College football rankings: Projected AP Top 25 after Alabama rolls Mississippi State, Ohio State dominates Iowa

Projected AP Top 25 College Football Rankings after Week 5

1. No. 25-21
2. No. 20-16
3. No. 15-11
4. No. 10-9
5. No. 8-7
6. No. 6-5
7. No. 4-3
8. No. 2-1

What do we even do with our projections for the AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 5? The Alabama Crimson Tide look like a Top 5 team in the country dismantling Mississippi State, but can you really bump out the Miami Hurricanes or Ohio State Buckeyes after dominant wins of their own over Clemson and Iowa, respectively? And what do we do with the Florida Gators after a decisive loss to Missouri? The action in Week 5 is crazy, and it's going to make the AP Top 25 incredibly wonky.

At this point, it's going to be impossible for voters to respect every head-to-head win, just as it's going to be hard to drop some of the teams at the top of the rankings. But we have to do our best to predict their behavior, so let's dive right into our projected AP Top 25 college football rankings to see where we think things end up.

Dropped Out of Rankings: 21 SMU Mustangs

No. 25-21

25. Pittsburgh Panthers

• Last Rank: Unranked
• Result: def. Virginia Tech, 35-33
• Record: 5-0

Pat Narduzzi asked for it and I think the AP voters are going to oblige him. While the controversial missed field goal sealed the win for Pitt on the road in Blacksburg, the fact of the matter is that the Panthers were the better team in that game and got lucky to not give it away to the Hokies. Even still, a 5-0 start is nothing to scoff at and, with SMU continuing to look like anything but a Top 25 team, the Panthers should take their spot in the poll. Let’s just hope Mason Heintschel is okay so they can continue this run.

24. Kentucky Wildcats

• Last Rank: 24
• Result: def South Carolina, 35-34 (OT)
• Record: 4-1

Considering that Shane Beamer might not have a job by Monday, I’m not sure that beating South Carolina means all that much, especially in a one-point overtime win. At the same time, Kenny Minchey and Will Stein proved a lot about this Wildcats team in the win, going on the road to a tough environment, falling behind 17-0, and clawing back to get the win — not to mention having the stones to go for two and the win in overtime. Kentucky might be very good but not great, but they’re on the rise as a program under the new coaching regime.

23. Iowa Hawkeyes

• Last Rank: 14
• Result: lost to 5 Ohio State, 31-14
• Record: 4-1

Iowa was never a Top 15 team. That was proven twice on Saturday, not only with how much of a discrepancy there clearly was between the Hawkeyes and Ohio State, but also with the win over Michigan that vaulted them to this spot looking worse with the Wolverines’ loss to Minnesota. The Hawkeyes are still going to be ranked, but against potent offenses, this isn’t an iteration of Iowa that really has the defensive firepower to be able to hang.

22. Boise State Broncos

• Last Rank: 22
• Result: def. Utah State, 37-18
• Record: 4-1

While Boise State didn't pull its starters late, they were still able to comfortably dispatch a one-win Utah State team on the blue turf on Saturday evening. What stands out about the Broncos, especially against Group of Six competition, is how methodical they are with everything. The defense picked the Aggies apart for the most part, the offense had its way however they wanted, and they won by double-digits yet again. I don't see anyone in the G6 stopping them.

21. UCLA Bruins

• Last Rank: 23
• Result: Off
• Record: 4-0

The UCLA Bruins have been one of the most pleasant surprises this season, and it should be noted that I fully agree with them being ranked in the AP Top 25, despite not having them in the projections last week. Shoutout to the guy on Twitter hopping on an unrelated post to mention that. But Bob Chesney has one of the most electric rushing attacks in the league and that’s even without Nico Iamaleava not having to do all that much so far this season. But they may have to pull that out of their back pocket next week when they go on the road to face Oregon.

No. 20-16

20. USC Trojans

• Last Rank: 18
• Result: def. Washington, 25-21
• Record: 4-1

Following up the loss to Oregon with a performance like that was not what you wanted to see from USC in this game. Yes, the Trojans got the win after holding Demond Williams Jr. and Washington out of the end zone late, but just barely. The offense was far too up and down in this game to feel confident in and the defense still seems to lack a requisite level of toughness. Even with a win, I think the voters are going to continue dropping USC.

19. Missouri Tigers

• Last Rank: 25
• Result: def. 8 Florida, 45-17
• Record: 4-1

I think Mizzou might’ve heard all of the gripes that people were making about the Tigers still being ranked in the AP Top 25 after the loss to Mississippi State last week. Austin Simmons was terrific in the win over Florida, but maybe not even as good as the Missouri defense in how they slowed down the Florida rushing attack. I’m not sure this team has realistic CFP hopes to lean on, but they very clearly look the part of one of the 25 best teams in the country. 

18. Mississippi State Bulldogs

• Last Rank: 16
• Result: lost to 7 Alabama, 56-23
• Record: 4-1

One of several spots in the AP Top 25 projections and rankings where things are going to get weird, Mississippi State got thoroughly beaten at home by Alabama, but they have a head-to-head win over Missouri, who is moving up after the win over Florida. That makes things confusing to a large degree. It does appear that we may have gotten too high too quick on the Bulldogs, but they still have the makings of a Top 25 team at full strength.

17. Houston Cougars

• Last Rank: 20
• Result: def. UCF, 27-17
• Record: 4-1

Things looked pretty dang dicey for the Cougars on Saturday afternoon with the space-themed matchup against UCF. The Knights were up 10-0 at halftime and the Houston offense was completely stuck in neutral. Thankfully, they outscored their opponents 27-7 in the second half to pull away for the victory. This win doesn’t do much to make you think that Houson is a world-beater, to be sure, but it’s enough to at least raise further questions about Willie Fritz’s group.

16. Oklahoma State

• Last Rank: 19
• Result: Off
• Record: 3-1

If ever there was a college football team that was sending off mixed signals, it would be the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The loss to Tulsa is still baffling to open the season, especially when paired with upsetting Oregon the following week. And now, the road win over West Virginia looks lesser after the Mountaineers’ loss to Iowa State. Drew Mestemaker and the Pokes are finding their footing in the Big 12, though, and very much seem like a threat in that league.

No. 15-11

15. Tennessee Volunteers

• Last Rank: 17
• Result: def. Auburn, 24-14
• Record: 4-1

Faizon Brandon was carrying both a minor shoulder injury and seemingly some baggage from last week’s loss to Texas into this matchup with Auburn. That ultimately led to Josh Heupel setting him on the bench and bringing in George MacIntyre. The latter wasn’t overly impressive, but DeSean Bishop with three rushing touchdowns and a stellar defensive showing, gave the Vols the win here. It’ll be fascinating to watch how Heupel handles his quarterbacks moving forward now, though.

14. Florida Gators

• Last Rank: 8
• Result: lost to 25 Missouri, 45-17
• Record: 4-1

That’s life in the SEC, I suppose. One week, you’re Florida and on top of the world after boat-racing Ole Miss, the next week you’re on the road in Columbia, MO and are on the other end of that equation. I still think the Gators are a legitimate College Football Playoff threat and have one of the most potent offenses in the country. But this was a good lesson to not get too ahead of ourselves as this is still a freshly built program that will have its ups and downs.

13. Oregon Ducks

• Last Rank: 15
• Result: Off
• Record: 3-1

One bye week probably isn’t enough to get Dante Moore healthy given how nasty his head injury was against USC following the dirty hit. However, Dylan Raiola looked quite good when he came in as the backup, which is why the Ducks went out and landed him in the transfer portal. This team looks overall to be coming into its own after an inauspicious start, though, which is a good sign that their CFP aspirations aren’t dead in the water just yet, despite the loss to Oklahoma State.

12. Utah Utes

• Last Rank: 13
• Result: Off
• Record: 4-0

Even if we didn’t necessarily realize it coming into the season, the Utah Utes were blessed by the schedule gods with a soft start to the season. They’ve dominated lesser opponents in Idaho, Arkansas and Utah State, while also still scoring a comfy road victory over a better-than-we-thought Iowa State team before the bye this week. With a home tilt versus Kansas and a road trip to Colorado before they face their first ranked opponent in Houston, it may be a while before we actually know how good Devon Dampier and Co. are.

11. Texas Tech Red Raiders

• Last Rank: 12
• Result: def. Colorado, 29-7
• Record: 5-0

Texas Tech continues to be unimpressive and still come away with wins. Colorado actually led in this game until there were three minutes left in the third quarter, which is not exactly what you want to see from a near-Top 10 team in the country. Things then snowballed for the Buffs and quarterback Isaac Wilson, who threw three picks in this game, but the Red Raiders offense was once again a legitimate problem. The hope that things will get better on that side of the ball is starting to wane.

No. 10-9

10. LSU Tigers

• Last Rank: 11
• Result: def. McNeese, 63-14
• Record: 4-1

Lane Kiffin and LSU might still be blowing off some steam two weeks removed from the disheartening loss in Oxford, and poor McNeese was just on the wrong sideline on this Saturday. Sam Leavitt, despite being hobbled in last week's win over A&M, still got the start for the Tigers and quickly put three scores on the board with his arm — albeit while throwing another pick this season — and then making way for the backups. But LSU didn't stop pouring it on once the starter was out.

Perhaps the best way to tell you how this game went was to mention that LSU had 731 yards of total offense, even with a turnover, and limited McNeese to just 196 of their own. Granted, it was a complete mismatch on paper and on the field, but you always want to see a team that might not have a reason to get up for a game still come out at full force, and the Tigers unequivocally did just that.

9. BYU Cougars

• Last Rank: 10
• Result: def. TCU, 17-10
• Record: 4-0

BYU fans are not going to pleased with me when I tell them that they were lucky to end up with the win in Fort Worth on Saturday night. The TCU defense really put the clamps on the Cougars offense (though the misting rain all night didn’t help matters at all) as they limited Bear Bachmeier to just 62 yards passing and while the rushing attack yiedled only 4.1 yards per carry on the night. In fact, the Horned Frogs outgained the Cougars, 259-216, in total yards in this game. 

A win is a win, though, especially on the road in conference play. With that being said, this game heightened my concerns about their lack of a passing attack and in regard to their pass defense as well. Even still, the Cougars are taking care of business and still have a zero in the loss column. And with the Texas Tech win being a bit misleading in terms of the final margin, you have to wonder if BYU is now the Big 12 favorites, despite my concerns.

No. 8-7

8. Ole Miss Rebels

• Last Rank: 9
• Result: Off
• Record: 3-1

A week off might be the best thing that Ole Miss could’ve asked for in Week 5. Trinidad Chambliss and the Rebels have been quite impressive, but quite clearly fell victim to a letdown game on the road against Florida after they toppled LSU in a highly emotional bout. That was also a game, though, wherein they didn’t have star running back Kewan Lacy healthy. The hope is that a week of rest will allow the Rebs to get healthier and back on track. 

The good news is that they’ll even have a soft landing immediately out of the bye week. Yes, they have to go on the road, but it’s only to Nashville to play Vanderbilt, who looks like a shell of the team that we saw with Diego Pavia last year. But Ole Miss won’t get much rest as their next two games will have them hosting a dangerous Missouri team and then going on the road to face Texas.

7. Indiana Hoosiers

• Last Rank: 6
• Result: def. Rutgers, 47-15
• Record: 5-0

Though Northwestern laying a hurting on Penn State this week might help make you feel a bit better about the Friday night weirdness that was Indiana's win over the Wildcats last week, we still wanted to see the Hoosiers come out and show a level of dominance against an inferior opponent, even if they did have to go on the road to Piscataway to take on that Rutgers team. Safe to say, the Hoosiers passed the test for Curt Cignetti.

This one was over pretty quickly as Indiana took a 23-0 lead into halftime and the defense only gave up 15 points in the second half once the game was out of reach. Turbo Richard had his best game with the Hoosiers to date, but it might've been more promising for the Hoosiers offense to see Josh Hoover and Nick Marsh get on the same page for a big day at the office. When you combine that with the dominant defense shutting down a bad offense, this was what you wanted to see from the reigning champs.

No. 6-5

6. Alabama Crimson Tide

• Last Rank: 7
• Result: def. 16 Mississippi State, 56-23
• Record: 5-0

Alabama needs to move up in the rankings. It’s as simple as that. There were moments in the first handful of weeks this season where Keelon Russell and the offense looked like they were still figuring themselves out and where the defense wasn’t fully coalescing. That’s no longer the case at this point. They went on the road to Starkville and completely dominated a Mississippi State team that I still believe is quite good, even with Kamario Taylor slightly banged up. 

Russell is the true equalizer. I was a big proponent of his talent, but man, he’s become one of the best quarterbacks in the country across his first five career games. That’s absurd. And with a defense that coordinator Kane Wommack has called the most talented unit he’s had at his disposal, this team is dangerous. But there’s no rest for the wicked as they welcome Georgia to Tuscaloosa next week.

5. Ohio State Buckeyes

• Last Rank: 5
• Result: def. 14 Iowa, 31-14
• Record: 4-1

Frankly, Ohio State’s trip to Kinnick Stadium went just about as according to plan as I could’ve imagine. The Buckeyes offense — specifically the Julian Sayin to Jeremiah Smith connection — was something that Iowa simply didn’t have an answer for. Just as much so, the Hawkeyes really couldn’t find any semblance of consistency when it came to their offense, which ultimately allowed Ohio State to just methodically pull away for the double-digit victory on the road. 

The loss from Texas aside, there are quite a few signs that Ohio State is still one of the best teams in the country. However, I would posit that the Iowa defense isn’t what it once was, and what Sayin and Co. will look like against the elite units they face. Having said that, this looks like a Buckeyes team that you’ll go broke betting against (in a larger-scale sense, not necessarily actual bets), and you won’t find me doing that anytime soon.

No. 4-3

4. Miami Hurricanes

• Last Rank: 4
• Result: def. Clemson, 41-13
• Record: 5-0

It wasn't a perfect performance for Miami on the road in Death Valley, but that might just be splitting hairs. Not only was the Hurricanes defense hampered by injuries, especially in the secondary, for this matchup, but they also had to overcome the historical shortcomings of head coach Mario Cristobal in this type of spot. Even if the defense was a bit more generous than you'd like, they still ultimately took care of business and got the comfortable win.

Darian Mesnah, Malachi Toney and Mark Fletcher Jr. are as good of a trio as you'll find in college football and they had that on full display against a defense that's still highly talented for Clemson. It was a late pick-six to make this look even more one-sided of a game than it was, but Miami ultimately still left no doubt that they were the far superior team on the field on Saturday night.

3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

• Last Rank: 3
• Result: def. North Carolina, 37-26
• Record: 5-0

On the one hand, Notre Dame went on the road against Power Four competition and came away with a double-digit victory. Moreover, they had their best rushing day of the season by far, averaging 8.1 yards per carry and actually outgaining CJ Carr and the passing game 241-234 yards. And the defense was big in coming up with two turnovers and, on the whole, still limiting UNC to just 285 total yards of offense on the day. 

At the same time, they ultimately only won by 11 points against a North Carolina team that’s not very good. More importantly, the Fighting Irish’s vaunted defense did give up 26 points in this game. I’m not saying it’s a sign that the Irish need to panic or anything like that, and they’ll most likely stick around at No. 3 in the rankings. At the same time, I remain not fully convinced that Notre Dame is a national championship contender.

No. 2-1

2. Georgia Bulldogs

• Last Rank: 2
• Result: def. Vanderbilt, 38-14
• Record: 5-0

Unfortunately for Kirby Smart, he and Georgia didn’t get an opportunity to exact revenge on Jared Curtis for spurning the Bulldogs to commit to Vanderbilt. That didn’t stop the Dawgs from reeling off another lopsided victory, though, to move to 5-0 to start the season. I’ll admit, the start of this one wasn’t pretty as the defense gave up several big plays and the offense, without Nate Frazier once again, was a bit stop-and-go to start. 

But Georgia ultimately found itself as Gunner Stockton had by far his best overall passing day of the season, going 25-of-32 for 295 yards and three touchdowns. It’s clear how pivotal Frazier is to the overall health of this rushing attack, no doubt, but you have to believe as a game-time decision on Saturday, they were resting him up to make sure he’s ready to unleash that next week when the Dawgs go on the road to Tuscaloosa. 

1. Texas Longhorns

• Last Rank: 1
• Result: Off
• Record: 4-0

After having already played and beaten two Top 20 teams in the country, Texas got a well-deserved off week on Saturday. The Longhorns have been one of the most confusing teams in the country. There have been moments when Arch Manning has looked all-world right next to instances where he’s looked pedestrian. Texas’ defense has been a bit more consistent, but even that side of the ball has experienced a few ups and downs. 

The good news for the Longhorns is that next week’s Red River Showdown doesn’t seem nearly as worrisome as it did coming into the year given Oklahoma’s struggles. Of course, anything can happen in that rivalry game, so Steve Sarkisian’s team won’t be taking it lightly But at the same time, it’s a bit of relief for Texas as the following weeks comprise an absolute gauntlet with five consecutive matchups against ranked teams. 

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