NOLES & POLLS
Florida State dropping to No. 2 doesn’t diminish showdown with Golson, No. 5 Irish
The voter polls mean less than ever in college football, but sometimes it’s good just to know the media ( Associated Press) and coaches ( USA Today) truly are paying attention. To all of them I say: Good job.
Why? Because there were sea changes at the top of both polls that lifted Mississippi State into the No. 1 spot and cost Florida State the No. 1 ranking it seemed to be holding on to as if by birthright.
Entering Saturday, FSU had 35 first- place votes ( of 60 total) from the media and 44 ( of 62) from the coaches; the Bulldogs had two and zero, respectively. After the Bulldogs beat Auburn 38- 23, they got 45 first- place votes from the media and 26 from the coaches— and the lead in both polls that they deserve, even though FSU also won Saturday, 38- 20 at Syracuse.
There certainly are those who believe a No. 1 team— especially a defending national champion — should keep that status until it loses a game, but that’s kind of a silly way to look at it. No. 1 is supposed to mean the best today, not last year or last week.
“They don’t give out the trophy midseason,” Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said Sunday. “We really haven’t accomplished all that much.”
True. The Bulldogs have had the best half- season and are the
best team today.
The final four
I have the same top five the media and the coaches have: in order, Mississippi State, Florida State, Ole Miss, Baylor and Notre Dame. It does seem there’s a decent- sized gap from four to five, but that’s meaningless. The Irish’s upcoming game at Florida State on Saturday is the biggest opportunity any team in the country has had this season to make a playoff statement.
One question: Can the Irish lose to FSU and still make the playoff? If they perform well, sure. A narrow defeat in Tallahassee isn’t much of a blemish.
Three under the radar
1. Ole Miss— like Mississippi State, 6- 0 with multiple highprofile victories— has to wonder why it is a distant third in the polls. It probably hurt the Rebels’ cause a bit to play Saturday night ( a 35- 20 victory at Texas A& M) after such a thrilling afternoon in college football.
2. Ohio State can’t love being ranked behind seven fellow oneloss teams in each of the polls. There’s a whole lot of catching up to do from No. 13.
3. Marshall— 6- 0 and cruising toward a perfect regular season — lurks at the tail end of the top 25. It shouldn’t be too hard for the Thundering Herd to climb three or four spots a week as long as they keep winning.
One more thing
Not surprised to hear Illinois coach Tim Beckman stop well short of committing to sophomore Aaron Bailey at quarterback, even though Bailey led two fourth- quarter touchdown drives at Wisconsin in his first action of the season. But this decision should be a no- brainer. Bailey gives Illinois a dimension— more athleticism in the backfield — it sorely needs with starter Wes Lunt, the only highly gifted passer the Illini have, injured.