College Football Playoff 2014: Top 25 Predictions After Week 11 AP Rankings

The 2014 college football season has been incredible thus far, and the focus on the playoffs and the programs fighting their way into postseason contention has resulted in nonstop action throughout the year.

It’s a good time to be a college football fan.

After watching Auburn beat Ole Miss in the biggest game of the week, the potential changes at the top of the rankings will have major implications on which teams make the first-ever playoffs.

Here are the predicted top 25 teams in the College Football Playoff poll after the release of the Week 11 Associated Press and Bleacher Report rankings.

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

Breaking Down Predicted Top Four

The top team in the nation once again this week is Mississippi State. Led by Heisman Trophy candidate Dak Prescott, the Bulldogs held on to beat Arkansas and are enjoying the top spot in the nation while they can.

After a Week 11 matchup against UT Martin, Mississippi State travels to Alabama to square off with the Crimson Tide. If the Bulldogs win that matchup, the chances of beating Ole Miss in the final game of the season skyrockets.

Prescott spoke to The Associated Press, via ESPN.com, about the post-halftime performance against Arkansas, saying, “At halftime, we just had to relax. We know we're a high-powered offense and that we're always only one play away from scoring.”

Mississippi State must enjoy the run at No. 1. It may be short-lived.

The aforementioned Alabama team was discounted early in the season due to a lack of continuity on both sides of the ball and a loss to Ole Miss, but three consecutive wins has the program back in the national-championship conversation.

The Crimson Tide have a schedule just as tough as Mississippi State’s, though, with remaining matchups against the Bulldogs, LSU and Auburn. On the other hand, the remaining schedule is a bit more favorable for the Auburn Tigers.

Games against Georgia and Texas A&M are far from easy, but after beating Ole Miss in Week 10, Auburn should be oozing confidence. An Iron Bowl matchup against Alabama in the last game of the year will be a must-watch matchup, but the Tigers have put themselves in an ideal position heading into the final stretch of the season.

One postseason contender that has a favorable schedule moving forward is Florida State. The defending national champions beat Louisville on Thursday and will not face another ranked opponent all year. The toughest remaining matchup is the final regular-season game against Florida.

While it remains to be seen if the Jameis Winston-led Seminoles have the firepower to contend with the vaunted SEC, Florida State will stand back as the top teams eliminate each other from contention in conference play.

Expect the Seminoles to finish the season undefeated.

*Stats via ESPN.com.

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