NCAA 1-128 Re-rank: Still not a clear-cut No. 1 team

Corrections and Clarifications: An earlier version of this report misstated the team that beat Auburn. It should have said Mississippi State.

Oregon beat Michigan State. Michigan State beat Nebraska. Ergo, Oregon sits ahead of the Spartans, who sit ahead of the Cornhuskers. Easy, right?

But Arizona beat Oregon. If Arizona sits ahead of the Ducks, doesn't it stand to reason that the Wildcats would also rank ahead of Michigan State and Nebraska? That's a little confusing.

For maximum confusion, consider the SEC West. Mississippi State beat Auburn. Mississippi beat Alabama. But LSU beat Mississippi, and Auburn beat LSU — by 34 points back on Oct. 4.

Or, better yet, think about this: Kansas beat Central Michigan, which beat Ohio, which beat Akron, which beat Pittsburgh, which beat Boston College, which beat USC, which beat Arizona, which beat Oregon. How about Kansas for No. 3, after unbeaten Florida State and Mississippi State?

Sorting through the mess isn't easy, not when two months of college football has left the re-ranking with far more questions than answers. Here's a good question: Any thoughts on which team might be the best in the country?

1. Florida State (7-0, 4-0) | 2. Mississippi State (7-0, 4-0) | 3. Oregon (6-1, 4-1) | 4. Auburn (6-1, 3-1) | 5. Notre Dame (6-1, 0-0) | 6. Kansas State (6-1, 4-0) | 7. Mississippi (7-1, 4-1) | 8. Alabama (7-1, 4-1) | 9. Michigan State (7-1, 4-0) | 10. Georgia (6-1, 4-1)

11. TCU (6-1, 3-1) | 12. Arizona State (6-1, 4-1) | 13. Baylor (6-1, 3-1) | 14. Arizona (6-1, 3-1) | 15. Utah (6-1, 3-1) | 16. Nebraska (7-1, 3-1) | 17. LSU (7-2, 3-2) – UP 7 | 18. Ohio State (6-1, 3-0) | 19. West Virginia (6-2, 4-1) | 20. Oklahoma (5-2, 2-2)

21. Clemson (6-2, 5-1) | 22. Marshall (8-0, 4-0) | 23. Duke (6-1, 2-1) | 24. East Carolina (6-1, 3-0) | 25. Wisconsin (5-2, 2-1) – UP 13 | 26. Colorado State (7-1, 3-1) | 27. UCLA (6-2, 3-2) | 28. Boise State (6-2, 3-1) | 29. Stanford (5-3, 3-2) | 30. Louisville (6-2, 4-2)

31. USC (5-3, 4-2) – DOWN 14 | 32. Missouri (6-2, 3-1) | 33. Georgia Tech (6-2, 3-2) – UP 8 | 34. Oklahoma State (5-3, 3-2) | 35. Iowa (5-2, 2-1) | 36. Kentucky (5-3, 2-3) | 37. Utah State (5-3, 2-1) | 38. Washington (5-3, 1-3) | 39. Miami (Fla.) (5-3, 2-2) – UP 12 | 40. UCF (5-2, 3-0)

41. Texas A&M (5-3, 2-3) | 42. South Carolina (4-4, 2-4) | 43. Minnesota (6-2, 3-1) – DOWN 15 | 44. North Carolina (4-4, 2-2) – UP 18 | 45. Oregon State (4-3, 1-3) | 46. Maryland (5-3, 2-2) – DOWN 15 | 47. Arkansas (4-4, 0-4) | 48. Penn State (4-3, 1-3) | 49. California (4-4, 2-4) | 50. Boston College (5-3, 2-2)

51. Virginia (4-4, 2-2) | 52. San Diego State (4-3, 3-1) | 53. Pittsburgh (4-4, 2-2) | 54. Toledo (5-3, 4-1) | 55. Virginia Tech (4-4, 1-3) | 56. Louisiana-Lafayette (4-3, 3-0) – UP 19 | 57. Air Force (5-2, 2-2) | 58. Georgia Southern (6-2, 5-0) – UP 16 | 59. Florida (3-3, 2-3) | 60. Bowling Green (5-3, 3-1)

61. Northern Illinois (6-2, 3-1) – UP 7 | 62. Brigham Young (4-4, 0-0) – DOWN 13 | 63. Houston (4-3, 2-1) | 64. Louisiana Tech (5-3, 4-0) | 65. Memphis (4-3, 2-1) | 66. Rutgers (5-3, 1-3) – DOWN 18 | 67. Navy (4-4, 0-0) | 68. Cincinnati (4-3, 2-1) | 69. Arkansas State (4-3, 2-1) – DOWN 14 | 70. Middle Tennessee State (5-3, 4-1)

71. Northwestern (3-4, 2-2) | 72. Nevada (5-3, 2-2) | 73. Tennessee (3-5, 0-4) | 74. South Alabama (5-2, 4-1) – UP 10 | 75. Western Michigan (5-3, 3-1) – UP 10 | 76. Texas (3-5, 2-3) | 77. Illinois (4-4, 1-3) – UP 21 | 78. Rice (4-3, 2-1) | 79. Indiana (3-4, 0-3) | 80. Michigan (3-5, 1-3) – DOWN 11

81. Central Michigan (5-4, 3-2) | 82. Temple (4-3, 2-2) | 83. UAB (4-4, 2-2) | 84. San Jose State (3-4, 2-0) | 85. Syracuse (3-5, 1-3) | 86. UTEP (4-3, 2-1) | 87. Purdue (3-5, 1-3) | 88. Texas State (4-3, 2-1) | 89. Akron (4-4, 2-2) – DOWN 9 | 90. North Carolina State (4-4, 0-4)

91. Texas Tech (3-5, 1-4) – DOWN 15 | 92. Florida Atlantic (3-5, 1-3) | 93. Western Kentucky (3-4, 1-3) | 94. Washington State (2-6, 1-4) | 95. Iowa State (2-5, 0-4) | 96. Ball State (3-5, 2-2) – UP 10 | 97. Colorado (2-6, 0-5) | 98. Louisiana-Monroe (3-4, 2-2) | 99. Fresno State (3-5, 2-2) | 100. South Florida (3-5, 2-2)

101. Ohio (4-5, 2-3) – DOWN 10 | 102. Wyoming (3-5, 1-3) | 103. Old Dominion (3-5, 1-4) | 104. Southern Mississippi (3-5, 1-3) | 105. Kansas (2-5, 0-4) | 106. Tulane (2-5, 1-2) | 107. Hawaii (2-6, 1-2) | 108. Florida International (3-5, 2-2) | 109. UNLV (2-6, 1-3) | 110. Wake Forest (2-6, 0-4)

111. UTSA (2-6, 1-3) – DOWN 10 | 112. Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-5) | 113. Buffalo (3-5, 1-3) | 114. North Texas (2-6, 0-4) | 115. Army (2-5, 0-0) | 116. New Mexico (2-5, 0-3) | 117. Appalachian State (2-5, 1-2) | 118. Massachusetts (2-7, 2-3) | 119. Connecticut (1-6, 0-4) | 120. Miami (Ohio) (2-7, 2-3) | 121. Tulsa (1-6, 1-2) | 122. Eastern Michigan (2-6, 1-3) | 123. New Mexico State (2-6, 1-3) | 124. Idaho (1-6, 1-4) | 125. Georgia State (1-6, 0-4) | 126. Kent State (1-7, 0-4) | 127. Troy (1-7, 1-3) | 128. SMU (0-7, 0-3)

New to the top 25 :

No. 25 Wisconsin (No. 38). A loss to LSU looks a little better, while a dominant win against Maryland looks great.

Out of the top 25 :

No. 31 USC (No. 17). Great one week and disappointing the next, Steve Sarkisian's first team at USC is an enigma.

Three big leaps :

No. 44 North Carolina (No. 62). The Tar Heels have saved their season with an impressive three-week run.

No. 56 Louisiana-Lafayette (No. 75). After a slow start, the Ragin' Cajuns look ready to take home at least a share of the Sun Belt Conference title.

No. 77 Illinois (No. 98). Did Tim Beckman go a long way toward saving his job by leading the Illini past Minnesota?

Three big drops :

No. 91 Texas Tech (No. 76). There are no words.

No. 80 Michigan (No. 69). There are words, though most are unprintable.

No. 46 Maryland (No. 31). An inability to maintain a high level of play has been a bit of an issue under Randy Edsall.