MSU completed the fastest rise from unranked to the nations No. 1 - TopicsExpress

MSU completed the fastest rise from unranked to the nations No. 1 team in poll history. STARKVILLE, Miss. – Five weeks ago, Mississippi State football was on the outside of the national polls preparing for a road game at LSU. On Sunday, the program completed the fastest rise from unranked to the nation’s No. 1 team in the history of the polls. For the first time in the 119-year history of MSU football, the Bulldogs are America’s new No. 1 team in both the Associated Press poll and the USA Today Coaches Top 25. MSU (6-0) received 45 of the available 60 first-place votes in the Associated Press poll. The Bulldogs garnered 26 first-place votes and 1,490 points in the Coaches poll, besting defending national champion Florida State by one point. MSU entered Saturday’s game against then-No. 2 Auburn in a tie for third in the AP poll and sixth in the Coaches rankings. Led by Heisman Trophy candidate Dak Prescott and a pressure defense, the Bulldogs snapped defending Southeastern Conference champion Auburn’s league win streak in a 38-23 fashion before a record crowd in Davis Wade Stadium. MSU became the first team to claim three consecutive wins over top-10 teams since Auburn did it in 1983. The Bulldogs are the first team in the Associated Press polls 78-year history to go from unranked to No. 1 in five weeks. The previous mark was six weeks by Ohio State in 1954. MSU will enjoy its second open date on Oct. 18 before resuming its schedule at Kentucky on Oct. 25. The Bulldogs became the first team in the SEC to become bowl eligible Saturday, the school-record fifth consecutive year it has done so.