College Football Playoff 2014: 3 SEC teams, Florida State top First Four mock poll
Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and Alabama were ranked 1-through-4 in both newsandtalking.blogspot.com Top 25 and the USA Today/Coaches Poll on Sunday. The quartet were pegged in the identical order in our weekly national media First Four college football playoff poll.
On Tuesday evening, the official College Football Playoff rankings will be unveiled and the SEC figures to once again be well represented near the top of the poll.
About the First Four Poll: Each week during the college football season, our committee of 13 national experts will rank the teams competing for a spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff. About the voters: We've assembled a baker's dozen of top college sports writers from coast to coast. They are: Nick Baumgardner, MLive.com; Ken Goe, The Oregonian; David Jones, PennLive.com; Jim Kleinpeter, NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune; Gary Laney, Advance Digital National Desk; Tom Layberger, Advance Digital National Desk; Doug Lesmerises, Northeast Ohio Media Group; Nick O'Malley, MassLive.com; Kevin Scarbinsky, Alabama Media Group; Keith Sargeant, NJ.com; Patrick Stevens, Syracuse.com; Jim Waggoner, Staten Island Advance; Brad Wilson, http://ift.tt/1sM6Ico Express-Times. These rankings will provide a look at how the contenders for the four playoff berths stack up and offer an alternative perspective to the official College Football Playoff rankings.
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1. Mississippi State (129 points), 8-0
Previous rank: No. 1
Last week: def. Arkansas, 17-10. This week: vs. Tennessee-Martin.
Projected playoff position: vs. Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
Voters' take:
The Bulldogs, who receive 12 of 13 first-place votes this week, found out Saturday that the going won't be easy as Arkansas put a scare into the Bulldogs in much the same fashion as it did against Alabama. MSU has a gimme this week before finishing with Alabama, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss.
'I am keeping an eye on Mississippi State. The Bulldogs' victory over Auburn is impressive. The rest of the resume is not. And their upcoming game against Tennessee-Martin most assuredly is not. I spent a lot of time thinking about whether to move Florida State ahead of Mississippi State, and in the end decided not to do it. Next week, if Florida State beats Virginia, I might.' -- Ken Goe, The Oregonian
2. Florida State (116), 8-0
Previous rank: No. 2
Last week: def. Louisville, 42-31. This week: vs. Virginia.
Projected playoff position: vs. Auburn in the Rose Bowl.
Voters' take:
FSU continues to find ways to win close games. Credit Jameis Winston who, despite all his off-field issues, keeps making plays at big times. After getting by then-No. 25 Louisville, The Seminoles may not see another ranked opponent until the postseason.
'Houdini lives! Somehow Florida State dodged yet another freight train labeled 'Disaster' aimed right at the Seminoles. Some might find the repeated close calls a sign of weakness, but I think it shows FSU, whatever its other off-field issues, knows how to play like champions when adversity strikes.' -- Brad Wilson, The Express-Times/lehighvalleylive.com
3. Auburn (95), 7-1
Previous rank: No. 4
Last week: def. Ole Miss, 35-31. This week: vs. Texas A&M.
Projected playoff position: vs. Florida State in the Rose Bowl.
Voters' take:
Auburn is feeling fortunate after recovering two late Ole Miss fumbles inside the 10-yard line in the fourth quarter to win Saturday. But the road is still difficult with games at Georgia and Alabama upcoming.
'Auburn has gotten no respect all year. They go to the national title game and still they have to look up at the likes of Bama and Ole Miss in the rankings. Crazy play at the end or not, the Tigers are the first team to score more than 20 points against that Rebels defense. Gus Malzahn's offense is a machine.' -- Nick O'Malley, MassLive.com
4. Alabama (84), 7-1
Previous rank: No. 3
Last week: bye. This week: at LSU.
Projected playoff position: vs. Mississippi State in the Sugar Bowl.
Voters' take:
A week off saw a lot of changes for the Crimson Tide. The College Football Playoff committee started the Crimson Tide at No. 6, three spots below their poll spot. But while the Tide is trying to climb back over to the right side of the playoff bubble, the voters of the First Four still love Nick Saban's bunch. Bama gets the tie-breaker nod over Oregon for the final spot in the playoff field this week by virtue of receiving the highest single ranking of the two on individual ballots.
'How do you separate Alabama and Oregon? Oregon has a better win in Michigan State than anything on Alabama's resume, but Alabama has a better loss at Ole Miss. Alabama plays in a better league, but Oregon has played the tougher schedule so far. By the thinnest of margins, because they've beaten a team still in the playoff hunt and Alabama hasn't -- although that opportunity is about to come knocking when Mississippi State and Auburn travel to Tuscaloosa -- you put the Ducks at No. 4. You put the Crimson Tide right on their tail. And, if you live in Birmingham, you duck.' -- Kevin Scarbinsky, Alabama Media Group
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5. Oregon (84), 8-1
Previous rank: No. 5
Last week: def. Stanford, 45-16. This week: at Utah.
Beating your long-time nemesis convincingly brings some cachet and that's exactly what Oregon got by beating Stanford for the first time since 2011. Utah, ranked No. 20 in the AP Top 25 poll, will be the last ranked team on the schedule for the Ducks, who have looked better every game since the loss to Arizona.
6. Notre Dame (47), 7-1
Previous rank: No. 6
Last week: def. Navy, 49-39. This week: at Arizona State.
The big knock on the Fighting Irish is their lack of quality wins. ASU, coming off an overtime win over Utah, would be a quality win. Everett Golson keeps making plays for Notre Dame and that will have to continue to get a win in the desert.
7. TCU (41) 7-1
Previous Rank: NR
Last week: def. West Virginia, 31-30. This week: vs. Kansas State.
It's hard to argue with the Horned Frogs' resume. TCU just beat a ranked team on the road after beating Oklahoma at home earlier this season. The question now is how big of an impression can TCU make if it beats a quality Kansas State team? TCU gets the tie-breaker edge over Michigan State for the No. 7 slot this week by virtue of receiving the highest single ranking of the two on individual ballots.
8. Michigan State (41), 7-1
Previous rank: No. 8
Last week: bye. This week: vs. Ohio State.
Which Big Ten team will be in the playoff picture going down the stretch? That'll be determined Saturday as the Spartans go into the showdown with 7-1 Ohio State as the favorite.
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Dropped out: No. 7 Ole Miss
Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.
Others receiving votes: Kansas State (37), Baylor (18), Ole Miss (10), Marshall (5), Ohio State (4), Arizona State (4)
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