Mississippi State is the new No. 1 in both the Associated Press and coaches’ college football polls, replacing Florida State atop both polls.
After beginning the season unranked, the Bulldogs rise to No. 1 in the AP Poll in just five weeks is the fastest in the history of the poll. The previous mark was six weeks by Ohio State in 1954.
The Bulldogs beat Auburn 38-23 on Saturday, its third straight victory against a top-10 team.
Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen told reporters Sunday he viewed the No. 1 ranking two ways.
“I couldn’t be happier for the university, the students, the fans and the alumni,” Mullen said. “For so many years you try to accomplish something and to be able to say we’re the best at something is special. But for us as a team — they don’t give out the trophy midseason. We really haven’t accomplished all that much.”
Florida State, which hosts No. 5 Notre Dame Saturday, held the top spot in both polls before this week after winning last season’s national championship. But despite beating Syracuse, the Seminoles still dropped to No. 2 in the polls – the first time a winning team has dropped in the polls since USC in 2012.
Mississippi State was No. 3 last week, tied with Ole Miss, which stayed at No. 3 this week in both polls after winning 35-20 at Texas A&M Saturday.The Bulldogs and the Rebels have rarely been in contention in the SEC’s West Division, having to compete alongside Alabama (three national titles in BCS era), LSU (two) and Auburn (one) have dominated not only the division, but the conference and the rest of the country, leaving the Bulldogs and Rebels to be relegated to second-class.
Baylor and Notre Dame round out the top 5 in both polls.
New No. 1 in the @AmwayUS #CoachesPoll! @msstate takes top spot for the first time! Top 25: http://t.co/2cUB9vZ45d http://t.co/APx7plvx8T
In the coaches’ poll, the Top 25, with points, is as follows:
1. Mississippi State (26) 1490
2. Florida State (31) 1489
3. Ole Miss (5) 1436
4. Baylor 1392
5. Notre Dame 1292
6. Michigan State 1129
7. Alabama 1121
8. Auburn 1111
9. Oregon 1017
10. Georgia 1013
11. Oklahoma 1005
12. TCU 824
13. Ohio State 737
14. Kansas State 710
15. Oklahoma State 610
16. East Carolina 518
17. Arizona 502
18. Arizona State 471
19. Nebraska 433
20. Stanford 344
21. Texas A&M 269
22. Clemson 244
23. Utah 161
24. Marshall 153
25. USC 125
Dropped from rankings: UCLA 17, Georgia Tech 23, Missouri 24
Others receiving votes: UCLA 116, LSU 80, Minnesota 78, Duke 70, Washington 70, Kentucky 37, Wisconsin 34, West Virginia 17, Iowa 15, Georgia Tech 14, Oregon State 10, Colorado State 5, Missouri 5, BYU 2, Rutgers 1
Meanwhile, in the AP poll, the rest of the 25 is as follows:
1. Mississippi State (45) 1480
2. Florida State (12) 1415
3. Ole Miss (3) 1413
4. Baylor 1317
5. Notre Dame 1228
6. Auburn 1144
7. Alabama 1068
8. Michigan State 1015
9. Oregon 1014
10. Georgia 981
11. Oklahoma 935
12. TCU 917
13. Ohio State 648
14. Kansas State 626
15. Oklahoma State 620
16. Arizona 590
17. Arizona State 459
18. East Carolina 449
19. Nebraska 402
20. Utah 305
21. Texas A&M 264
22. USC 258
23. Stanford 223
24. Clemson 188
25. Marshall 148
Dropped from rankings: UCLA 18, Georgia Tech 22
Others receiving votes: UCLA 110, LSU 67, Duke 45, Minnesota 36, Kentucky 36, West Virginia 27, Washington 22, Georgia Tech 11, Arkansas 10, Louisville 7, Rutgers 7, Iowa 6, North Dakota State 3, Colorado State 3, South Carolina 1, Virginia 1, Wisconsin 1
