Why Mississippi State deserves to be ranked higher than No. 16

Mississippi State, without a doubt, has shocked many fans around the nation. Many knew coming into the season that Kamario Taylor was one of the better quarterbacks, but almost no one predicted the Bulldogs would be ranked. 

They beat Missouri, who was ranked No. 19 but is now No. 25, 31-24, which caused them to climb from No. 24 to No. 16. They are now 4-0 and 2-0 in the SEC. So far, only four SEC programs are 2-0 in conference play: Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi State. Though they got at least the respect of being ranked at 16, the Bulldogs deserve a higher spot in the rankings.

Something the AP Poll should be doing, that it currently hasn't been doing, is rewarding teams heavily for good Power Four wins early and punishing teams heavily for losses early on in the season. This way, it makes teams really have to work their way back and gives undefeated teams a chance to claim a higher spot worth defending. 

The reason that's so important is that currently four teams sit above Mississippi State that have a loss. Those teams are Ohio State, Ole Miss, LSU and Oregon. No. 9 Ole Miss fell five spots after an awful 52-28 loss at Florida and gave up more than 300 rushing yards. No. 15 Oregon lost to Oklahoma State and is only a spot ahead because they beat a USC team that doesn't deserve to be in the top 25. The reason this is a problem is that it's not like Mississippi State is undefeated off a cupcake schedule. They have no losses, beating Minnesota in Minneapolis, who just went on the road against Washington and won, South Carolina in Columbia and a ranked Missouri team at home.

A big reason for the Bulldogs' success so far can be attributed to sophomore quarterback Kamario Taylor, who has entered the Heisman conversations. Mississippi State has scored 172 points in four games and averages 43 points a game. No. 13 Utah has scored 173 points and No. 14 Iowa has scored 131. Taylor has thrown for 1,192 yards and 14 touchdowns, which is tied for the most passing touchdowns in the nation. 

What spot does Mississippi State deserve?

The Bulldogs would fit best at No. 12. The grounds for this is that they have, overall, a better resume than No. 15 Oregon, No. 14 Iowa, No. 13 Utah and No. 12 Texas Tech. The only team this is really even a debate for is Texas Tech, who did beat No. 20 Houston last week 28-26. They also beat Sam Houston 49-14, where they committed four turnovers. However, Houston is the only Power Four team they've played. So it would make sense to reward Mississippi State early for scheduling Power Four teams and beating them. 

The only argument that is plausible against why Mississippi State shouldn't be ranked higher is their defense. They allowed 34 points when they played South Carolina and 24 points against Missouri. And the Bulldogs were 388 points behind Texas Tech and 188 behind Utah, so clearly the voters see some kind of gap between the teams.

There's still time to see which teams end up standing the test of time. This weekend, the Bulldogs will be welcoming No. 7 Alabama to Davis Wade Stadium, and then will go on the road to LSU on Oct. 17. These games will potentially settle whether they deserve a higher ranking or not.