NCAA Football Rankings 2014: Hits and Misses from Week 12
And this is where things could get interesting.
No. 1 Mississippi State suffered its first loss of the season to Alabama on Saturday. Where the Bulldogs and Tide end up among the top four teams will undoubtedly be the storyline to watch.
Also, Florida State pulled another Houdini and escaped from a potential loss to Miami. Arizona State saw its playoff hopes fall in Corvallis to Oregon State.
From those games and plenty more, a lot happened in Week 12.
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.
Hit: Mississippi State
1 of 6
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 1 AP, No. 1; CFP: No. 1
Current Coaches Poll: No. 4
Current AP Poll: No. 4
Current B/R Poll: No. 4
Mississippi State was the consensus No. 1 team a week ago, but it hasn't felt like the Bulldogs were playing like the top team in the country lately. Following a 25-20 loss to Alabama, that's no longer a point of debate.
The question is, how far should Mississippi State fall down the polls? The Bulldogs still have wins over Auburn, LSU and Texas A&M. However, the shine came way, way off of those victories on Saturday as all three teams lost, and some lost badly. Additionally, Mississippi State's nonconference schedule is soft as silk.
There are two things that help Mississippi State: TCU's close call against Kansas and Ohio State's early season loss to Virginia Tech. Otherwise, the Bulldogs might have fallen further.
Mississippi State still has a chance to get a signature win at Ole Miss to end the season, and its playoff hopes aren't done yet. Putting this team on the edge of the playoff discussion still feels appropriate. Whether that changes in the next few weeks remains to be seen.
Miss: Ohio State
2 of 6
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 7; AP, No. 8; CFP: No. 8
Current Coaches Poll: No. 7
Current AP Poll: No. 7
Current B/R Poll: No. 5
Same story, different week. Ohio State is still being held back a couple of spots below where it should be in the national polls because of its early season loss to Virginia Tech.
Yes, polls are based on what a team has done to date, and Ohio State has what amounts to two good wins against Michigan State and Minnesota. At the same time, there's a growing feeling that the Buckeyes are one of the four best teams playing as it stands right now. As Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated tweeted Saturday night, Ohio State is the hottest team in the country.
What does that count for? Maybe nothing if everything is solely based on resumes. But I know I wouldn't want to face Ohio State right now.
Hit: Florida State
3 of 6
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 2; AP, No. 2; CFP: No. 3
Current Coaches Poll: No. 1
Current AP Poll: No. 1
Current B/R Poll: No. 2
The difficulty of winning football games truly is underappreciated by the masses. The fact that Florida State hasn't lost a game in nearly two years is nothing short of amazing.
Of course, the question isn't whether Florida State should be the No. 1 team based on its 26-game win streak. The question is whether, at 10-0, the Seminoles are the best team in college football.
At times, Florida State hasn't looked the part. There's no doubt this has been a second-half team with five come-from-behind victories. It's definitely frustrating to watch considering the talent, but when it all comes together? Watch out.
"It's just what we are," head coach Jimbo Fisher told Dan Wolken of USA Today Sports. "It's our personality."
Since there are no truly great teams in college football this year, going undefeated plays a role in giving Florida State a No. 1 ranking. Its resume has lost some shine thanks to losses by Clemson and Notre Dame, but the Seminoles still look like the best team in the country when they're humming along.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Miss: Memphis
4 of 6
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, NR; AP, NR; CFP: NR
Current Coaches Poll: NR
Current AP Poll: NR
Current B/R Poll: NR
Psst: Memphis is quietly 7-3 and has a close loss to UCLA and a loss that got out of reach late against Ole Miss.
Yeah, rankings aren't supposed to solely reflect "good losses," but we're far enough along in the season that more people should know that the Tigers can play some football.
Head coach Justin Fuente has done a remarkable job of turning the program around, and Memphis is bowl-eligible for the first time since 2008. Sitting atop the American Athletic Conference standings, there's no doubt the Tigers could play with and beat a few teams occupying the final few slots in the polls.
In general, the public is sleeping on Memphis a bit.
Hit: Wisconsin
5 of 6
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 22; AP, 22; CFP: No. 20
Current Coaches Poll: No. 15
Current AP Poll: No. 14
Current B/R Poll: No. 13
When your star running back breaks a FBS record for rushing yards in a game in three quarters, you might be having a good day.
Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon tallied a whopping 408 yards in a 59-24 throttling of Nebraska, and the Badgers shot up the polls. The Huskers didn't exactly look enthused about tackling Gordon, but that was a performance for the ages.
How bad was it for Nebraska? Matt Hinton of Grantland tweets that Nebraska entered Saturday morning ranked 19th in the country in rushing defense...and ended the day ranked 75th.
Why Wisconsin will ever run another pass play remains unknown. When that run game is clicking, it looks impossible to stop. The only thing holding the Badgers back is the loss to Northwestern.
Miss: Georgia
6 of 6
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 14; AP, 16; CFP: No. 15
Current Coaches Poll: No. 10
Current AP Poll: No. 9
Current B/R Poll: No. 9
Trying to figure out Georgia might as well be a Rubik's Cube.
The Bulldogs have two losses. And not just any losses. Bad losses to South Carolina and Florida. But then Georgia goes and blows out Auburn 34-7 on Saturday. It wasn't a surprise that Georgia put up points on the Tigers, but holding them to a touchdown is impressive.
That said, does anyone really know what to do with Georgia?
Putting the Bulldogs in the top 10 doesn't seem right until you start looking around at the teams behind them. Arizona State has a blowout loss to UCLA. Michigan State has lost two games by double digits. Wisconsin has a loss to Northwestern.
That's not a justification for a top-10 ranking, but as Jon Solomon of CBS Sports tweets, it's been a weird season. Putting Georgia as a fringe top-10 team seems more like a timid guess than anything else.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
