SEC dominates top of rankings

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - The SEC has long been considered the top conference in college football and the latest Associated Press poll is further proof, as four of the top five teams are from the powerful league.

Mississippi State remained the top-ranked team in the country after taking the weekend off, while Ole Miss stayed at No. 3 following a lopsided win over Tennessee. Alabama vaulted three spots to fourth after its 59-0 rout of Texas A&M and Auburn, also on a bye this weekend, rose one spot to fifth.

The AP said it's the first time four teams from the same conference -- also the same division (the SEC West), no less -- are among the top five in the rankings.

Florida State, following its thrilling 31-27 win over Notre Dame on Saturday night, held firmly at No. 2. The Seminoles earned 14 first-place votes from a nationwide media panel -- two more than last week.

Mississippi State, with a visit to Kentucky set for next Saturday, received 43 first-place votes -- two fewer than last week -- while Ole Miss again picked up three top tallies.

Oregon, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Georgia and TCU complete this week's top 10. Notre Dame slipped just two spots from fifth after the narrow loss in Tallahassee.

The second 10 consists of Kansas State, Baylor, Ohio State, Arizona State, Arizona, Nebraska, Oklahoma, East Carolina, Utah and Southern California. Kansas State moved up three spots from 14th after its 31-30 victory at Oklahoma, which dropped the Sooners six places from 11th.

Baylor had the biggest drop within the poll, tumbling eight spots from fourth following a 41-27 loss at West Virginia.

Clemson, West Virginia, Marshall, LSU and UCLA are the last five teams ranked. West Virginia, LSU and UCLA are this week's newcomers.

Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Stanford all dropped out after losing on Saturday.

Just two matchups of ranked teams are on this week's schedule, as Ole Miss takes its unbeaten mark into Death Valley to face LSU and Utah hosts USC.