College Football Rankings 2014: Twitter Reacts to AP and Amway Week 10 Polls
In anticipation of the first College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday, the Associated Press and Amway polls were announced on Sunday. One huge upset on Saturday changed the landscape for all of the rankings.
Ole Miss was shut out for the final three quarters in Baton Rouge as LSU held on late for a 10-7 win. But with the SEC West still loaded with talent, three teams still remain in the top four of both polls.
The relevance of each poll will be lessened dramatically on Tuesday, but for now fans can debate where their program should be ranked. Michigan State and Oregon fans have reason for optimism with one loss, but still haven't gained the same respect as the SEC teams.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Ahead of the first official poll on Tuesday, here's a look at the latest Associated Press, Coaches and Bleacher Report polls along with reaction.
| 1 | Mississippi State (46) | Mississippi State (41) | Mississippi State |
| 2 | Florida State (14) | Florida State (21) | Florida State |
| 3 | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama |
| 4 | Auburn | Auburn | Notre Dame |
| 5 | Oregon | Michigan State | Auburn |
| 6 | Notre Dame | Oregon | Oregon |
| 7 | Ole Miss | Notre Dame | Michigan STate |
| 8 | Michigan State | Georgia | Ole Miss |
| 9 | Georgia | Ole Miss | Georgia |
| 10 | TCU | TCU | TCU |
| 11 | Kansas State | Kansas State | Kansas State |
| 12 | Baylor | Baylor | Baylor |
| 13 | Ohio State | Ohio State | Ohio State |
| 14 | Arizona | Arizona State | Arizona State |
| 15 | Arizona State | Arizona | Arizona |
| 16 | LSU | Nebraska | Nebraska |
| 17 | Nebraska | LSU | LSU |
| 18 | Utah | Utah | Utah |
| 19 | Oklahoma | East Carolina | Oklahoma |
| 20 | West Virginia | Oklahoma | East Carolina |
| 21 | East Carolina | Clemson | West Virginia |
| 22 | Clemson | West Virginia | Clemson |
| 23 | Marshall | Marshall | Marshall |
| 24 | Duke | Duke | Duke |
| 25 | UCLA | UCLA | USC |
Reaction
In the strange and ever-changing world of college football, no team is safe after a loss. For Mississippi State—the lone undefeated SEC team—it nearly felt the crippling result of a defeat against Kentucky.
Ahead of the first CFP poll coming out this week, the Bulldogs struggled to put away the lowly Wildcats. Dan Wolken of USA Today offered his take on the pressure of being the No. 1 team in the country:
Despite the close contest, the Bulldogs remain atop each poll after nine weeks of the season. However, a daunting upcoming schedule including Arkansas, Alabama and the Egg Bowl against Ole Miss, the Bulldogs are far from being in the clear.
Still, with the win Mississippi State deserves to be No. 1 in the CFP poll as well. It's certainly not the way anyone envisioned the first poll when the season started, as Barrett Sallee of Bleacher Report points out:
Even with the hot start by the Bulldogs and others, Ralph D. Russo of the Associated Press still believes in his initial four teams:
While some are pondering Mississippi State making the first ever College Football Playoff, it's clear Alabama is also making its case. Nick Saban's program has fully recovered from an Ole Miss loss with two straight blowouts.
Victories over Texas A&M and Tennessee by a combined 73 points leaves the Crimson Tide at No. 3 in both polls. But as Pete Prisco of CBS Sports and Adam Gorney of Rivals.com note, Bama might not be deserving of being higher than the Rebels:
A six-point win over the Tide clearly hasn't stuck around in voters' minds as the Rebels fell behind. That brought up an interesting question raised by Wolken:
Luckily for the Ole Miss and Oregon, the first playoff poll might bring more optimism for change.
Neither team is ahead of the top programs they defeated, with the Ducks still trailing Michigan State in the polls. Oregon rattled off three consecutive double-digit wins against Pac-12 opponents, but the loss to Arizona still appears to weigh heavily for voters.
Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports and George Schroeder of USA Today passed along their thoughts on the two situations:
An enthralling season will no doubt continue to shake up the polls as several huge matchups loom. Florida State faces another test Thursday against Louisville while Ole Miss will look to move back up the polls against Auburn.
Mississippi State will host Arkansas while Oregon tries to avoid an upset against Stanford. With another full slate of intriguing showdowns, expect even more shifts in the polls as the end of the season nears.
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.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
