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A Saturday of wins and turmoil atop the college football rankings is expected to show a whole new order of power when it comes to the new AP Top 25 poll after Week 5. Alabama and Georgia will remain at No.1 and No.1. ° 2, respectively, but on a day when both teams faced top-12 opponents and achieved end-to-end victories, one of the big scenarios of the day was the distance between these two teams at the top and the rest college football.
That perceived gap was reinforced by an overtime loss to third-place Oregon at Stanford, bouncing another team in the conversation about the “next best” behind the SEC leaders. But Oregon’s decline may not be as dramatic as it could have been due to the losses of other top-ranked teams behind the Ducks in the AP’s Top 25. In total, six of the top 15 teams lost, three of them to other top 15 teams (all as underdogs) and two falling upset. Oregon was joined by Florida, ranked 10th, falling to Kentucky. The Wildcats are sure to be ranked 5-0 now with a quality win on the profile, but the Gators will always be penalized more than Arkansas or Ole Miss for their loss.
Perhaps the biggest statement of the day came from Cincinnati, which scored one of its biggest wins in program history at Notre Dame. There isn’t much room for the Bearcats to move up the rankings, but they will be in a favorable starting position in the college football playoff race as long as they continue to be favorites. For now, we expect Cincinnati to land in the top five after the win, just behind Penn State and Iowa.
Michigan had something to say as well, entering Madison, Wisconsin as a narrow underdog and similarly an impressive double-digit victory over Wisconsin. The Badgers weren’t the ranked opponent Alabama or Georgia faced, but given the history of this Michigan-Wisconsin series and the expectations for the game, the result was just as remarkable. So remarkable that the Wolverines should end up in the top 10 when everything changes.
After a week of fallout from ranked clashes, voters will face many tough decisions on Sunday. Here’s what the new Top 25 AP will look like after week 5:
1. Alabama (last week – 1): A commitment to the racing game with Brian Robinson in the lead defined a decisive victory for Alabama, a victory that solidifies its grip on the No.1 despite growing confidence from the team directly behind it.
2. Georgia (2): Even taking into account the impact of Alabama’s end-to-end win over Ole Miss, there could still be first place votes that would move from Alabama to Georgia based on the 37 victory -0 against Arkansas with Stetson Bennett IV replacing JT Daniels, who missed the game due to a lat injury.
3. Penn State (4): Good college football teams move away from dominant mid-season wins with a few points to improve upon, but plenty of confidence building on the success of the win. Penn State picked up that kind of victory over Indiana on Saturday night, holding the four-quarter advantage in a 24-0 shutout victory.
4. Iowa (5): There just isn’t much real estate for an upward movement, but Friday night’s 51-14 victory over Maryland was a moment of acceptance by the general college football population, which includes many, if not most of the AP voters. The Hawkeyes may not have the stylistic makeup of what we imagine of a “playoff team,” but there’s no doubt that there aren’t four teams in the country that have performed better so far. now in 2021.
5. Cincinnati (7): Thanks to the Bearcats’ victory, we have one of the most interesting stories in college football with the team’s playoff push. With Cincinnati at No. 5 in the polls at this point in the year, sets a great baseline for ranking purposes as long as the team continues to win.
6. Oklahoma (6): A close result against Kansas State isn’t going to sound too foreign to AP voters familiar with how the Wildcats have faced the Sooners over the years.
7. Oregon (3): This is a real test of how much 2021 voters place on a head-to-head result, as the Ducks’ win at Ohio State could end up setting a higher floor for the standings after overtime loss Saturday at Stanford. If Oregon are an undefeated team without that win on the profile, that loss likely puts the Ducks one step closer to No.20. However, when it comes to comparing teams to a loss, no one else in the country. has such an impressive victory. they completed week 2 in Columbus, Ohio.
8. Ohio State (11): CJ Stroud looked healthy and extremely efficient in a five touchdown effort against Rutgers after missing last week’s win over Akron. After the Scarlet Knights played Michigan last week, there was some real intrigue here, but the Buckeyes quickly ended that in a smashing 51-13 victory.
9. Michigan (14): Even though Wisconsin weren’t a ranked team, the 38-17 victory at Camp Randall Stadium overcame too many pre-determined stereotypes of the Jim Harbaugh program for there to be no bump in the standings. It was the first time Michigan had won as an underdog under Harbaugh. It was also his first victory in Wisconsin as coach of the Wolverines, and the match was won in a decisive fashion that highlighted the Wolverines as worthy of being considered in the top 10.
10. BU (13): The Cougars didn’t let Utah State be a road trap Friday night. The 14-point win won’t trigger a huge wave of votes it didn’t already have, but losses elsewhere create room for improvement.
11. Arkansas (8): There aren’t a lot of bright spots to come out of Georgia’s game for Arkansas in terms of standings, so their place in the poll will mostly depend on their best wins, and at least Texas have reinforced that argument over the course of. week 5.
12. Be Miss (12): No reason to expect voters to change the order of the two top SEC underdogs who lost to the top two teams in the country. The Rebels lost by fewer points in the 42-21 loss to Alabama, but the game was also tilted in favor of Crimson Tide for much of the game.
13. Coastal Carolina (16): The 53-point win over ULM adds to a series of crazy blowouts here for the Chanticleers in 2021, but all attention turns to the status of starting quarterback Grayson McCall. Coach Jamey Chadwell told reporters the walking boot McCall wore after half-time was an added precaution due to a curled ankle, which is good news for a team playing in one of his biggest games in just a few weeks, in Appalachian State on Oct. 20.
14. Michigan State (17): Western Kentucky gave many teams adjustments with their offense, and Michigan State was no different. Fortunately, the Spartans have an effective offense themselves this season and have had responses when the Hilltoppers have pushed late.
15. State of Oklahoma (19): One of the classified clashes in Week 5 was Oklahoma State and Baylor, and the Cowboys emerged victorious to go 5-0 this season.
16. Notre Dame (9): A revolving door in the quarterback and a reassessment of Notre Dame’s profile – especially after Wisconsin’s Week 5 loss – define this week in South Bend, Indiana, as the faltering Fighting Irish look to avoid falling further in the standings next week at Virginia Tech.
17. Fresno State (18): The Bulldogs are at the end of the night’s game for Week 5, playing Hawaii on CBS Sports Network.
18. UCLA (20): The Bruins are currently in action against Arizona State.
19. Auburn (22): The Tigers are still in action at LSU.
20. Wake Forest (24): Wake Forest’s case as the best team in the ACC is solidified by winning the kind of sideways game that tends to appear against Louisville. The WakeyLeaks culprits are long gone, but Dave Clawson still likely relishes a win over a tough division rival like the Cardinals.
21. NC State (23): The point of disappointment became a bit risky for the Wolfpack after beating Clemson last week, but they held on to move up to 4-1.
22. Texas (NR): One of the top-ranked teams outside of the top 25 last week will certainly be in the poll after the TCU win. It was a lousy win with lots of missed chances, but when you’ve lost seven of the last nine to an enemy of the state like the Horned Frogs, you can celebrate that road victory in the Championship.
23. Kentucky (NR): PA voters hadn’t given Kentucky much credit for their undefeated start, but the win over Florida is sure to garner support as the Wildcats are now 5-0 with a ranked win on the profile.
24. Florida (10): This is a frustrating loss for Gators fans, who saw the narrow loss to Alabama as representative of the team’s closeness to the SEC top. Saturday night’s loss in Lexington, Ky., Revealed the bottom of that Week 3 cap.
25. Clemson (25): Even after last week’s loss, the Tigers had a major advantage in voting points against the likes of SMU and Kentucky. That, added to the fact that Boston College were the 29th best team in last week’s poll, cements the prediction that Clemson will still be ranked. The quality of the performance certainly didn’t inspire confidence as the team needed a fourth save in a 19-13 win as a two-touchdown favorite, but it was a win.
Planned retirement: Texas A&M (15), Baylor (21)
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