NFP Top 25
Up until this point, I have always subscribed to the Ric Flair theory: To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. So no matter how little experience a defending national champion had coming back the following year, I always had that team No. 1 in my preseason poll the following year and would stubbornly refuse to drop the squad until it suffered a loss.
The Flair theory has always been an unpopular one, of course. I was also pro-BCS, so I’m used to embracing the hate. But that all changed because of the Magnolia State the last two Saturdays.
Mississippi State and Ole Miss are, in my opinion, the most deserving teams to be ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the country at this point.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the National Football Post's newest Top 25.
2014 record in parentheses and last week’s ranking in brackets.
1. Mississippi State (6-0) [4]
2. Ole Miss (6-0) [6]
3. Florida State (6-0) [1]
4. Notre Dame (6-0) [5]
Bryce Petty and the Bears roared back and survived a tough test against TCU.
5. Baylor (6-0) [3]
6. Alabama (5-1) [8]
7. Oregon (5-1) [9]
8. Auburn (5-1) [2]
9. Michigan State (5-1) [10]
10. Oklahoma (5-1) [12]
11. Georgia (5-1) [13]
12. Arizona (5-1) [7]
13. TCU (4-1) [11]
14. Ohio State (4-1) [15]
15. Kansas State (4-1) [16]
16. Clemson (4-2) [19]
17. Stanford (4-2) [20]
18. Nebraska (5-1) [21]
19. East Carolina (5-1) [22]
20. Oklahoma State (5-1) [23]
21. Arizona State (4-1) [24]
22. Washington (5-1) [NR]
23. USC (4-2) [NR]
24. Utah (4-1) [NR]
25. West Virginia (4-2) [NR]
The next five: UCLA (4-2), Texas A&M (5-2), Duke (5-1), Marshall (6-0) and Kentucky (5-1).
Dave Miller, the college football editor for the National Football Post, is on Twitter @Miller_Dave.
