Michael Bonner

The Clarion-Ledger

STARKVILLE –

It took Mississippi State eight weeks to jump from unranked to No. 1 in the Associated Press poll. No team has ever done that since it expanded to 25 teams in 1989.

What thought has that left Dan Mullen with?

"My biggest reflection is to make sure it's not the fastest fall either," the MSU coach said. "That's our focus right now."

The last team to go from unranked to No. 1 was Notre Dame in 2012. The Fight Irish needed 13 weeks to move to the top of the poll.

Prior to the poll expanding to 25 teams, Texas, which began its season unranked, stood atop the poll in 1977 after Week 8.

"To me, it's bigger for the people in Mississippi," Mullen said. "There's a lot of rankings and polls and all that stuff done on everything that you can possibly can find out there. But for the people of Mississippi to say, 'Hey, we're No. 1 in something,' that's really, really important to us."

Mississippi State's focus remains on winning the Southeastern Conference's Western division. A win in Atlanta would likely catapult the Bulldogs into the College Football Playoff.

Georgia Tech was the last team to begin the season unranked and claim a national title in 1990. The Yellow Jackets were No. 1 in the UPI Poll.

In 1984, BYU was the last unanimous national champion that began the season unranked.

"We've accomplished so much," Mullen said. "But really so little and that there's an awful lot of work to be done."

That's the message the sixth-year coach is preaching to his team.

"They can feel like No. 1 out there but when they come here we make them feel like No. 2," Mullen said. "The metaphor on that one."

The players are buying in. Dak Prescott, the nation's current front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, doesn't pay attention to Twitter or Facebook when his name is mentioned. Football never wanders from his mind, but it's never regarding off-the-field topics.

"I don't think about it, to be honest," Prescott said. "If I see it, I see it and read like it's not my name in there or something and continue to stay focused. People are going to talk, good or bad. So we're just trying to give them something good to talk about."

The Bulldogs are also aware that they can drop as quickly as they climbed. Mississippi State climbed two spots during its first bye week this season.

No. 2 Florida State plays No. 5 Notre Dame. A convincing win by either team may allow for a leap to No. 1. Mississippi State edged the Seminoles by one point in the coaches poll.

"I could be sitting at home on my couch, playing with my kids, and we drop in the polls," Mullen said.

Mullen coached a No. 1 team in Florida as an offensive coordinator. The Gators were never atop the rankings during the regular season though. They reached No. 1 in the final poll of the 2006 regular season. They jumped to No. 1 in the final poll of 2008.

Still, Mullen learned how to deal with the constant attention.

"You lived in a glass house in Florida too. I think when you get here, we talked to our guys about it," Mullen said. "It's just always around. I tell them to embrace it."

Contact Michael Bonner at (601) 961-7289 or mbonner@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @MikeBBonner on Twitter.

No. 1 Mississippi State at Kentucky

2:30 p.m., Oct. 25, CBS

Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, Ky.