Mississippi State is the new No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll, replacing Florida State and making the fastest rise to the top spot in the history of the poll.
The Bulldogs received 45 first-place votes from the media panel Sunday. Mississippi State beat Auburn 38-23 on Saturday, its third straight victory against a top-10 team. The Bulldogs are the first team in the 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.
The Bulldogs were No. 3 last week, tied with Ole Miss, for their best ranking. Ole Miss stayed at No. 3 this week, two points behind No. 2 Florida State, which beat Syracuse on Saturday.
The defending champion Seminoles had been No. 1 since the preseason. Florida State received 12 first-place votes and Ole Miss three.
Baylor and Notre Dame round out the top five. The Fighting Irish play at Florida State on Saturday. Auburn fell four spots to No. 6.
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Oct. 11, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
| Record | Pts | Pv | |
| 1. Mississippi St. (45) | 6-0 | 1,480 | 3 |
| 2. Florida St. (12) | 6-0 | 1,415 | 1 |
| 3. Mississippi (3) | 6-0 | 1,413 | 3 |
| 4. Baylor | 6-0 | 1,317 | 5 |
| 5. Notre Dame | 6-0 | 1,228 | 6 |
| 6. Auburn | 5-1 | 1,144 | 2 |
| 7. Alabama | 5-1 | 1,068 | 7 |
| 8. Michigan St. | 5-1 | 1,015 | 8 |
| 9. Oregon | 5-1 | 1,014 | 12 |
| 10. Georgia | 5-1 | 981 | 13 |
| 11. Oklahoma | 5-1 | 935 | 11 |
| 12. TCU | 4-1 | 917 | 9 |
| 13. Ohio St. | 4-1 | 648 | 15 |
| 14. Kansas St. | 4-1 | 626 | 17 |
| 15. Oklahoma St. | 5-1 | 620 | 16 |
| 16. Arizona | 5-1 | 590 | 10 |
| 17. Arizona St. | 4-1 | 459 | 20 |
| 18. East Carolina | 5-1 | 449 | 19 |
| 19. Nebraska | 5-1 | 402 | 21 |
| 20. Utah | 4-1 | 305 | 24 |
| 21. Texas A&M | 5-2 | 264 | 14 |
| 22. Southern Cal | 4-2 | 258 | NR |
| 23. Stanford | 4-2 | 223 | 25 |
| 24. Clemson | 4-2 | 188 | NR |
| 25. Marshall | 6-0 | 148 | NR |
Others receiving votes: UCLA 110, LSU 67, Duke 45, Kentucky 36, Minnesota 36, West Virginia 27, Washington 22, Georgia Tech 11, Arkansas 10, Louisville 7, Rutgers 7, Iowa 6, Colorado St. 3, N. Dakota St. 3, South Carolina 1, Virginia 1, Wisconsin 1.