Ole Miss, Mississippi State share No. 3 in latest AP poll

Mississippi’s Southeastern Conference teams have never been this good and this close.

Mississippi and Mississippi State are tied for third in the Associated Press college football poll after a wild day of unexpected results brought major changes to the top 25.

Just about the only thing that didn’t change this week was No. 1: Florida State is still top-ranked, with 35 first-place votes.

Auburn, the only other team in the top six to win, moved up three spots to No. 2 and received 23 first-place votes. Then came Ole Miss and Mississippi State, in the top five together for the first time after the Rebels beat Alabama and the Bulldogs beat Texas A&M on Saturday.

The Bulldogs received two first-place votes.

The Rebels haven’t been ranked this high since 1963, when they also were No. 3 and won their last SEC title. The Bulldogs have their best ranking ever. Their previous best was No. 7 in 1981 and their only SEC championship came in 1941.

Between them, the Rebels and Bulldogs have won the SEC West just twice since the league split into two divisions in 1992.

“You’ve never arrived, but I think we’ve changed the culture,” Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen said Sunday. “And that was the goal coming in here, was we wanted to change the culture.”

Baylor rounds out the top five and Notre Dame is No. 6.

The USA Today coaches’ poll had Florida State, Auburn, Baylor, Ole Miss and Notre Dame in the top five. Mississippi State was sixth.

For the second time in the 78-year history of the AP poll, four of the top six teams lost and for the first time five of the top eight teams went down in a single regular-season week.

The top eight teams to lose and poll reaction:

— Oregon dropped 10 spots after losing, 31-24, at home to Arizona on Thursday night. The Wildcats went from unranked to No. 10, the biggest jump into the poll since the rankings went to 25 teams in 1989. The previous best was No. 13 Iowa on Sept. 27, 2009.

— Alabama dropped four spots to No. 7.

— Oklahoma dropped seven spots to No. 11 after losing to Texas Christian. The Horned Frogs moved up 16 spots to No. 9. They play at Baylor next week.

— Texas A&M dropped eight spots to No. 14.

— UCLA dropped 10 spots to No. 18 after losing, 30-28, at home to Utah. The Utes moved into the rankings at No. 24.

Arizona State moved back into the top 25 at No. 20 after beating USC, 38-34, on a Hail Mary. Unbeaten Georgia Tech moved into the rankings for the first time this season at No. 23.

USC, Louisiana State, Brigham Young and Wisconsin all dropped out of the rankings after losses.

SEC fines Ole Miss and Kentucky

The Southeastern Conference has fined Mississippi and Kentucky after their fans stormed the field to celebrate victories.

The SEC fined Ole Miss $50,000 on Sunday because the school also was cited for similar violations in 2012 and 2013. Rebels fans rushed the field after a 23-17 victory over Alabama on Saturday.

Kentucky drew a $25,000 penalty for the celebration of a 45-38 upset of South Carolina. Kentucky also was penalized in 2006 and 2007, but drew a smaller fine because its last offense was more than three years ago.

SEC policy restricts access to areas of competition to coaches, athletes, officials support personnel and others with proper credentials.

Commissioner Mike Slive has discretion to impose fines for violations in all SEC sports. Penalties start at $5,000 for a first offense.

Etc.

Illinois Coach Tim Beckman says quarterback Wes Lunt has a broken left leg and is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks. Beckman said in a news release late Sunday that the redshirt sophomore quarterback broke his fibula Saturday in the Illini’s 38-27 loss to Purdue. … Eastern Washington quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. will be sidelined three to six weeks after breaking two bones in his right foot. Coach Beau Baldwin said Sunday that Adams broke metatarsal bones in the Eagles’ 56-53 victory over Idaho State on Saturday.