NCAA Football Rankings 2014: Hits and Misses from Week 10
Week by week, the College Football Playoff field is getting smaller. Losses for Pac-12 South teams Arizona and Utah in all likelihood knock those three teams out of the playoff race for good. Ole Miss—another two-loss team—may still have a chance, but the outlook is grim.
As is customary every Sunday, The Associated Press and USA Today released their new Top 25 polls. Though neither of these polls are taken into consideration with the playoff selection committee, they may provide a glimpse into where teams stand.
You can also check out the latest Bleacher Report Top 25 for comparison.
Which teams were appropriately ranked in the latest Top 25 polls? Which ones weren't? The answers are in the following slides.
Miss: Florida State
1 of 8
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 2; AP, No. 2; CFP: No. 2
Current Coaches Poll: No. 2
Current AP Poll: No. 2
Current B/R Poll: No. 2
Florida State, despite being undefeated, was knocked from the No. 1 spot in October when Mississippi State beat Auburn 38-23 at home. At the time, that seemed like the right move. The Bulldogs were playing the part of the best team in football and had—and still have—an impressive victory over a possible playoff team.
However, Mississippi State hasn't looked like the No. 1 team since, holding on to beat Kentucky on the road and Arkansas at home. Look, conference play is generally tough no matter what. Teams are familiar with one another and sometimes you just have to survive and advance.
But the Wildcats and Hogs have a combined two conference wins. At some point, voters have to collectively admit that Mississippi State doesn't look like the best team in the country right now. They did it willingly with Florida State earlier in the season.
The Seminoles, meanwhile, rallied on the road to beat Louisville on Thursday night, 42-31. Again, surviving and advancing has been the name of the game for Florida State this year, but more stock should be put into that than barely beating an Arkansas team struggling to get over the hump.
Can Florida State put together 60 minutes of great football? Apparently not yet, but when the Seminoles are rolling, there isn't a team out there that can stop them.
Hit: West Virginia
2 of 8
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 22; AP, No. 20; CFP: No. 20
Current Coaches Poll: No. 25
Current AP Poll: No. 24
Current B/R Poll: No. 24
There's probably not enough moonshine in the world to erase the memory of West Virginia's tough 31-30 loss to TCU on Saturday. Five turnovers in your own territory will cost you some games; in fact, it's nothing short of a miracle that the Mountaineers only lost by a last-second field goal and not double digits.
All the same, it's good to see voters refuse to completely dismiss West Virginia. At 6-3, West Virginia is a good—not great—team that has pulled an upset over Baylor but lost three respectable games to Top-25 opponents.
The offense's decline over the past two weeks, specifically the production of wide receiver Kevin White, is worrisome. But it wouldn't be surprising to see the Mountaineers favored in two of their final three games (vs. Texas, Kansas State and Iowa State).
Miss: Arizona State
3 of 8
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 14; AP, No. 15; CFP: No. 14
Current Coaches Poll: No. 12
Current AP Poll: No. 11
Current B/R Poll: No. 12
Let's go ahead and address the elephant in the room: Arizona State has a gross-looking 62-27 loss to UCLA. It's starting to feel like that and perhaps their late-night starts are holding the Sun Devils back from cracking the Top 10.
Yes, the loss to the Bruins is bad. But UCLA is still a respectable 7-2 and the Sun Devils have looked good lately. Wins over Stanford, USC, Washington and Utah may not jump out necessarily, but they are solid all the same.
They're certainly more impressive resume-wise than anything Notre Dame has done, though those two teams will meet in Week 11 to decide for sure on the field.
If there's a Pac-12 team not named Oregon that has a playoff shot, it's probably Arizona State. We'll get a better idea this time next week, but it feels like the Sun Devils are still being underrated.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Hit: Georgia
4 of 8
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 8; AP, No. 9; CFP: No. 11
Current Coaches Poll: No. 17
Current AP Poll: No. 17
Current B/R Poll: No. 17
There really isn't any way to explain Georgia's 38-20 loss to Florida without spontaneous combustion, so here to help is Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
"It’s one thing to lose to a rival, but there’s no logical reason or excuse for this kind of performance. Richt called the early-season loss to South Carolina “a punch to the gut.” This was more like being awakened from a dream with a bucket of cold water. …
…Playoffs are off the table. You’re not getting in with losses to South Carolina and Florida, regardless of what happens the rest of the season.
"
This loss shouldn't be blamed on the absence of running back Todd Gurley, who will serve one more game of a four-game suspension for signing memorabilia items for money. The Bulldogs inexplicably gave up 418 yards rushing and have now lost to a pair of middle-of-the-road SEC East teams.
Georgia was the biggest tumbler by far in the polls, and there's a case to be made the fall should have been even bigger.
Hit: UCLA
5 of 8
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 25; AP, No. 25; CFP: No. 22
Current Coaches Poll: No. 18
Current AP Poll: No. 18
Current B/R Poll: No. 18
It's not any big secret that UCLA, even at 7-2, has been kind of a disappointment. If anything, that stems from the fact that the Bruins have rarely looked good except for a blowout over Arizona State. For example, take the Bruins' 17-7 win over Arizona. It's a solid victory against a Top-25 team, and quarterback Brett Hundley tallied 320 all-purpose yards. But the penalties—11 of them for 118 yards—made it unwatchable at times.
It's the kind of stumbling 7-2 that you may not want to recognize, but ultimately have to. The Bruins have two excellent wins against the Pac-12's Arizona teams, a loss to Oregon and a last-second loss to Utah.
That's a lot to work with, and there are legitimate arguments to be made about where UCLA should be ranked, but the resume says Top 20. That's where voters put the Bruins, and they're ultimately right.
Miss: TCU
6 of 8
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 10; AP, No. 10; CFP: No. 7
Current Coaches Poll: No. 7
Current AP Poll: No. 6
Current B/R Poll: No. 8
It's getting to the point where it's fair to question how much more TCU needs to do to get some respect. The Frogs sit behind Alabama, Oregon, Michigan State and, in the B/R poll, Notre Dame. Based on wins over West Virginia, Oklahoma and, yes, even Minnesota alone, TCU should be on the fringe of the Top Four, if not in it.
That's what Dan Wolken of USA Today thinks anyway. At least the AP poll has TCU at No. 6.
TCU will have yet another opportunity to impress voters with next Saturday's home game against No. 9 Kansas State, which could very well play a major role in determining the Big 12 title.
There is, however, a potentially intriguing situation if both TCU and Baylor win out. The Bears have the head-to-head win (61-58), but clearly voters are more impressed with the Frogs. If it comes down to that pair, which one gets the edge if a playoff spot is on the line? Does the committee punish Baylor's nonconference schedule or value the head-to-head game.
That situation may not come to fruition, but it would be a fascinating case study if it does.
Hit: Ole Miss
7 of 8
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 9; AP, No. 7; CFP: No. 4
Current Coaches Poll: No. 13
Current AP Poll: No. 12
Current B/R Poll: No. 11
Things are trending downward for Ole Miss, there's no doubt about that. The Rebels have lost two games in a row against LSU and Auburn. Injuries are mounting, the latest being a gruesome leg injury to receiver Laquon Treadwell, and the dream season has taken a awful turn.
"He definitely has a fracture," head coach Hugh Freeze said to Hugh Kellenberger of The Clarion-Ledger. "It was obvious, even to me. I don't know anything other than that. I can't tell you all the details of it."
Still, Ole Miss has a win over Alabama and two losses against Top-25 teams by a combined seven points. The Rebels get a glorified bye week against Presbyterian before finishing out SEC play against Arkansas and Mississippi State.
The Hogs are winless in the SEC but seem primed to upset somebody, and of course, the Bulldogs are the No. 1 team in the country. Things could continue to go south for Ole Miss, or there could be a miraculous rebound.
Either way, based on what they've done, keeping Ole Miss right outside the Top 10 is the right call.
Hit: Auburn
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Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 4; AP, No. 4; CFP: No. 3
Current Coaches Poll: No. 3
Current AP Poll: No. 3
Current B/R Poll: No. 3
While the debate rages on over whether Florida State or Mississippi State should be the top team in the country, Auburn has established itself as a clear No. 3. Given what the Tigers have accomplished, it's tough to argue they're not currently a lock for the playoff.
Currently, of course, is the operative word. Auburn's remaining schedule is tough enough to shake things up.
Auburn needed a game-deciding fumble from Ole Miss receiver Laquon Treadwell, who injured himself on the play, to survive the Rebels 35-31. B/R colleague Adam Kramer has more on that here. Also, the Tigers were especially sloppy with 13 penalties against the Rebels.
Still, a win is a win, no matter how somber. The Tigers now have victories over Ole Miss, LSU and Kansas State. Their only loss is on the road by double digits to Mississippi State.
That's about as good a resume as you're going to find without being Mississippi State or Florida State.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
