Mississippi State Ranked No. 1, Ole Miss 3

STARKVILLE, Miss. (MSU Athletics) – Five weeks ago, Mississippi State football was on the outside of the national polls preparing for a road game at LSU. On Sunday, the program completed the fastest rise from unranked to the nation’s No. 1 team in the history of the polls.

For the first time in the 119-year history of MSU football, the Bulldogs are America’s new No. 1 team in both the Associated Press poll and the USA Today Coaches Top 25.

MSU (6-0) received 45 of the available 60 first-place votes in the Associated Press poll. The Bulldogs garnered 26 first-place votes and 1,490 points in the Coaches poll, besting defending national champion Florida State by one point.

MSU entered Saturday’s game against then-No. 2 Auburn in a tie for third in the AP poll and sixth in the Coaches rankings. Led by Heisman Trophy candidate Dak Prescott and a pressure defense, the Bulldogs snapped defending Southeastern Conference champion Auburn’s league win streak in a 38-23 fashion before a record crowd in Davis Wade Stadium.

MSU became the first team to claim three consecutive wins over top-10 teams since Auburn did it in 1983. The Bulldogs are the first team in the Associated Press poll’s 78-year history to go from unranked to No. 1 in five weeks. The previous mark was six weeks by Ohio State in 1954.

MSU will enjoy its second open date on Oct. 18 before resuming its schedule at Kentucky on Oct. 25. The Bulldogs became the first team in the SEC to become bowl eligible Saturday, the school-record fifth consecutive year it has done so.

Associated Press Poll
1. Mississippi State (45), 6-0, 1480
2. Florida State (12), 6-0, 1415
3. Ole Miss (3), 6-0, 1413
4. Baylor, 6-0, 1317
5. Notre Dame, 6-0, 1228
6. Auburn, 5-1, 1144
7. Alabama, 5-1, 1068
8. Michigan State, 5-1, 1015
9. Oregon, 5-1, 1014
10. Georgia, 5-1, 981
11. Oklahoma, 5-1, 935
12. TCU, 4-1, 917
13. Ohio State, 4-1, 648
14. Kansas State, 4-1, 626
15. Oklahoma State, 5-1, 620
16. Arizona, 5-1, 590
17. Arizona State, 4-1, 459
18. East Carolina, 5-1, 449
19. Nebraska, 5-1, 402
20. Utah, 4-1, 305
21. Texas A&M, 5-2, 264
22. USC, 4-2, 258
23. Stanford, 4-2, 223
24. Clemson, 4-2, 188
25. Marshall, 6-0, 148

USA Today Coaches Top 25
1. Mississippi State (26), 6-0, 1490
2. Florida State (31), 6-0, 1489
3. Ole Miss (5), 6-0, 1436
4. Baylor, 6-0, 1392
5. Notre Dame, 6-0, 1292
6. Michigan State, 5-1, 1129
7. Alabama, 5-1, 1121
8. Auburn, 5-1, 1111
9. Oregon, 5-1, 1017
10. Georgia, 5-1, 1013
11. Oklahoma, 5-1, 1005
12. TCU, 4-1, 824
13. Ohio State, 4-1, 737
14. Kansas State, 4-1, 710
15. Oklahoma State, 5-1, 610
16. East Carolina, 5-1, 518
17. Arizona, 5-1, 502
18. Arizona State, 4-1, 471
19. Nebraska, 5-1, 433
20. Stanford, 4-2, 344
21. Texas A&M, 5-2, 269
22. Clemson, 4-2, 244
23. Utah, 4-1, 161
24. Marshall, 6-0, 153
25. USC, 4-2, 125