College Football Top 25: Week 5

Again, I want to apologize for being so inactive. It’s hard to manage time when you have a million other things to do (mostly school and other plans). I was in Winston-Salem visiting my sister, and after I watched Wake Forest beat Louisville, I saw all the other scores from this past Saturday. I watched the ending of Cincinnati-Notre Dame, and watched nearly the entire Vanderbilt-UConn game. Nine AP Top 25 teams lost on Saturday, showing that no one (except Alabama and Georgia) is safe. Here are my rankings coming into a loaded Week 6 schedule:

  1. Alabama (5-0) (PREV: 1)

Alabama’s Brian Robinson led the way for the Crimson Tide (171 rushing yards, four touchdowns)  as they beat Ole Miss. Their defense shined, making sure the offense was on the field more. Alabama travels to take on Texas A&M in a night game on Saturday.

  1. Georgia (5-0) (PREV: 2)

Georgia has the best defense in football, holding #8 Arkansas to zero points. Zamir White rushed for two touchdowns and recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown. Georgia didn’t need their passing game to beat the Razorbacks, and that shows how incredible everything else looks. They travel to Auburn in a ranked battle of Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.

  1. Iowa (5-0) (PREV: 6)

Iowa goes ahead of Penn State because of their shutout win against a good Maryland team. They forced Taulia Tagovailoa to throw five interceptions, while Spencer Petras threw for 259 yards and three touchdowns. Tyler Goodson was the rushing and receiving leader, including 85 receiving yards and a touchdown. They host Penn State on Saturday in the biggest game of the week.

  1. Penn State (5-0) (PREV: 5)

With a strong defensive performance against Indiana (and many upsets occurring), Penn State finds itself in my College Football Playoff through the first five weeks. With Jahan Dotson catching two of Sean Clifford’s three passing touchdowns, Penn State handled Indiana. They have their biggest game of the season coming up as they go on the road to face Iowa.

  1. Cincinnati (5-0) (PREV: 7)

In the biggest game of Week 5, Desmond Ridder and Cincinnati held off Notre Dame in South Bend. The Bearcats have an easy schedule the rest of the way, only facing two intimidating opponents (UCF and SMU). If the top four teams mess up and Cincinnati keeps winning, we could see a Group of Five team in the College Football Playoff at the end of the year. They host Temple on Friday.

  1. Oklahoma (5-0) (PREV: 4)

Oklahoma edged Kansas State in a battle that had K-State’s Skylar Thompson passing for 320 yards and three touchdowns. Spencer Rattler had his best game of the season, only throwing three incompletions, one resulting in an interception; Running back Kennedy Brooks ran for 91 yards and a touchdown. Those two players were the reason that Oklahoma came out on top. They face Texas in the Red River Shootout in Dallas.

  1. Ohio State (4-1) (PREV: 11)

C.J. Stroud had a monster game: 330 passing yards and five touchdowns. That was already enough to blow out Rutgers in Piscataway. Chris Olave reeled in two of those touchdowns, along with having 119 receiving yards. TreVeyon Henderson showed he deserves to be RB1, rushing for 71 yards and a touchdown. Ohio State isn’t amazing, but are they good enough to take down Iowa or Penn State? They take on Maryland at home on Saturday.

  1. Michigan (5-0) (PREV: 15)

The biggest highlight of the Michigan-Wisconsin game was the Michigan sideline jumping to “Jump Around,” as most fans left the stadium due to a blowout. The Wolverines have a primetime matchup with Nebraska in Lincoln.

  1. Oregon (4-1) (PREV: 3)

Either Stanford is sneaky good, or Oregon had themselves a bad week. The Cardinal upset Oregon in overtime, dropping them down from third in my rankings. They don’t play this week, and I hope Mario Cristobal will use the time to get rid of the mistakes made on Saturday before they face Cal.

  1. BYU (5-0) (PREV: 14)

BYU defeated Utah State on Friday night, led by a huge running game by Tyler Allgeier (218 rushing yards, three touchdowns). The Cougars face Boise State in a game that should be dedicated to the late Gordon Hudson, who died on Thursday.

  1. Michigan State (5-0) (PREV: 17)

Michigan State moves up six spots and starts 5-0, their best start since 2015. The Spartans were in the College Football Playoff that season. Kenneth Walker III continued his campaign as the best running back in college football, rushing for 126 yards and three touchdowns. Michigan State travels to Piscataway to take on Rutgers on Saturday.

  1. Oklahoma State (5-0) (PREV: 19)

Thanks to a massive game from Jalen Warren (125 rushing yards and two touchdowns), the Cowboys took care of business as they hosted formerly-ranked Baylor. Oklahoma State gets the week off, but they still have to prepare for Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns on October 16.

  1. Notre Dame (4-1) (PREV: 9)

Notre Dame got embarrassed as they hosted Cincinnati, who beat them 24-13. My friend Rob is a huge Notre Dame fan, and he says the Fighting Irish’s offensive line is atrocious. Jack Coan was benched for the second half, and they almost made a comeback without him before Desmond Ridder sealed the game for good with a rushing touchdown. The schedule doesn’t get easier, as Notre Dame travels to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech, one of the toughest places to play in college football.

  1. Arkansas (4-1) (PREV: 8)

Arkansas had been playing so well leading up to the game against Georgia. They upset Texas and Texas A&M, but this game was a big wake-up call. The Razorbacks were rolling, but this brought them back down to Earth. They have another tough matchup as they travel to Oxford to take on Matt Corral and Ole Miss.

  1. Ole Miss (3-1) (PREV: 12)

Ole Miss still is a very good team. Unfortunately, they were crushed by the Alabama defense in Tuscaloosa. Matt Corral is still in the picture for the Heisman Trophy, so I’m very interested in the game against Arkansas, who also went up against a top-two team.

  1. Coastal Carolina (5-0) (PREV: 16)

Coastal Carolina destroyed UL Monroe, 59-6. Tonight, they face Arkansas State, but they should still blow them out. Grayson McCall to Isaiah Likely is a good duo in the Sun Belt Conference.

  1. Kentucky (5-0) (PREV: N/A)

The University of Kentucky isn’t happy after they were fined by the SEC, but that is the only thing they shouldn’t be happy about. The Wildcats hosted Florida and upset them 20-13, and the fans went crazy as they stormed the field. Two touchdowns in the second half were enough for Kentucky, and now they can look ahead to hosting LSU on Saturday.

  1. Florida (3-2) (PREV: 10)

Florida got upset by Kentucky in Lexington, and they fall eight spots down in my rankings. Florida is one of the most inconsistent teams in college football this season. They have had their high moments, and they have had their low moments. Some consistency would be great for the Gators as the rest of the season is ahead. They have a guaranteed win at home to bounce back as they face Vanderbilt.

  1. Auburn (4-1) (PREV: 23)

Auburn has won two straight after losing to Penn State a few weeks ago. In more than two decades, Auburn defeated LSU in Death Valley (Clemson is the real Death Valley by the way) with help from Bo Nix, who kept dodging LSU’s pressure. Auburn hosts #2 Georgia in their biggest test of the season so far (Alabama is their biggest test).

  1. Wake Forest (5-0) (PREV: 24)

I was at the Wake Forest-Louisville game, and I can say that Wake is for real. They are currently ranked as the best team in the ACC, even over Clemson. Sam Hartman is going to contend as the best ACC quarterback (along with Sam Howell). They travel to Syracuse this week, looking for revenge from the crazy ending to the last time the Demon Deacons played at Syracuse.

  1. NC State (4-1) (PREV: 25)

Ricky Person Jr. had the highlight of the game, as he trucked a Louisiana Tech defender to score a touchdown. Person led the Wolfpack to a 34-27 victory over the Bulldogs, and now they can rest for a little as their bye week allows them to prepare to take on Boston College in Chestnut Hill.

  1. Arizona State (4-1) (PREV: N/A)

Arizona State is back in the rankings after they upset UCLA 42-23 in Pasadena. Jayden Daniels passed for 286 yards and two touchdowns and was the MVP of the game. The Sun Devils host a tough Stanford team on Friday night.

  1. Texas (4-1) (PREV: N/A)

Bijan Robinson had a monster game (216 rushing yards and two touchdowns) as Texas defeated TCU in Fort Worth, 32-27. Jordan Whittington caught three passes for 79 yards and a touchdown, and now their biggest matchup is upon us. The Red River Rivalry with Oklahoma is this weekend, and it will be a test to see who is trending upwards in the Big 12.

  1. SMU (5-0) (PREV: N/A)

Tanner Mordecai had 301 passing yards and four touchdowns as SMU destroyed USF in Dallas. The Mustangs are undefeated, which includes a huge win over rival TCU. They have an easy matchup coming up as they travel to Annapolis to take on Navy.

  1. Clemson (3-2) (PREV: 18)

Should Clemson be unranked? Probably, but I have to see more out of the other teams to rank them over Clemson. The Tigers’ defense isn’t the problem, but it is the atrocious offense that we see every week. Clemson nearly lost to Boston College at home. At home! I hope Dabo Swinney takes the bye week to figure out what the heck is going on with his team and how it can be fixed.

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