College Football Rankings 2014: Top 25 NCAA Playoff Standings for Week 14

Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Mississippi State all won their respective matchups Saturday, and for the first time in weeks, there wasn’t a complete upheaval of the Week 14 College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings.

Despite the Associated Press ranking the Seminoles as the No. 1 team in the nation and the Amway Coaches Poll tabbing them at No. 2, the College Football Playoff voting committee still has FSU listed at No. 3 overall.

Let the debate continue.

Here are the Week 14 College Football Playoff, Associated Press and Bleacher Report Top 25 polls and a preview of this week’s most important matchup.

(Note: As the table header indicates, the logo shown at the far right of each team's row is for that team's next opponent and not for the ranked team itself.)

Week 14’s Most Important Matchup

While Alabama is playing Auburn in the Iron Bowl, Oregon is squaring off against a tough Oregon State team and Florida State is taking on in-state rival Florida, the biggest game of the weekend will be the Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. the Ole Miss Rebels.

The Egg Bowl.

The top three ranked teams in the nation should win their matchups with relative ease, but Mississippi State has a tough test against Ole Miss in a crucial matchup. With the Bulldogs' playoff hopes on the line, quarterback Dak Prescott and the entire roster must come prepared for a battle.

The Rebels and the Bulldogs have a long and storied history against each other, but there have been few times in the past that there has been more on the line. Mississippi State enters the game as the No. 4-ranked team in college football, and Ole Miss is currently ranked 19th overall.

Ole Miss is 18th on the Week 14 Associated Press Top 25 poll:

Regardless of where the Rebels are ranked, the team still has an immense amount of talent on both sides of the ball and will give the Bulldogs a serious challenge. Not only is Ole Miss hosting the game, but the Rebels also were victorious the last time the teams played at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Ole Miss has lost three of its last four games, but the competition in the SEC is incredible. After beating Alabama and Texas A&M, the Rebels lost to LSU, Auburn and Arkansas, the latter loss being a 30-0 upset in Week 13.

On the other hand, Ole Miss has the top-ranked defensive unit in the nation in terms of points allowed per game with 13.5. The Bulldogs will have a tough time breaking through the Rebels defense.

Here is Bleacher Report’s Week 14 rankings:

Mississippi State has an elite defense as well. The unit is ranked 11th in the sport and is only allowing an average of 18.4 points per game. After watching the Rebels get shut out by Arkansas last week, the Bulldogs defenders can’t wait to get on the field against Ole Miss.

The real strength of Mississippi State is the offensive unit.

Led by Prescott, the Bulldogs have the 40th-ranked passing attack (264.9 yards per game) and the 19th-ranked ground game, averaging an impressive 246.8 rushing yards per game. After a heartbreaking loss to the Crimson Tide in Week 12, Mississippi State bounced back with a 51-0 beating on Vanderbilt.

With the Bulldogs understanding the magnitude of the situation, the team will bring its best on the road and hand Ole Miss another heartbreaking loss. Mississippi State will be playoff bound with a victory Saturday, and the program deserves it after a great 2014 season.

Predicted Final Score: Mississippi State 30, Ole Miss 20

Stats via ESPN.com.

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