AP College Football Poll 2014: Official Top 25 Rankings and Week 10 Projections
A few more big changes occurred near the top of the Associated Press Top 25, but there's no need to memorize them at this point—things are bound to change again in Week 10.
Alas, some elite teams are starting to emerge as the biggest contenders for those four coveted College Football Playoff spots. With many of them either playing each other or having tough tests right in front of them, more separation will occur.
We'll begin to find out which schools have what it takes in Week 10. Auburn's trip to Ole Miss is the highlight of a weekend slate that will give the CFP committee plenty more to work on.
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Here's a look at the latest AP Top 25 and predictions for this weekend's games.
| 1 | Mississippi State (46) | 1,486 |
| 2 | Florida State (14) | 1,453 |
| 3 | Alabama | 1,290 |
| 4 | Auburn | 1,267 |
| 5 | Oregon | 1,199 |
| 6 | Notre Dame | 1,161 |
| 7 | Ole Miss | 1,095 |
| 8 | Michigan State | 1,086 |
| 9 | Georgia | 1,074 |
| 10 | TCU | 1,030 |
| 11 | Kansas State | 930 |
| 12 | Baylor | 839 |
| 13 | Ohio State | 676 |
| 14 | Arizona | 669 |
| 15 | Arizona State | 667 |
| 16 | LSU | 574 |
| 17 | Nebraska | 535 |
| 18 | Utah | 524 |
| 19 | Oklahoma | 430 |
| 20 | West Virginia | 379 |
| 21 | East Carolina | 366 |
| 22 | Clemson | 265 |
| 23 | Marshall | 184 |
| 24 | Duke | 121 |
| 25 | UCLA | 106 |
Latest AP poll can be found here.
| Thursday, Oct. 30 | |||
| 7:30 p.m. | No. 2 Florida State at Louisville | FSU -8.5 | FSU 38-31 |
| Saturday, Nov. 1 | |||
| 12 p.m. | No. 19 Oklahoma at Iowa State | OU -16.5 | OU 44-20 |
| 12 p.m. | No. 21 East Carolina at Temple | ECU -7.5 | ECU 38-35 |
| 12 p.m. | No. 24 Duke at Pittsburgh | PITT -2.5 | DUKE 28-27 |
| 3:30 p.m. | Florida at No. 9 Georgia | UGA -10 | UGA 38-20 |
| 3:30 p.m. | No. 10 TCU at No. 20 West Virginia | TCU -4 | TCU 40-35 |
| 3:30 p.m. | Purdue at No. 17 Nebraska | NEB -24.5 | NEB 48-14 |
| 4 p.m. | Kansas at No. 4 Baylor | BU -33.5 | BU 51-13 |
| 7 p.m. | No. 4 Auburn at No. 7 Ole Miss | MISS -3 | AUB 27-24 |
| 7:15 p.m. | Arkansas at No. 1 Mississippi State | MSU -14 | MSU 31-17 |
| 7:30 p.m. | Stanford at No. 5 Oregon | ORE -12.5 | ORE 38-20 |
| 8 p.m. | No. 6 Notre Dame at Navy | ND -13.5 | ND 41-24 |
| 8 p.m. | Oklahoma State at No. 11 Kansas State | KSU -12.5 | KSU 45-14 |
| 8 p.m. | Illinois at No. 13 Ohio State | OSU -28.5 | OSU 48-28 |
| 10:30 p.m. | No. 14 Arizona at No. 25 UCLA | UCLA -4.5 | UCLA 38-35 |
| 11 p.m. | No. 18 Utah at No. 15 Arizona State | ASU -2.5 | ASU 28-21 |
Note: Odds courtesy of Odds Shark, last updated Oct. 27 at 12 a.m. ET
Week 10 Top Games
No. 2 Florida State at Louisville
Week 10 just might present Florida State's toughest test until January, when it is likely to be one of the final four teams left standing, as the Seminoles face Louisville on the road for a Thursday night affair.
A year ago, Florida State was brutally dominating every opponent it faced. In 2014, things have been different. Three of the team's victories have come by six points or fewer, and its 23-game win streak was put to the test against Notre Dame and Clemson.
The 'Noles are still unbeaten, and an end-of-season slate featuring downtrodden rivals Miami and Florida looks like a cakewalk. That gives the Cardinals—dead set on proving themselves as ACC newcomers—perhaps the best chances of ending Florida State's mighty reign.
That's showing in some early movement in Vegas, via Odds Shark, as FSU opened as an 8.5-point favorite before that gap gradually started closing.
Louisville's pass defense could be one of the toughest Jameis Winston has faced in 2014. The Cardinals rank 10th in the nation in passing yards conceded per game. No matter which Louisville running back gets the ball, they find gaping holes, and that should continue against a susceptibleFSU run defense.
However, Winston has shown the innate ability to pick apart even the best of defenses over the course of 60 minutes. The hostile road environment will affect things early, but that will matter little when Winston is rolling in the fourth quarter once again.
Prediction: Florida State 38, Louisville 31
No. 4 Auburn at No. 7 Ole Miss
In the cutthroat SEC West, it's looking more and more like a one-loss resume will be enough to punch a ticket to both the conference title and the CFP, while two defeats just won't cut it.
That means Saturday's showdown between one-loss SEC West giants Ole Miss and Auburn is virtually a national title elimination game. Who said the playoff started on New Year's Day?
The Rebels are still licking their wounds after their national title hopes were stunted considerably with a road loss against LSU in Week 9. But while most title contenders spend several weeks making up ground following a defeat, Ole Miss would be in the Top Five to stay with a win Saturday.
With the Egg Bowl against top-ranked Mississippi State looming, Ole Miss—unlike Auburn—controls its destiny in the division race as well. But the Rebels will face Auburn banged up. Scout.com's Ben Garrett noted the injury toll against LSU:
Auburn is the last team you want to come into your house when things aren't going well for you, particularly on offense.
Bo Wallace struggled mightily against LSU, going 14-for-133 for 176 yards, including a game-ending interception, when a quick sideline throw—or even an incompletion—would have given Ole Miss a chance to tie it. Either way, scoring seven against an LSU defense Auburn hung 41 on isn't a good look with Gus Malzahn's offense coming to town.
Ole Miss will show its grit early and jump on the Tigers, but Auburn will take advantage of opportunities to get back in the game, as it didn't against Mississippi State. In the end, Nick Marshall will deliver with a convincing late drive to keep Auburn in the thick of the CFP hunt.
Stats courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted.
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