Indiana put the clamps on Illinois as yet another top 10 team went down this season. It’s becoming a recurring theme this year as each week a team ranked inside the top 10 was hit with a devastating loss and Illinois was nearly annexed from the top 25 rankings. This was their chance to prove they were good enough to contend in the Big Ten and instead, look like one of the many fraudulent teams.
Not all was bad for ranked teams though with Oklahoma getting a massive win over Auburn in their SEC opener. This wasn’t about what the score was or even that Auburn is ranked lower than Oklahoma, rather this was proof that John Mateer can in fact thrive in the SEC. Not only is Brent Venables squad still undefeated, but now they have two ranked wins this season.
As always, when teams get booted from the AP top 25 rankings, new teams filter in and this week, it’s BYU and TCU making their AP top 25 rankings debut. With the AP rankings now live, here’s a look at some teams that are ranked way too high and others way too low, entering Week 5.
AP Top 25 college football rankings for Week 5
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Miami Hurricanes
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- LSU Tigers
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Oregon Ducks
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Florida State Seminoles
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Texas Longhorns
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Vanderbilt Commodores
- Michigan Wolverines
- Missouri Tigers
- USC Trojans
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- TCU Horned Frogs
- BYU Cougars
This week, the voters gave Illinois amnesty, dropping them to No. 23 after a miserable loss, and in contrast, bumped Indiana just outside the top 10. Oklahoma soared its way into the top 10 and are well in contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff. The most surprising leap was Miami jumping up to No. 2 after whopping a bad Florida team at home.
Teams ranked way too high in Week 5 AP top 25 poll
Texas remaining in the top 10 still feels high for a team with a lot left to prove
After Texas Tech whooped on Utah and Indiana cruised past Illinois, you’d think both of those teams deserved to be ranked in the top 10 and if so, Texas has to be sacrificed. The Longhorns are winning the games they’re supposed to, but let's remember this team doesn’t look good right now. If Texas struggles against Florida in a couple of weeks, it will be proof they aren’t that good.
In order for Texas to get booted out of the top 10 this week, they needed to be punished more for barely beating UTEP. Be that as it may, the Longhorns aren’t a team I’m high on right now and until they beat a respectable opponent, I’m not convinced they’re truly a top 10 team.
Georgia Tech’s win over Clemson isn’t as good as AP voters think it is
Georgia Tech was fortunate enough to take down Clemson a week ago, getting a win over a then top 15 team. Clemson is now 1-3, off to the worst start since Dabo Swinney took over and nowhere near returning to the rankings. The win for Georgia Tech was good and it should have been rewarded with a top 25 ranking, but moving them up to No. 16 is just too high.
They don’t have another ranked opponent in conference play as of now ,and have Georgia left at the end of the year. This team is good, but I don’t know if I’m ready to say that three ACC teams should be vying for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Miami Hurricanes jumping up to No. 2 after an unranked win doesn’t make sense
Miami has looked like a really good team this year, I am not taking anything away from them. That said, they should not have been bumped up to the No. 2 team in the country. Their win over Notre Dame looks better than it did a week ago, but they don’t really have any other reputable wins. On top of that, they have Florida State in two weeks and if they lose, it would essentially hurt their season.
Florida State is their only remaining ranked game and realistically, the loser of this game won’t have the resume to improve their CFP standing.
Teams ranked way too low in Week 5 AP top 25 poll
Texas Tech’s dominant win wasn’t respected by AP voters
Texas Tech looks like the best team in the Big 12 and it’s not really close. The Red Raiders went on a spending spree this offseason in the transfer portal and it’s paying off already. They looked iffy in the beginning of the game, but asserted their dominance to get the dominant win. With a ranked win, No. 12 feels too low for a team that already looks better than some of the other teams inside the top 10.
Alabama’s Week 1 loss shouldn’t be hurting them this much
We can all agree that Alabama’s embarrassing Week 1 loss deserved for them to have an uphill climb back into the College Football Playoff conversation, but it’s also fair to say that them being ranked No. 17 right now just doesn’t feel right. I can’t confidently say Iowa State, Georgia Tech and even Ole Miss are better than the Crimson Tide. They’ll have more than enough time to prove that, but right now, Alabama should at least be considered a top 15 team.