College Football Rankings 2014: Latest Standings and Predictions for Week 11

An ability to pick up the pieces goes a long way in the world of college football.

Like a new coach tasked with sweeping up the ashes of a past mess and forming something special through careful attention to recruiting pipelines and more, college pollsters had quite the undertaking on short notice this past weekend thanks to arguably the most chaotic slate of games to date this season.

Nobody will ever be 100 percent pleased with how the standings shake out each week, but a tip of the hat goes to those who put together the Week 11 batch of college football rankings. They are as follows, with a peek at what is to come.

Week 11 College Football Top 25 Rankings

Rank	Associated Press	Amway	Bleacher Report
1	Mississippi State	Mississippi State Bulldogs	Mississippi State Bulldogs
2	Florida State	Florida State Seminoles	Florida State Seminoles
3	Auburn	Auburn Tigers	Auburn Tigers
4	Alabama	Alabama Crimson Tide	Oregon Ducks
5	Oregon	Oregon Ducks	Alabama Crimson Tide
6	TCU	Michigan State Spartans	Michigan State Spartans
7	Michigan State	TCU Horned Frogs	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
8	Notre Dame	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	TCU Horned Frogs
9	Kansas State	Kansas State Wildcats	Kansas State Wildcats
10	Baylor	Baylor Bears	Baylor Bears
11	Arizona State	Ohio State Buckeyes	Ole Miss Rebels
12	Ole Miss	Arizona State Sun Devils	Arizona State Sun Devils
13	Ohio State	Ole Miss Rebels	Ohio State Buckeyes
14	LSU	Nebraska Cornhuskers	Nebraska Cornhuskers
15	Nebraska	LSU Tigers	LSU Tigers
16	Oklahoma	Oklahoma Sonners	Oklahoma Sonners
17	Georgia	Georgia Bulldogs	Georgia Bulldogs
18	UCLA	UCLA Bruins	UCLA Bruins
19	Clemson	Clemson Tigers	Clemson Tigers
20	Utah	Duke Blue Devils	Duke Blue Devils
21	Arizona	Arizona Wildcats	Utah Utes
22	Duke	Utah Utes	Arizona Wildcats
23	Marshall	Marshall Thundering Herd	Marshall Thundering Herd
24	West Virginia	Wisconsin Badgers	West Virginia Mountaineers
25	Wisconsin	West Virginia Mountaineers	Colorado State Rams

Full CFB standings can be viewed at ESPN.com.

Week 11 Top 25 Schedule Projections

Matchup	Spread	Pick ATS
Tennessee-Martin at No. 1 Mississippi State	N/A	MISS
Virginia at No. 2 Florida State	FSU -21.5	FSU
Texas A&M at No. 3 Auburn	AUB -14.5	AUB
No. 4 Alabama at No. 14 LSU	AL -6	LSU
No. 5 Oregon at No. 20 Utah	ORG -9.5	ORG
No. 9 Kansas State at No. 6 TCU	TCU -6	KSU
No. 13 Ohio State at No. 7 Michigan State	MSU -3.5	MSU
No. 8 Notre Dame at No. 11 Arizona State	ASU -1	ND
No. 10 Baylor at No. 16 Oklahoma	OK -4.5	OK
Presbyterian at No. 12 Ole Miss	N/A	MISS
No. 17 Georgia at Kentucky	GA -13	GA
No. 18 UCLA at Washington	UCLA -5	UCLA
No. 19 Clemson at Wake Forest	CU -20	CU
Colorado at No. 21 Arizona	ARI -15.5	ARI
No. 22 Duke at Syracuse	DU -3.5	DU
No. 23 Marshall at Southern Miss	N/A	MAR
No. 24 West Virginia at Texas	WVU -5.5	TEX
No. 25 Wisconsin at Purdue	WIS -15.5	PUR

Note: All odds, updated as of 8 p.m. ET on Nov. 2, are courtesy of Odds Shark.

Predictions

Kansas State vs. TCU 

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

It all has led to this.

TCU pulled a miracle out of its hat last weekend, scoring 10 points in the final quarter to upend a surging West Virginia team. Now, the Horned Frogs head into a showdown that may ultimately decide the Big 12.

It's a contest that seems like a bit of fate, as captured by Zach Barnett of College Football Talk:

Despite the scare, TCU continues to have one of the best offenses in the nation thanks to the efforts of quarterback Trevone Boykin, who had 166 yards through the air and another 49 on the ground with two total touchdowns against West Virginia.

Odds are the Horned Frogs have yet to encounter a defense quite like what Kansas State brings to the table, though.

Bill Snyder's defense ranks among the best in the nation. Despite losing to Auburn back in September, Kansas State held the Tigers to just 20 points (the Tigers have scored a minimum of 35 points in six of eight games this season).

TCU's defensive struggles are a serious concern. Wildcats senior quarterback Jake Waters has thrown nine touchdowns to no interceptions in his last five games, and his completion percentage has never dipped below 63.3.

The Horned Frogs are one week removed from struggling mightily and showing signs of weakness, so it is hard to see how they will put together a complete performance in all areas against a surging Kansas State team.

Prediction: Wildcats 34, Horned Frogs 28

Notre Dame vs. Arizona State

USA TODAY Sports

The goal of the inaugural College Football Playoff is to give more weight to the regular season. Consider the mission accomplished when Notre Dame heads west to take on Arizona State in what amounts to an elimination game.

Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish continue to confuse. After hardly getting past Stanford and North Carolina and then losing to Florida State, the team's shaky defense blew a 21-point lead against Navy last week in an eventual 10-point win.

"As a coach that's really all you can ask for, to win a football game and give a lot of young guys experience," Kelly said, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "And then, not have to play Navy against until next year."

Road trips have not been kind to Notre Dame this year, but a youthful and sometimes leaky defense can take solace in the fact that Sun Devils senior quarterback Taylor Kelly has struggled mightily since his return from injury:

OPP	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	TD	INT
@Washington	14	25	180	56.0	2	1
Utah	18	32	205	56.3	1	1

On the flip side, Everett Golson continues to turn the ball over at an alarming rate, but he figures to have an easier go of it against a Sun Devils defense that has been erratic at best all season long.

The prospects of Notre Dame so far from home are scary, but Arizona State is gassed after hardly getting past Utah in overtime. The defense has been anything but consistent, and Kelly is not back to his usual form. As long as Golson can take care of the football, the Fighting Irish will surge ahead in the playoff race.

Prediction: Fighting Irish 28, Sun Devils 24

Stats and information via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.