NCAA Football Rankings 2014: Full List of Week 13 College Standings and Polls
It is becoming increasingly more difficult to recognize the college football polls on a week-to-week basis.
Jameis Winston and the Florida State Seminoles have reclaimed the throne in the minds of most, but not that they really earned it in Week 12 by way of a near upset at the hands of Miami.
Instead, the Seminoles have to thank Alabama for topping Mississippi State, Oregon being on a bye and TCU and others looking shaky in high-profile contests.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
That was just one week of action at the top of the polls. It was not as if it was an isolated incident, either, as the shenanigans when it comes to morph-happy polls has shown no signs of slowing.
For a brief few days, the college football hierarchy stacks up like so.
Week 13 College Football Polls
Breaking Down Notable Risers and Fallers
Riser: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Say hello to the team that occupies first place in the ACC Coastal division.
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are a team that could ruin everything this season at this pace, which is nothing but a good thing to the naked eye. Seminoles supporters are just one group of fans that continues to pray for a Georgia Tech downfall, as illustrated by ESPN.com's David Hale:
Paul Johnson's team most recently bowled over a ranked Clemson team 28-6 that had not lost since mid-September. Were it not for a six-point loss to Duke and a five-point loss to North Carolina, the surging Yellow Jackets would be undefeated at the moment.
Few teams look forward to an encounter with Johnson's triple-option attack. Led by quarterback Justin Thomas, the Yellow Jackets rank fourth nationally in rushing and tout a list of strong runners that is quite exhaustive:
| Justin Thomas | 153 | 827 | 5.4 | 65 | 5 |
| Zach Laskey | 124 | 608 | 4.9 | 26 | 5 |
| Synjyn Days | 101 | 592 | 5.9 | 53 (TD) | 3 |
| Tony Zenon | 43 | 289 | 6.7 | 57 (TD) | 4 |
| Broderick Snoddy | 28 | 283 | 10.1 | 46 | 3 |
| Charles Perkins | 27 | 272 | 10.1 | 63 | 0 |
| Tim Byerly | 45 | 204 | 4.5 | 37 | 7 |
The Yellow Jackets subsequently rank 14th nationally with an average of 37.8 points scored per game, while a stingy defense surrenders just 24.1.
All Georgia Tech has to do in the coming weeks is upend Georgia in Athens. Obviously this is no easy feat, but a contest that features two rush-heavy attacks and underrated defenses could go either way. After that, the Yellow Jackets just have to hope Duke drops another game thanks to their head-to-head result earlier this season.
Right now, though, Georgia Tech is on a meteoric rise up the ranks. For good reason, too.
Faller: Nebraska Cornhuskers
Many will point out that Mississippi State is deserving of a nod as a notable faller, but the reality is that the Bulldogs are still right on track for the College Football Playoff, so long as Dak Prescott and Co. overcome Ole Miss to close the season.
The same certainly cannot be said for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, though.
A 59-24 loss sort of does that to a team. So does surrendering 581 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. A whopping 408 and four went to Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon all by his lonesome.
Bo Pelini was fully in defense mode after the debacle last weekend.
"What we came to do is win a conference championship and win a national championship. We're going to fight tooth and nail to keep trying to get that done," Pelini said, per Jon Nyatawa of Omaha.com. "The time I start apologizing is when I stop working. I believe the program's on a good track, is on the right track."
To be fair, Pelini's team is not that bad. The Cornhuskers have just a five-point loss to Michigan State on the road and tout wins over Miami (Florida) and Northwestern, among others. The team still ranks 10th nationally in rushing and 12th in scoring on the legs of Ameer Abdullah (1,319 yards, 17 touchdowns, 6.5 per-carry average).
What needs to be observed now is how the Cornhuskers respond to the blowout. They are now sandwiched between Wisconsin and Minnesota in the Big Ten West, the latter of which is the team's opponent next weekend and ranked after playing Ohio State tough in a loss.
With their backs against the wall, how the Cornhuskers respond will define this year's campaign.
Stats and information via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
