5. Mississippi State Bulldogs: 4-0 (1-0), Defeated LSU 34-29 Last Saturday
Last Week’s Position: NR
This would appear to be an incredible jump, but we can’t base our ranking on where a team was ranked last week. The Bulldogs are now 4-0 and have a major quality victory under their belt, beating a top 10 team on the road in the toughest environment in college football: Death Valley. Dak Prescott cemented himself in the Heisman race, Mississippi State cemented itself in the SEC West race, and Dan Mullen cemented himself as a great coach. It’s rocking in Starkville right now, and for that, the Bulldogs definitely belong in the Top 5.
4. Auburn Tigers: 3-0 (1-0), Defeated Kansas State 20-14 Last Saturday
Last Week’s Position: No. 7
Spare us all the idea that the Tigers got “exposed” or should drop in the rankings because they had to fight for a tough victory last Thursday night. Kansas State is a good team that is coached by Bill Snyder and was playing at home, not to mention that anything can happen in Thursday night games. Auburn’s win is a better look for them than anything they had done up to that point, and the defending SEC champions belong back in the Top 5 after what has turned out to be two quality wins in their 3-0 schedule when you consider that Arkansas is now a good team.
3. Oregon Ducks: 4-0 (1-0), Defeated Washington State 38-31 Last Saturday
Last Week’s Position: No. 2
The Ducks can’t be judged too harshly for struggling against Mike Leach’s Washington State Cougars last Saturday. Sure, they’re 1-3, but that offense can still get hot at anytime, which is exactly what it did. For Mariota to handle it as well as he did and have such an efficient night, the Ducks still belong in what is now appearing to be a clear-cut top 3 at this stage in the season. Oregon drops a bit because Washington State is not a quality opponent, but they are still one of the top teams in college football for right now. No reason to panic because they had to fight for a win Saturday.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide: 4-0 (1-0), Defeated Florida 42-21 Last Saturday
Last Week’s Position: No. 4
The Tide don’t have any great wins yet, but two very good wins against Florida and West Virginia are enough to vault them back into the Top 2. And they look very dangerous now that Blake Sims is playing so well and the Alabama offense looks better than it’s ever looked with Nick Saban as head coach and Lane Kiffin as offensive coordinator. That’s two gurus on different sides of the ball with tons of talent to work with, so this team is now very scary. It could be the most complete team Saban’s ever had, and with the great play of Sims, they look incredible. The Tide are back to being dominant.
1. Florida State Seminoles: 3-0 (1-0), Defeated Clemson 23-17 in OT Last Saturday
Last Week’s Position: No. 5
Defeating Clemson at home in overtime may not seem like enough to vault Florida State back into our top spot, but with Oklahoma State looking like a much better team than anybody thought, that makes for two quality wins. Then, win you consider the circumstances Florida State was facing, that makes it even more impressive that they were able to pull out the victory, regardless of how lucky. With Jimbo Fisher holding his nose the whole game and trying to keep Sean Maguire from making mistakes, other players stepped up and made plays when they needed to, particularly Eddie Goldman. That’s the mark of a champion, and it’s why Florida State is back in the top spot.