Stock Watch: Baylor, Ole Miss, Miss. State reach Amway Coaches Poll highs
In truth, the monumental shakeup in the college football world shouldn't have come as a big surprise. The arrival of October brought a full slate of conference games and, finally, a lot of top 25 teams playing other ranked squads.
As a result, there is at last some real turnover in the Amway Coaches Poll as three of the teams that have been rated in the top five since the preseason sustained losses. Half the top 10 teams, in fact, were defeated, creating some openings for teams to make big moves in the rankings.
TOP 25: Amway Coaches Poll
Heading the field once again is Florida State. The Seminoles returned to the top spot after smothering Wake Forest. FSU picked up 44 of 61 first-place votes cast this week. Their primary challenger is now Auburn, the team they defeated in last year's national championship game. The Tigers picked up 16 No.1 votes, their first top nods of the current season, after blasting LSU.
The remaining No.1 vote this week went to No. 3 Baylor. The Bears took care of a struggling Texas squad to achieve their highest ranking since USA TODAY began administering the coaches poll in 1991.
Stock up: The state of Mississippi. The Rebels and Bulldogs were rewarded for pulling off two of the weekend's biggest upsets, also achieving their highest ranking in the USA TODAY era. Ole Miss vaulted all the way from No. 11 to No. 4 after taking down then-No. 1 Alabama. Mississippi State climbed eight places to No. 6 following its victory against Texas A&M.
All is not lost for Alabama, of course. With a long way to go in the SEC West race, the Crimson Tide check in at No. 7 and still lead all one-loss teams in the poll, narrowly edging out No.8 Michigan State.
Stock down: Stanford. The Cardinal lost a defensive battle at undefeated Notre Dame, but their second setback of the season knocked them to No. 22, a nine-position drop that is the largest within the top 25 this week. The Fighting Irish, meanwhile, climbed up to No. 5 and are now in the thick of the playoff picture as the season nears the midpoint.
Stock up: TCU. The Horned Frogs made the biggest jump within the poll, leaping 13 spots to No. 12 after their thrilling home win against then-No. 3 Oklahoma. The Sooners, like Alabama, took a six-spot hit to check in at No.9 but could still be in the hunt as the Big 12 campaign heats up.
Stock down: UCLA. The Bruins, beaten on a last-minute field goal at home by Utah for their first loss, fell eight places to No. 17. It was only part of a chaotic set of results in the Pac-12 that figures to shuffle on a weekly basis the rest of the way.
Stock up: The state of Arizona. Case in point, the Wildcats of Arizona were unbeaten yet unranked before taking down then-No. 4 Oregon on Thursday night. Unranked no more, they debut in the rankings at No. 13. Not to be outdone, the Sun Devils of Arizona State used some last-second magic to topple Southern California, climbing to No. 20 this week after nearly dropping out a week ago after getting spanked by UCLA.
Stock down: Texas A&M. The Aggies, who couldn't mount a comeback this week at Mississippi State, took a seven-position hit to No.14.
New kids on the block: No. 13 Arizona, No. 23 Georgia Tech, No. 24 Missouri, No. 25 Clemson.
GALLERY: HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEEK 6
College dropouts: LSU, Wisconsin, Brigham Young, Southern California.
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