One of Week 5’s main plot lines was curiosity about how many undefeated teams would make it through the weekend while keeping that moniker. College football’s often imbalanced schedule creates situations where teams can get through the first month of the season with zeros on the loss column, even if it doesn’t represent their true standing within the sport. Now that his third of the season is over, conference play starts and that number dwindles quickly.
Week 5 was a “proof” period for many teams in the eyes of AP Top 25 voters.
Oklahoma State and Ole Miss are two examples of teams that both remain undefeated despite facing ranked opponents and have a positive end to this ‘prove’ weekend. The Cowboys’ best win used to be in Arizona until Mike Gandy’s team beat Baylor in and out of Waco, Texas. Similarly, the Rebels had only one win against Power Five opponents before holding off Kentucky in a pair of defensive stands in the fourth quarter. Not only did they win, but they earned a win that cemented their position as the two better teams in the country.
Just as it saw some ranked teams cement their position, others fell short of a chance to “prove”. It gained support, but dropped in the polls after losing to Purdue State. The same was expected as Washington and Florida were also expected to win this weekend, but instead fell from the undefeated ranks. How voters react to these setbacks varies, but one thing is certain: all of these teams will be ranked lower than they were before the weekend.
The most interesting debate about the AP Top 25 is how voters reward previously unranked teams that go through the weekend undefeated. Kansas was the first team we saw from the outside last week – don’t blame us, they were 23rd on the CBS Sports 131 – so the Jayhawks, who are entering the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2009, are basically guaranteed to.
However, the rest of the group were underrepresented in last week’s poll. Huh? UCLA and TCU are not only ranked, but last week’s ranked 1-loss team as the Bruins knocked out Washington on Friday night and TCU completely suppressed Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon. Still, Syracuse (ranked in last week’s Coaches Poll), James Madison and others want more respect from voters in the AP Top 25.
Here’s what the new AP Top 25 College Football Rankings look like on Sunday.
1. Georgia (last week — 1): After avoiding an upset in Missouri, the Bulldogs drop some of their 55 first-place votes, but not enough to lose first place. This concern over the quality of his two-week performance is understandable as the debate continues over the top three teams in the country, with 87% of voters believing the Bulldogs were number one last week. , the slightest victory is not the best. Why the majority of these voters will change their minds on Sunday.
2. Alabama (2): All attention will be turned to Bryce Young’s condition after the reigning Heisman Trophy winner suffered a shoulder injury in a 49-26 win in Arkansas. But the win speaks to an Alabama team that just posted one of their best performances in real road conditions since the start of last season, especially considering they lost Young.
3. Ohio (3): neither Jaxon Smith-Njigba nor TreVeyon Henderson are fine with the Buckeyes. There were heated moments between Ryan Day and Greg Schiano, but ultimately Ohio State won his 49-10 victory over Rutgers.
4. Clemson (5): Two of the ACC’s toughest teams have taken on Clemson in the past two weeks. The Tigers passed each test, winning both a high-scoring shootout against Wake Forest and a low-scoring Grinders against NC State. The defensive effort and quality of the win will be enough to close the already narrow gap in voting points between Clemson and Michigan, giving them a slight boost to the new rankings.
5. Michigan (4): The Wolverines refused to fall victim to the familiar storyline of a top-five team falling to Iowa, using an early lead to avoid the unsettling unrest with a 27-14 win. Michigan set the tone, creating a difficult situation for the Iowa offense with a double-digit deficit, and Blake he put in his performance to rush another 100 yards from Corum to earn his win on the road of the season.
6.USC (6): The Trojans are now 5-0 after defeating Arizona State on Saturday night. His next two weeks will include a visit to Washington State on Oct. 8 and Utah on Oct. 15 to help voters judge his USC against the best teams in the country. will help you.
7. Oklahoma (9): The change in rankings is not as significant as the change in opinion about Oklahoma. The Cowboys were less than 40 points behind Tennessee last week (1119 to 1081). This was before Oklahoma State had his one win in the eponymous ranked game this season. Now that the Pokés profile is solidified with a road win at Baylor, we predict we’ll jump ahead of Volunteers.
8. Tennessee (8): The Vols are off in Week 5 and will be back in action next week at LSU.
9. Ole Miss (14): Lane Kiffin led the Rebels to a 5-0 start for the first time since 2014, and his game-winning defense against Kentucky was a highlight all season. It was my first top 10 win. Next is Vanderbilt.
10. Pennsylvania (11): Somewhere between an undefeated team that recorded a “prove it” win and a team that suffered its first loss, you’ll find Penn State turning the ball over enough to be knocked off. Luckily, they were facing a Northwestern team who couldn’t turn those opportunities into enough points. The Nittany Lions are shuffled at the top of the rankings, but not a team voters can expect to make a big leap after their 17-7 win over the Wildcats.
11. NC State (10): It will be difficult to bring NC State down significantly given Wolfpack’s only loss is the top five Clemson team being rounded into form when the top of the rankings is reorganized. Dave Doeren’s group The challenge for us will be to regroup after the loss ahead of the key stretches that include Florida State and Syracuse.
12. Kentucky (7): Kentucky’s relegation floor remains high, given the Wildcats’ 4-1 road victory in conference play. Additionally, his 22-19 loss to Ole on his mistakes suggests that there is little separation between the two teams. Unfortunately, he had two turnovers in his final three minutes of the game, and opportunities were lost as the Wildcats were unable to improve to his 5-0.
13. Utah (12): A close game in the third quarter won 21-0 in the closing stages, and Utah’s 42-16 victory over Oregon State would fit the test of voters’ eyes. The Utes are on a four-game winning streak since losing to Florida in the season opener, winning by 67, 28, 21 and 26 points.
14. Oregon (13): The Ducks jumped out to a 31-3 halftime lead against Stanford and never looked back against their ill-fated Pac-12 North rivals. Next up is a trip to energetic Arizona before Open Week.
15. Kansas (NR): The chorus was booming in the weeks leading up to Kansas’ ranking, with a 14-11 victory over Iowa State, the Jayhawks’ first win since 2009 after improving to 5-0 for the first time since 2009. Ranked. The question is whether they are this high.
16.UCLA (NR)WASHINGTON: Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson told media he and his teammates heard critics question the strength of UCLA’s unbeaten start and took it as motivation for the town’s top 15 teams. A 40-32 win against the Bruins didn’t show how the Bruins controlled the contest with a sizable lead for most of the night, but a quality win and 5-0 record set the record straight. Your ranking can go up significantly.
17.TCU (NR): It was understandable to leave the Horned Frog out of the top 25 votes when the best wins in the TCU profile were Colorado and SMU. Also consider the margin of There is no denying that Sonny Dykes’ team deserves to be in his AP Top 25 on Sunday.
18.BYU (19): We expect the undefeated AP Top 25 rookie to land ahead of the Cougars, as things got a little shaky with their 12-point win over Utah. Otherwise, there is no significant change in BYU voting standings.
19. Wake Forest (22): After a 31-21 win at Florida State and a double overtime loss to Clemson, Wake Forest’s promotion is justified. The Demon Deacons are clearly one of the best teams in the ACC and will rise in the rankings as long as they can remain a one-loss team.
20. Washington (15): The value of Washington’s win over Sparta’s Michigan State dwindled following an 0-2 start in the Spartans’ Big Ten play, but a loss by just eight on the road to another undefeated team put the Huskies at a loss. It doesn’t seem to be enough to fully bounce off. Top 25.
21. Kansas (25): Texas Tech’s late push brought some uncertainty, but Kansas State avoided a disappointing loss and went 4-1 with a 37-28 victory over the Red Raiders. Improved.
22. Syracuse (NR): Orange ranked 25th in last week’s coaches poll, but had much lower support from voters in the AP top 25. Beating Wagner wouldn’t change as much as keeping the loss column at zero, which should lead to a push to the top 25.
23. Mississippi (NR): The Bulldogs may have the same record (4-1) as the LSU team they won earlier this season, but their lopsided 42-24 victory over the previously ranked Texas A&M Keys. Nature predicts a move to the top 25. For Mississippi.
24. James Madison (NR): The Dukes are still on fire in the eyes of voters after last week’s Appalachian upset (two of whom already had JMU on their ballots). order.
25. Coastal Carolina (NR): Considering Coastal Carolina didn’t get the vote last week, it’s certainly a bold call, but if Week 5 really becomes a referendum on who’s still undefeated, 2020 and 2021. Chanticleers is familiar to many voters from the powerful show of . – Top 25 can also crash.
Expected dropouts: Baylor (16), Texas A&M (17), Oklahoma (18), Arkansas (20) Minnesota (21), Florida (23), Pittsburgh (24)
