College football fans love them some history, and Mississippi State just made some. The Bulldogs have replaced Florida State as the No. 1 team in the country, according to the Associated Press' college football poll. Their ascent to the top spot is the fastest rise in the poll's history.
Mississippi State's newly minted ranking comes after a 38-23 win over Auburn, its third straight victory against a top-10 team. In just five short weeks, the Bulldogs have gone from unranked to best team in the country, the first team to do so that quickly in 78 years of polling. Not too shabby.
Dan Mullen, former Florida offensive coordinator, took over the Bulldogs in 2009. Mississippi State was 23-48 in the six seasons before he arrived. Since then, the school has gone 42-28 in one of the most impressive turnarounds in recent memory.
"I couldn't be happier for the university, the students, the fans and the alumni," Mullen said. "For so many years you try to accomplish something and to be able to say we're the best at something is special. But for us as a team -- they don't give out the trophy midseason. We really haven't accomplished all that much."
FSU falls to No. 2 with Ole Miss, Baylor and Notre Dame rounding out the top five. Auburn fell four spots to No. 6. UCLA (No. 18) and Georgia Tech (No. 22) were dropped from the rankings. Georgia climbs back into the top-10 for the first time in four weeks.
Texas A&M falls seven spots to No. 21 after consecutive losses to Mississippi State and Ole Miss. A chance at redemption may have to wait, as the Aggies face off against No. 7 ranked Alabama this weekend.
Marshall makes its way onto the list coming in at No. 25 thanks to a 6-0 record this season.
