Ole Miss dropped, and Mississippi State earned its highest ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 since the end of the 2022 season.
The Rebels (3-1, 1-1 SEC) fell five spots to No. 9 after suffering a blowout defeat at now-No. 8 Florida. The Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0 SEC) jumped eight spots to No. 16 after a 31-24 home victory over Missouri.
On the Ole Miss front, Pete Golding’s defense was completely overmatched by the Gators’ ground attack in the 52-28 loss. Florida ran for more than 300 yards and had 6 touchdowns on the ground. On a positive note for the Rebels, star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss was as advertised. Aside from two turnovers, one of which was a result of bad protection from the offensive line, Chambliss showed out, with 342 total yards and 3 touchdowns.
As for Mississippi State, Jeff Lebby’s team has overcome adversity two weeks in a row. The Bulldogs battled back from a 16-point deficit at South Carolina and defeated the Gamecocks a week ago. On Saturday, with a record number of cowbells ringing simultaneously, the maroon and white were fueled to a comeback win over the Tigers. Mississippi State trailed 24-17 going into the 4th quarter, but outscored Missouri 14-0 the rest of the way. Star Bulldog quarterback Kamario Taylor threw for 360 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception in the contest.
The full top 25 can be found below:
- Texas
- Georgia
- Notre Dame
- Miami
- Ohio State
- Indiana
- Alabama
- Florida
- Ole Miss
- BYU
- LSU
- Texas Tech
- Utah
- Iowa
- Oregon
- Mississippi State
- Tennessee
- USC
- Oklahoma State
- Houston
- SMU
- Boise State
- UCLA
- Kentucky
- Missouri
Ole Miss will enjoy a bye week, and Mississippi State will return to action on Oct. 3 in a home matchup versus Alabama. The game kicks off at 11 a.m. CT and will air on ABC, along with participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.