Oklahoma State	East Carolina (T15)
16	Arizona	East Carolina	Oklahoma State (T15)
17	Arizona State	Arizona	Arizona State
18	East Carolina	Arizona State	Arizona
19	Nebraska	Nebraska	Nebraska
20	Utah	Stanford	Stanford
21	Texas A&M	Texas A&M	Clemson
22	USC	Clemson	Texas A&M
23	Stanford	Utah	UCLA
24	Clemson	Marshall	USC
25	Marshall	USC	Marshall

Week 7 Breakdown

There's a new sheriff in town. Mississippi State is the new consensus No. 1 team after registering an impressive victory over Auburn.

Mississippi State's last three opponents each entered its Bulldogs matchup ranked inside the Top 10. The underdog every time, the Bulldogs rattled off three victories by a combined 37 points. Their latest statement came during Saturday's 38-23 stomping of Auburn, who dropped from No. 2 after the defeat.

In his worst passing game of the season, Heisman hopeful Dak Prescott still finished with 367 total yards and three touchdowns. 

CMP/ATT	PASS YDs	PASS TDs	INTS	YPA	RUSH YDs	RUSH TDs
18/34	246	1	2	7.2	121	2

After surviving their gauntlet schedule so far, the Bulldogs are one of six undefeated teams left standing, per College GameDay:

If it wasn't there already, Mississippi State now has a huge target on its back. Wide receiver De'Runnya Wilson discussed the new circumstances with USA Today's Dan Wolken.

"We have great leadership," Wilson said. "I knew we’d come out and win. I had that feeling. If we’re No. 1 we’re just going to have to work harder because each and every week it only gets tougher in the SEC, and we’re just going to work harder and try to stay No. 1."

Given their pulverizing level of opposition, Mississippi State usurps Florida State, who allowed 412 total yards during a 38-20 victory over 2-4 Syracuse. The offense has scored at least 37 points in every game started by Jameis Winston, but the shaky defense and friendly schedule can't be ignored.

Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

The Seminoles can change all that by claiming a signature victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who displayed another side to themselves during an unconventional 50-43 win over North Carolina. Per ESPN Stats & Info, they have never overcome such a poor defensive outing:

Notre Dame shockingly allowed 510 total yards during a shootout, but the defensive-minded program edged out a victory on the strength of Everett Golson's arm. The senior tossed 300 passing yards and three touchdowns in an unusual victory for a team that allowed 60 combined points in the previous five games.

It's safe to say FSU vs. Notre Dame is Week 8's game of the week. The winner will challenge the Bulldogs for the No. 1 spot, while the loser will join a long list of fallen juggernauts looking to avenge a loss and still make the playoffs.