College Football Rankings 2014: Final NCAA Overview of Week 9 Standings
Remember in school when you had one last cram session with some cliff notes the morning of the test? That is what we are doing here with the Top 25 polls in college football.
There is a full slate of games on tap for Week 9, so make sure you know where everyone stands in the rankings. After all, if you are going to argue with your friends when you are watching the games today about who belongs in the College Football Playoff, you need to understand the overall picture.
With that in mind, here is a final overview of the Top 25 rankings (the Bleacher Report poll can be found here) before we dig into a preview of a potential Saturday upset.
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| 1 | Mississippi State Bulldogs | Mississippi State Bulldogs | Mississippi State Bulldogs |
| 2 | Florida State Seminoles | Florida State Seminoles | Florida State Seminoles |
| 3 | Ole Miss Rebels | Ole Miss Rebels | Ole Miss Rebels |
| 4 | Alabama Crimson Tide | Alabama Crimson Tide | Alabama Crimson Tide |
| 5 | Auburn Tigers | Michigan State Spartans | Auburn Tigers |
| 6 | Oregon Ducks | Auburn Tigers | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
| 7 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Oregon Ducks | Michigan State Spartans |
| 8 | Michigan State Spartans | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Oregon Ducks |
| 9 | Georgia Bulldogs | Georgia Bulldogs | Georgia Bulldogs |
| 10 | TCU Horned Frogs | TCU Horned Frogs | TCU Horned Frogs |
| 11 | Kansas State Wildcats | Kansas State Wildcats | Kansas State Wildcats |
| 12 | Baylor Bears | Ohio State Buckeyes | Ohio State Buckeyes |
| 13 | Ohio State Buckeyes | Baylor Bears | Baylor Bears |
| 14 | Arizona State Sun Devils | Arizona State Sun Devils | Arizona State Sun Devils |
| 15 | Arizona Wildcats | Arizona Wildcats | Arizona Wildcats |
| 16 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | Nebraska Cornhuskers | East Carolina Pirates |
| 17 | Oklahoma Sooners | East Carolina Pirates | Nebraska Cornhuskers |
| 18 | East Carolina Pirates | Oklahoma Sooners | Oklahoma Sooners |
| 19 | Utah Utes | Utah Utes | USC Trojans |
| 20 | USC Trojans | Clemson Tigers | Utah Utes |
| 21 | Clemson Tigers | USC Trojans | Marshall Thundering Herd |
| 22 | West Virginia Mountaineers | Marshall Thundering Herd | Clemson Tigers |
| 23 | Marshall Thundering Herd | LSU Tigers | West Virginia Mountaineers |
| 24 | LSU Tigers | Minnesota Golden Gophers | UCLA Bruins |
| 25 | UCLA Bruins | West Virginia Mountaineers | Duke Blue Devils |
Potential Upset to Watch: Arizona State at Washington
Those college football fans who stay up into the wee hours of the morning every Saturday (technically, Sunday) have not been disappointed this year because the Pac-12 is the gift that keeps on giving.
Among the late-night finishes already was a heartbreaking Arizona loss to USC after a missed field goal at the end, an Arizona State Hail Mary touchdown pass to beat USC, a 60-59 shootout between California and Washington State and a 59-56 double-overtime shootout between California and Colorado.
Arizona State is ranked No. 14 in both the Associated Press and Amway Polls and will try to avoid the upset bug in a potentially tricky trip to Washington.
It is important for the Sun Devils to not overlook this one because there are more important things down the line. The defending Pac-12 South champions are in the thick of a tight race with USC, Utah and Arizona and still have to play the Wildcats, Utes and Notre Dame.
Although the tilt with the Fighting Irish doesn’t count in the conference standings, it represents a golden opportunity to make a statement to the selection committee with the group of one-loss teams still hanging around in the playoff race.
Washington is 5-2 in head coach Chris Petersen’s first year, but it lost to Stanford and Oregon and has wins against lackluster competition.
Still, Arizona State head coach Todd Graham compared the Huskies favorably to his last opponent, Stanford, according to The Associated Press, via ESPN.com, "We think it's a very similar game to last week. This is a very, very explosive defensive football team. You look at their ability to rush the passer, they're probably the best we've played to this point."
If Arizona State is worried about that pass rush, it will have to prepare for quarterback Taylor Kelly, who could return to the field for the first time since he injured his foot on Sept. 13. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see some split-duties at quarterback after three impressive performances from Mike Bercovici, but Kelly did throw for 271 yards, run for 84 yards and score four touchdowns against Washington last year in a 53-24 win.
Doug Haller of azcentral sports believes Kelly is the right quarterback for the job:
"This is Kelly's team. More important, Mike Norvell's offense -- at least this season -- works best with a dual-threat behind center. I sat with Norvell over the summer and watched film. It was pretty obvious from the first few plays: When defenses have to account for Kelly - whether though the zone-read or as a runner extending plays -- more one-on-one opportunities are available on the perimeter. This benefits everyone.
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The Sun Devils boast an explosive offense and are 11th nationally in passing yards per game at 324. They put up points on Washington last year and will do it again on Saturday night.
The question is whether the Huskies, who have struggled to move the ball against better competition, will be able to keep up on the scoreboard. They are 107th in the country in passing yards per game at 181.4 and 55th in rushing yards per game at 183.1.
The Sun Devils would be wise to counter with plenty of blitzes, as this graphic, via ESPN Stats & Information, indicates:
| Yds per play | 3.4 | 9.8 |
| Comp pct | 48.6% | 72.9% |
| Sacks | 9 | 3 |
| 20+ yd play | 6 | 15 |
Ultimately, the Sun Devils are the more talented team with much more to play for in this one. The reason this is a potential upset, though, is the possible overlook factor as Arizona State gets ready for more marquee showdowns later in the schedule.
What’s more, there should be a raucous Washington crowd underneath the lights in Seattle, which will make life difficult for Kelly, who has not played since mid-September.
Thanks to those factors, this one will stay close for a while, but Arizona State will make enough big plays in the second half to come away with a comfortable win.
Prediction: Arizona State 34, Washington 21
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