21. Colorado – The Buffs passed their toughest test yet with a 28-21 win over Arizona State behind four touchdowns (2 receiving, 2 rushing) from Laviska Shenault Jr. who had 13 catches for 132 yards. Steven Montez threw for 328 yards and Travon McMillian was a workhorse with 30 carries for 136 yards.
22. Florida – Don’t look now, but Dan Mullen has the Gators playing much better football after their stunning loss to Kentucky. The defense is playing well and Feleipe Franks is playing the best football of his career, and there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
23. NC State – There were zero style points awarded after an ugly 28-23 win over Boston College that saw the Wolfpack commit four turnovers and nearly blow a 25-point lead. Nevertheless, this is the first 5-0 start for the team since 2002 and they have a week off to prep for their Oct. 20 showdown with Clemson. It’s not too early to put Clemson on upset alert.
24. Virginia Tech – The Hokies will drop out of the Top 25 for the second time this year. The Hokies hung tough with backup quarterback Ryan Willis who threw for more than 300 yards and a pair of scores, but Virginia Tech allowed too many game-changing plays, especially in the second half when they were outscored 28-7 that took the juice out of the home crowd.
25. Oklahoma State – The Pokes defense let Iowa State’s third-string quarterback, Brock Purdy, throw for 314 yards and four touchdowns on only five incompletions en route to a 48-42 upset. Mike Gundy’s got some work to do because that’s inexcusable.