This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025. Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.
Week three was tough for the bottom of the JFP Top 25. Four schools dropped out allowing four new schools to jump in the poll. Dropping out was Mississippi State, Ohio State, Auburn and Arizona State. Finding their way into the Top 25 are Baylor, West Virginia, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt.
Mississippi State, the lone state school in the poll, falls out after being ranked as high as 14th in week two. Vanderbilt jumps in after beating Mississippi 30-7. Florida State falls out of the Top 10 going from ninth to 14th and Wisconsin joins the top 10.
Biggest fall in this weekโs poll was Tennessee going from 19th to 25th and biggest jump is Baylor jumping it at 20th after not being ranked.
The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippiโs systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.