College Football Rankings 2014: Week 8 Standings and Top 25 Team Records

Despite the undefeated record, Florida State is no longer on top of the polls thanks to the impressive effort of Mississippi State the past few weeks. The Bulldogs have jumped the defending national champions and are now the No. 1 team in the country.

Mississippi State was unranked just a few weeks ago, but consecutive wins over LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn have changed the way the nation looks at this talented squad. The Seminoles dropped just one spot but are still in good position to reach the College Football Playoff—as long as they avoid any mistakes for the rest of the year.

Meanwhile, the number of undefeated squads throughout the country is slowly declining, which is certain to make things interesting from here on out.

Here is a look at the complete AP poll as well as Bleacher Report's Top 25 with a complete breakdown of the top teams on the list.

Rank	Team (1st-Place Votes)	Record	Points	Prev.	B/R Top 25
1	Mississippi State (45)	6-0	1,480	3	Mississippi State
2	Florida State (12)	6-0	1,415	1	Florida State
3	Ole Miss (3)	6-0	1,413	3	Ole Miss
4	Baylor	6-0	1,317	5	Baylor
5	Notre Dame	6-0	1,228	6	Notre Dame
6	Auburn	5-1	1,144	2	Auburn
7	Alabama	5-1	1,068	7	Michigan State
8	Michigan State	5-1	1,015	8	Alabama
9	Oregon	5-1	1,014	12	Oregon
10	Georgia	5-1	981	13	Oklahoma
11	Oklahoma	5-1	935	11	Georgia
12	TCU	4-1	917	9	TCU
13	Ohio State	4-1	648	15	Ohio State
14	Kansas State	4-1	626	17	Kansas State
15	Oklahoma State	5-1	620	16	Ok. St./East Carolina
16	Arizona	5-1	590	10	-
17	Arizona State	4-1	459	20	Arizona State
18	East Carolina	5-1	449	19	Arizona
19	Nebraska	5-1	402	21	Nebraska
20	Utah	4-1	305	24	Stanford
21	Texas A&M	5-2	264	14	Clemson
22	USC	4-2	258	NR	Texas A&M
23	Stanford	4-2	223	25	UCLA
24	Clemson	4-2	188	NR	USC
25	Marshall	6-0	148	NR	Marshall

Top Teams

No. 1 Mississippi State

Very few people outside the Mississippi State locker room would have predicted this scenario earlier in the season, but the 6-0 squad is now the No. 1 team in the nation. ESPN's Paul Finebaum noted how well the team has exceeded expectations:

The Bulldogs had a matchup against Auburn, a squad playing as well as any in the nation to that point, and went up 21-0 before holding on for an impressive win.

The amazing thing is the team did not even play that well, giving up four turnovers and allowing the Tigers to total 441 yards of offense. Despite this, they made big plays when needed, including quarterback Dak Prescott, who now is leading many Heisman Trophy lists, according to CBS Sports:

Prescott has made impressive plays throughout the season and now has 14 passing touchdowns to go with eight rushing touchdowns. He also ranks fifth in the nation in Total QBR with a mark of 84.9. Even when he makes mistakes, he plays through them and remains a leader for this team.

While there is a lot of season left to be played and tough road games against Alabama and Ole Miss still ahead, Mississippi State deserves the top spot in the polls after earning the most impressive wins of the year.

No. 2 Florida State

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Jameis Winston remains one of the most talented players in the country, but this year has seemed to be one problem after another.

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner was suspended for the team's game against Clemson for inappropriate conduct, and he now faces a disciplinary hearing for alleged sexual assault last year. 

Despite the off-field problems, Winston does not believe the distractions are an issue, via Josh Moyer of ESPN.com:

"

It's not about distractions—it's about playing Florida State football. It's about going out there every day in practice, doing our school work, making sure we're being a great student-athlete. And like I said, being on the field, it's a sanctuary. You get between those lines, all the cameras are on you, and we're out there playing football.

"

The good news is that when he plays, things go well. Winston completed 30 of his 36 attempts against Syracuse for 317 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. The passing game is as good as ever with a healthy Rashad Greene, who is now in the school's record books, per ESPN's College GameDay:

In reality, the Seminoles only have one more difficult game on the schedule, and that comes on Saturday with a matchup against No. 5 Notre Dame. Winston needs to be able to outplay Everett Golson and avoid mistakes against a very good defense.

If Florida State can come out with a win, the squad becomes a borderline lock for the College Football Playoff.

No. 3 Ole Miss

While Mississippi State is getting all the publicity this week, it is important not to overlook what Ole Miss has done lately, earning wins over Alabama and Texas A&M to move to 6-0 on the year.

ESPN's Peter Burns joked about how well the two schools have played so far:

Although fans will complain about the Rebels being two spots behind their rivals, they might be better set up for a run to the playoffs.

First, this team has a defense that can win it a championship, currently ranking second in the country with just 11.8 points allowed per game. Before Saturday, the Aggies had scored at least 30 points in every game and were averaging over 40 per game, but they were held to just 20 points against Ole Miss.

Jon Solomon of CBS Sports gave his opinion on this unit:

Most importantly, the schedule breaks favorably for the Rebels with home games against Auburn and Mississippi State. The only road games remaining are against LSU and Arkansas, which are a combined 1-5 in the SEC.

Rankings in the middle of the season are fun to discuss, but they do not matter too much. Ole Miss does not have to worry about the number next to its name and instead focus on continually winning.

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