AP Poll: Mississippi State jumps to No. 1, Oregon to No. 9

Originally Posted on Emerald Media via UWIRE

One week removed from the craziest weekend in college football history, the playoff picture continued to come into focus after a more predictable, but eventful week seven.

When the dust settled on Sunday morning, Mississippi State jumped FSU to take the top spot in the AP Poll. Texas A&M fell seven spots to No. 21 and USC reentered the poll at No. 22. Other notable changes include Arizona State’s rise to No. 17, one spot behind No. 16 Arizona who fell six spots after their loss to USC, Oregon reentered the top-10 at No. 9, forcing UCLA out of the top-25 to No. 26.

Let’s start with the showdown between No. 2 Auburn and No. 3 Mississippi State. Dak Prescott’s Bulldogs seemed to pick up right where they left off following their dominant victory over Texas A&M. State owned both sides of the ball yet again in a 38-23 victory over Auburn. With the win, Mississippi State became the fifth team in college football history (and first since 1983) to win three consecutive games against Top-10 teams.

State’s counterpart No. 4 Ole Miss was coming off a big win of their own against then-No. 1 Alabama, but had to hit the road to face reeling Texas A&M at Kyle Field. Bo Wallace scored twice on the ground and once through the air in another no-doubt contest from the SEC West as the Rebels beat A&M 35-20.

The rest of the division had to work a bit harder for their wins. No. 7 Alabama escaped by the skin on their teeth against Arkansas 14-13, while LSU took advantage of another late-game turnover from Florida’s Jeff Driskel to win 30-27.

The SEC West is now 26-0 in out of division games. If they can keep it up, advanced statistics say that the 2014 SEC West could be the best division ever.

In the Big-12, No. Baylor and TCU were locked in a shootout in Waco. After trailing by 21 points in the fourth quarter, Bryce Petty led Baylor all the way back to beat the Horned Frogs 61-58, the highest scoring game ever between two AP Top 10 teams.

No. 1 Florida State had no problem burying Syracuse on the road 38-20. The Noles will be back in the spotlight next week for their colossal matchup with No. 5 Notre Dame in Tallahassee.

Click here to see the full poll.

Here is the top 10:

1 – Mississippi State (45)

2 – Florida State (12)

3 – Ole Miss (3)

4 – Baylor

5 – Notre Dame

6 – Auburn

7 – Alabama

8 – Michigan State

9 – Oregon

10 – Georgia

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @JoshSchlichter

Read more here: http://dailyemerald.com/2014/10/12/the-sec-west-whacky-waco-and-mighty-mississippi/
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