AP College Football Poll 2014: Official Top 25 Rankings and Week 13 Projections
There is no debate—college football pollsters have the toughest job in sports.
Little in the way of rest has been presented to those in charge of the weekly polls. The whole theory about the inaugural College Football Playoff dampening the importance of the regular season went up in flames months ago, but was violently reinforced last week.
There, Mississippi State went down and two more of the Top Five teams in the nation heavily flirted with joining the Bulldogs.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The Week 13 Associated Press poll is notable for the simple fact it made it out on time. Enjoy it, as it might not last long.
Week 13 AP Poll
Week 13 Top 25 Point Spreads and Predictions
| Boston College at No. 1 Florida State | FSU -20.5 | Boston College |
| Western Carolina at No. 2 Alabama | N/A | Alabama |
| Colorado at No. 3 Oregon | N/A | Oregon |
| Vanderbilt at No. 4 Mississippi State | MSU -30.5 | Mississippi State |
| Oklahoma State at No. 6 Baylor | BAY -25 | Baylor |
| Indiana at No. 7 Ohio State | OSU -30 | Indiana |
| No. 8 Ole Miss at Arkansas | MISS -2 | Arkansas |
| Charleston Southern at No. 9 Georgia | N/A | Georgia |
| Rutgers at No. 10 Michigan State | MSU -22 | Michigan State |
| No. 24 USC at No. 11 UCLA | UCLA -3 | USC |
| No. 12 Kansas State at West Virginia | Even | Kansas State |
| Washington State at No. 13 Arizona State | ASU -17 | Arizona State |
| No. 14 Wisconsin at Iowa | WISC -8.5 | Wisconsin |
| No. 15 Arizona at No. 20 Utah | Utah -3.5 | Utah |
| Samford at No. 16 Auburn | N/A | Auburn |
| No. 18 Marshall at UAB | UM -20 | Marshall |
| No. 19 Missouri at Tennessee | TENN -3 | Missouri |
| Minnesota at No. 21 Nebraska | NEB -10 | Nebraska |
| New Mexico at No. 22 Colorado State | CSU -21 | Colorado State |
| Kansas at No. 23 Oklahoma | N/A | Oklahoma |
| North Carolina at No. 25 Duke | Duke -6 | North Carolina |
Note: All odds, updated as of 8 p.m. ET on Nov. 16, are courtesy of Odds Shark.
Early Upset to Bet: North Carolina Over No. 25 Duke
They can play football at a high level, too.
North Carolina would love nothing more than to play spoiler at this point of the season as the Duke Blue Devils look to stay in the hunt in the ACC.
The Tar Heels are just 5-5, true, but Larry Fedora's team has won three of the last four, a positive trend that started back in mid-October with a near-upset of then-No. 6 Notre Dame. There, the Tar Heels played stingy defense that forced three turnovers and got an inspiring performance from quarterback Marquise Williams.
Speaking of Williams, he is the man who makes the Tar Heels click this season. He has completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 2,502 yards and 18 touchdowns to eight interceptions. As one of the nation's premier players, he also leads the team in rushing with 623 yards and 10 scores.
Duke has a borderline top-10 defense, but asking David Cutcliffe's team to contain one of the best quarterbacks in the conference on a short turnaround after an upset is a lot.
The Blue Devils went out last week and suffered a letdown against Virginia Tech. Quarterback Anthony Boone posted an 18-of-40 line with a pair of turnovers and the offense was unable to counter an attack led by dual-threat quarterback Michael Brewer.
It has been a brutal month for the Blue Devils, which started off on the wrong foot by needing two overtimes to take down 4-6 Pittsburgh. Really, ACC play has been unkind overall to Cutcliffe and Co., a team that appears to be heading in the opposition direction when compared to North Carolina's current upswing.
Look for Williams to have a huge game on short notice.
Early Lock: No. 14 Wisconsin Over Iowa
There are plenty of locks on the Week 13 schedule, especially for those games that Las Vegas refuses to touch.
To keep things interesting, though, look at the impending Big Ten showdown between Wisconsin and Iowa. It is easy to shrug the game off as another episode of Melvin Gordon's dominance and be done with it, but try not to take that approach.
The Hawkeyes are very quietly 7-3 this season. The team has some very strange losses, especially those defeats against Iowa State and Maryland, but the team plays great defense by allowing just 22.5 points per game.
"It's a huge challenge," safety John Lowdermilk said, per Rick Brown of The Des Moines Register. "They're a very physical team. We didn't play the way we wanted to against Minnesota, another physical team. This is an opportunity to showcase our ability."
Of course, Gordon is a different test entirely.
Gordon just shattered the record books, as illustrated by ESPN CollegeFootball:
Wisconsin ranks third in the nation in rushing and 11th in scoring, mostly thanks to Gordon's 1,909 yards and 23 scores. It also very quietly ranks No. 3 overall in terms of points allowed, allowing just 15.3 points per game on average.
The only eyebrow-raising blemish comes by way of a loss at Northwestern, a team Iowa beat 48-7. Still, Wisconsin is a much different team now. They can quite literally run away from the Hawkeyes thanks to Gordon and a defense that can exploit a sluggish offense that hardly ranks among the top 75 in the nation.
Stats and information via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
