New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – The SEC has long been considered the top
conference in college football and the latest Associated Press poll is further
proof, as four of the top five teams are from the powerful league.
Mississippi State remained the top-ranked team in the country after taking the
weekend off, while Ole Miss stayed at No. 3 following a lopsided win over
Tennessee. Alabama vaulted three spots to fourth after its 59-0 rout of Texas
A&M and Auburn, also on a bye this weekend, rose one spot to fifth.
The AP said it’s the first time four teams from the same conference — also
the same division (the SEC West), no less — are among the top five in the
rankings.
Florida State, following its thrilling 31-27 win over Notre Dame on Saturday
night, held firmly at No. 2. The Seminoles earned 14 first-place votes from a
nationwide media panel — two more than last week.
Mississippi State, with a visit to Kentucky set for next Saturday, received 43
first-place votes — two fewer than last week — while Ole Miss again picked
up three top tallies.
Oregon, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Georgia and TCU complete this week’s top
10. Notre Dame slipped just two spots from fifth after the narrow loss in
Tallahassee.
The second 10 consists of Kansas State, Baylor, Ohio State, Arizona State,
Arizona, Nebraska, Oklahoma, East Carolina, Utah and Southern California.
Kansas State moved up three spots from 14th after its 31-30 victory at
Oklahoma, which dropped the Sooners six places from 11th.
Baylor had the biggest drop within the poll, tumbling eight spots from fourth
following a 41-27 loss at West Virginia.
Clemson, West Virginia, Marshall, LSU and UCLA are the last five teams ranked.
West Virginia, LSU and UCLA are this week’s newcomers.
Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Stanford all dropped out after losing on
Saturday.
Just two matchups of ranked teams are on this week’s schedule, as Ole Miss
takes its unbeaten mark into Death Valley to face LSU and Utah hosts USC.
