College Football Rankings: Projected Week 6 AP Top 25
With matchups between Penn State and Oregon and Georgia and Alabama, we knew the Week 5 college football slate was going to be massive. It was even bigger than expected. The road teams triumphed in the marquee matchups, as the Ducks outlasted the Nittany Lions and the Crimson Tide dropped the Bulldogs. But other shake ups littered the weekend with Ole Miss besting LSU, Florida State falling to Virginia.
That's four top 10 teams who suffered defeat. Of course, that means the AP Top 25 is going to look quite a bit different on Sunday.
Dropped out of Rankings: TCU, USC
No. 25-21
25. Memphis Tigers
Is it finally time for 5-0 Memphis to sneak into the rankings? The Tigers went to Florida Atlantic and came away with a 55-26 victory. That's three double-digit road victories for Memphis, along with a win over Arkansas. They've got to get in eventually, right?
24. Arizona State Sun Devils
Arizona State takes TCU's place in the rankings after besting the Horned Frogs on Friday night. It didn't look good for the Sun Devils early. They fell behind 17-0. A furious comeback saw them tie the game with 1:50 remaining. They kicked the game-winning field goal with 1:14. That's two straight last-minute field goals to beat Big 12 opposition 27-24. They did the same to Baylor last week.
A bye comes next for ASU, who takes on Utah the following week.
23. BYU Cougars
BYU trailed Colorado 21-17 early in the fourth quarter before Cody Hagen's 32-yard run put the Cougars ahead for good. Bear Bachmeier's two touchdowns through the air and 98 yards on the ground gave BYU the edge over Coach Prime's Buffaloes.
Opening Big 12 play with a win is a start for the Cougs. They will look to continue the good vibes on Friday against West Virginia.
22. Illinois Fighting Illini
Illinois couldn't have been embarrassed more thoroughly than they were against Indiana last week. Hosting USC gave them a lifeline with a 34-32 win keeping them in the top 25. It was no sure thing as the Trojans took the lead with two minutes to play. Illinois drove into field goal range and kicked a game-winner at the death. Of course, those who watched the game will know the Illini probably should have won this one by a couple touchdowns. Two goal line fumbles kept USC in it and nearly cost Illinois dearly. As far as bounce backs, this was a good performance outside of one or two critical errors.
21. Missouri Tigers
Missouri hasn't been tested yet this season with their most impressive win coming against a South Carolina team that's 3-2. A 42-6 win over UMass doesn't move the needle that much. But they're 5-0 and continue to give voters every reason to keep them ranked.
No. 20-16
20. Notre Dame
After starting the season 0-2, Notre Dame has pulled back to .500 with wins over Purdue and Arkansas. The Razorbacks aren't exactly an SEC power, but going to Fayetteville and dropping 56 points is still plenty impressive. They're up a couple of spots, and one could argue they deserve to be higher considering their narrow losses came to top 10 teams Miami and Texas A&M. It's just hard to put a two-loss team much higher than this.
19. Michigan Wolverines
Michigan was on a bye this week following their three-point win against Nebraska in Lincoln. They'll stay ranked so long as they take care of business next week against Wisconsin.
18. Vanderbilt Commodores
Sure, Vanderbilt gave up 35 points to Utah State, but their 55-35 win wasn't particularly close. Diego Pavia made sure of that with five touchdowns through the air and another on the ground. The Commodores offense will be a danger to anyone they face but we still need to see just how good they are. A trip to Alabama next will be plenty revealing.
17. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech needed overtime to get past Wake Forest. Even getting their required a significant comeback. Wake led 20-3 in the third quarter. Haynes King pulled the Yellow Jackets back even in the fourth quarter. In overtime, the quarterback scored the winning touchdown before Tech's defense got a stop on a two-point play to win.
It's possible Georgia Tech marches through their ACC schedule with relative ease, but some close calls make things uncertain. They're on a bye next, then host Virginia Tech.
16. Iowa State Cylcones
Iowa State is now 5-0 and occupying a middling spot in the rankings without being particularly impressive along the way. This week, they beat Arizona 39-14. Carson Hansen accounted for two of ISU's three early touchdowns to put the game away before it ever had a chance to get interesting. Unfortunately, wins for Alabama and Tennessee pushed them down a tad.
There's not much else to say about the Cyclones. If they keep winning, they'll keep rising. Next up is a road trip to Cincinnati.
No. 15-11
15. Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee ran into a bit of trouble against Mississippi State. Joey Aguilar had to engineer a game-tying touchdown with two minutes left to force overtime. From there, DeSean Bishop broke free for the winning touchdown. On the road in the SEC, a win is a win. So Tennessee doesn't move up or down. They stay still and hope to not lose any ground during their bye week.
Aguilar and the offense looks plenty formidable, but the Volunteers defense leaves something to be desired. The bye would be a nice time to sort that out.
14. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Coming off their win over Utah, Texas Tech spent the week on bye. There's a decent chance they fall given all the movement in front and behind them. That's the case here. Outside of that win over the Utes, they've taken care of business against bad teams. Winning in Salt Lake City does carry some cache.
Next up, they travel to Houston Both teams will enter undefeated. One of them will leave with a loss.
13. Alabama Crimson Tide
I'm just going to be honest here: I don't know what to do with Alabama. They lost to Florida State, thoroughly. Then they beat Georgia in Athens. That victory over a Top 5 team on the road should result in a more significant boost than No. 17 to No. 13. But putting them in front of FSU feels wrong. The Seminoles dominated them after all.
So here they are at No. 13. Ty Simpson could lift them much higher than this if he plays the way he did against Georgia for the rest of the season. The QB tossed two touchdowns with 276 yards while adding a touchdown on the ground.
They won't have to wait long for another opportunity to climb. They take on Vanderbilt next.
12. Florida State Seminoles
Welp, Florida State was the darling of the early season but Virginia came around to spoil the party. The Cavaliers punched the Seminoles in the mouth, going up 14-0 early. FSU flipped things around, scoring 21-unanswered points. They just couldn't put Virginia away. Chandler Morris was a pest, putitng pressure on the Seminole defense with clutch play after clutch play. In the end, Tommy Castellanos' game-tying touchdown in the final minute was for nought. Virginia came out of double OT as the victors.
Florida State gets Miami next — a perfect opportunity to get things right...or have their season spoiled for good.
11. LSU Tigers
LSU's win over Clemson hasn't aged well considering the Tigers' struggles this season. The purple and gold Tigers had their own issues that finally came home to roost this week. Garrett Nussmeier and the LSU offense simply haven't found their stride this year. Low scoring affairs against Clemson, Louisiana Tech and Florida didn't hurt them. Managing just 19 points against Ole Miss did, though.
The Tigers allowed 480 yards defensively, struggling to get off the field as the Rebels converted 8-of-16 third downs. On the other side of things, LSU managed 254 yards and went 2-of-11 on third down.
LSU will have to sit in this one for a week before looking to get the bad taste out of their mouth against South Carolina.
No. 10-9
10. Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana's offense looked like a buzz saw against Illinois last week. They had a very different challenge this week against Iowa. The Hawkeyes' defense was much more difficult to break down. Fernando Mendoza and company eventually figured it out, winning 20-15 in Iowa City.
Now we're set up for a top 10 showdown a couple of weeks. Indiana is going to face Oregon in Eugene, but first they get an extra week of preparation during their bye.
9. Texas Longhorns
Two things can be true: Texas' loss to Ohio State is still one of the better losses in the country. However, Texas hasn't looked all that impressive since that loss. Arch Manning finally found his way against Sam Houston with 309 yards ad three touchdowns. That was against Sam Houston though. The Longhorns need him to reproduce those results against Florida.
Of course, they had to wait this week on a bye. They benefit from the losses in front of them, moving up a spot. We'll see if they can keep their place in the top 10.
No. 8-7
8. Ole Miss Rebels
It felt like Ole Miss was in trouble after Austin Simmons went down with an injury and Trinidad Chambliss was thrust into the starting quarterback role. Three games later for the Division II transfer has the Rebels rolling. He threw for 313 yards and a touchdown, adding 71 yards on the ground, as Ole Miss toppled the Tigers 24-19.
LSU has their own issues, resulting in a significant fall here. That doesn't diminish Ole Miss' win. They're 5-0 with a bye coming up. Then they'll host Washington State before consecutive road games against Georgia and Oklahoma.
7. Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M got a week off after their triumph over Notre Dame. Back in action, the Aggies kept their record unblemished with a 16-10 win over Auburn. It wasn't particularly flashy, but the Tigers are a tough team to beat. A&M was a 6.5-point favorite and they won by six. Close enough.
There might be a case to put Ole Miss here instead, considering the strength of their win over LSU. I'm sticking with the Aggies though. That win over Notre Dame in South Bend is only going to look better as the season wears on and the Irish finish their climb out of an 0-2 hole.
The big concern for A&M is the early performance of Marcel Reed. They need to get the quarterback going if they want to keep up their winning ways.
No. 6-5
6. Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia's loss to Alabama causes all sorts of problems for the Top 25. Where do the Bulldogs belong relative to the Crimson Tide, who beat them? Or Florida State, who beat Alabama but just lost to Virginia?
I'm being merciful to Georgia here considering they lost to Alabama at home, mostly because I'd take the Dawgs on a neutral field over Texas A&M. No matter how you cut it, these rankings are going to be messy.
5. Oklahoma Sooners
Congratulations, Oklahoma, you're the big winner of the week without having played a snap. I'm giving the Sooners the nod over Georgia on the strength of their two wins over Michigan and Auburn, which I judge stronger than the Bulldogs' win over Tennessee.
Last time out, Oklahoma beat Auburn to notch their second ranked victory of the season. They had the week off, awaiting a date with Kent State in Week 6. That's obviously not the game they're focused on at the moment, though. Red River looms large on Oct. 11. We'll know then where this Sooners team truly fits.
That may, of course, depend on the status of quarterback John Mateer. He had surgery on his hand and is now in a race against time to be back in time to face Texas.
No. 4-3
4. Penn State Nittany Lions
I'm also not going to drop Penn State significantly for an overtime loss to a national title contender. Yes, James Franklin still needs to prove he can win the big game. Until he does, doubt will continue to swirl around the Nittany Lions. Having said that, they fought back from a fourth quarter deficit to extend the game and kept Oregon's offense in check for a significant portion of the game.
The sheer number of losses in the Top 10 this week helps Penn State avoid a more significant fall after their loss.
3. Miami Hurricanes
The Canes were out of action in Week 5, enjoying a bye ahead of their showdown with Florida State in Week 6. Unfortunately, for them, others did enough to push them out of the No. 2 spot. That doesn't mean they didn't grow in stature this weekend. Notre Dame, after starting the season 0-2, improved to 2-2 with a road win over Arkansas. The Fighting Irish are still a quality win for Miami — their rise in the rankings benefits the U as well.
After FSU fell to Virginia, Miami can gain a significant edge over the Seminoles with a win next week. Until then, they'll have to be content with No. 3.
No. 2-1
2. Oregon Ducks
Miami and Oregon were separated by just 75 points in AP voting last week. So I don't think it's a stretch to suggest the Ducks could jump from No. 6 to No. 2 after an impressive win over Penn State in Happy Valley.
Oregon wasn't overwhelmed by an electric white-out. Dante Moore tossed three touchdowns in his biggest test yet as a starter. The Duck defense held the Nittany Lions in check until a late comeback forced overtime. Then they called game with an interception by Dillon Thieneman.
Dan Lanning seems to have successfully replaced his start quarterback once again. And Oregon has again reloaded on both sides of the ball without much fuss. This team is well on their way to a Big Ten title berth. They get a week off before taking on Indiana.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes
The Washington Huskies were no match for Ohio State, who went to Husky Stadium and came away with a muted, but solid victory. Was it a blowout? No, but traveling west has been tricky for Big Ten teams since the demise of the Pac-12. Julian Sayin passed his first road test, and that's the important thing.
The Buckeyes didn't truly pull away until the fourth quarter. It may be time to seriously start questioning the ceiling of this offense. They settled for too many field goals against Ohio and again struggled to get going in the early stages of this game. But they are breaking in a new starter at quarterback. Some growing pains are to be expected.
Ohio State has a luxury other teams with first-time starters don't: A truly elite defense. The Buckeyes are simply loaded with talent on that side of the ball. I'm not worried about the offense only scoring 24 points against Washington, because I'm not sure what offense is capable of putting up that many against this defense.
Ryan Day's squad is No. 1 for a reason and they aren't going anywhere.