College Football Rankings: Josh Pate makes major changes to Commissioner's Poll Top 25 ahead of Week 5

A huge Week 5 slate awaits on Saturday as teams go through the early parts of their conference schedules. But Week 4 featured some fireworks, and Josh Pate made some major changes to his Commissioner’s Poll Top 25 college football rankings.

The top of the poll stayed the same as Miami and Ohio State remained at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. However, a big shakeup took place in the Top 5 as Oklahoma jumped up eight spots to No. 3 following a victory over Auburn last week. The Sooners are now without John Mateer for the next few weeks, though, after hand surgery.

There were more changes to this week’s Commissioner’s Poll, as well. Here are Pate’s full Top 25 college football rankings, as revealed on Josh Pate’s College Football Show.

1. Miami (-)

After knocking off in-state rival Florida last week, Miami held strong at No. 1 in Josh Pate’s commissioner’s poll. The Hurricanes found themselves in a close one through three quarters, but pulled away in the fourth quarter to complete the 26-7 win.

Miami’s running game led the charge as Mark Fletcher ran for 116 yards and a touchdown, and CharMar Brown found the end zone twice while rushing for 80 yards. The Hurricanes will now have a bye week before diving headfirst into ACC play with a trip to Florida State.

2. Ohio State (-)

Ohio State was on a bye in Week 4 before Big Ten play begins. The Buckeyes remain at No. 2 in Josh Pate’s Commissioner’s Poll as a result, though an intriguing game against Washington is on tap in Week 5.

Ohio State has been impressive so far as Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith led a high-powered offense through the non-conference portion of the schedule. On defense, but the Buckeyes only allowed nine total points across the two games following the Week 1 win over Texas.

3. Oklahoma (+8)

The biggest riser in the Commissioner’s Poll, Oklahoma skyrocketed into not only the Top 10, but the Top 5 to check in at No. 3. It’s been quite a start for the Sooners, but they got dealt a major blow when John Mateer went down with a hand injury.

OU’s ranking does not acknowledge Mateer’s injury, though, according to Pate. Instead, it’s based on what the Sooners have done – and the fact they’ll get their quarterback back after three or more weeks.

4. LSU (-1)

Down a spot to No. 4, LSU looked complete in last week’s win against Southeastern Louisiana. The Tigers found their stride on offense, cruising to the 56-10 victory.

Garrett Nussmeier had his best game of the year as he threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns before handing the keys to Michael Van Buren. A test awaits this week, though, as they head to Ole Miss for a 3:30 p.m. ET showdown on Saturday.

5. Georgia (-1)

Despite being off in Week 4, Georgia dropped one spot to No. 5 in Josh Pate’s Commissioner’s Poll college football rankings. The Bulldogs are coming off an overtime win at Tennessee and have another high-profile matchup coming up this week.

UGA will welcome Alabama to Sanford Stadium for a primetime matchup on Saturday. It’s a rematch of last year’s thriller at Bryant-Denny Stadium, which ended with a Crimson Tide victory in the fourth quarter.

6. Florida State (-)

After cruising past Kent State out of the bye, Florida State held strong at No. 6 in the Commissioner’s Poll. The ACC opener is coming up this week, though.

FSU will head to Charlottesville for a Friday night primetime matchup against Virginia this week. The Seminoles have been impressive through non-conference play after starting out with the resounding win against Alabama.

7. Oregon (-2)

Oregon continued to impress ahead of Big Ten play, not leaving any room for doubt in the Civil War rivalry game against Oregon State. Now, a huge matchup awaits on the big stage.

The Ducks are getting ready to head to Penn State to take on the Nittany Lions in the annual White Out game at Beaver Stadium. Considered one of the top atmospheres in college football, it’s also an opportunity for Oregon to again make a statement under the lights.

8. Vanderbilt (+2)

After flying into the Top 10 last week, Vanderbilt continued to rise up Josh Pate’s Commissioner’s Poll. The Commodores are now ranked at No. 8 after a dominant performance against Georgia State last week.

Four quarterbacks played for Vanderbilt in the victory, but it was the running game that led the charge with seven rushing touchdowns. Diego Pavia had a team-high 86 yards and a score on the ground and AJ Newberry scored two times as the Commodores won, 70-21.

9. Texas Tech (+9)

Also flying up the rankings this week, Texas Tech has joined the Top 10. The Red Raiders jumped nine spots to No. 9 in the Commissioner’s Poll ahead of Week 5 following a huge win at Utah last week.

Texas Tech went on the road to Salt Lake City and had a complete performance to get the 34-10 victory. The Red Raiders are off this week, but Josh Pate is high on Joey McGuire’s group through four games so far.

10. Penn State (-3)

Down three spots, Penn State is just holding onto its spot in the Top 10. The Nittany Lions check in at No. 10 after the bye week, though the non-conference slate created questions about slow starts.

James Franklin’s group has an opportunity to change the conversation this week, though. Oregon is on its way for the White Out game, which will create a raucous environment for one of the top games on the Week 5 slate.

Rest of Josh Pate’s Week 5 commissioner’s poll

11. Texas A&M (-3)
12. Indiana (NR)
13. Georgia Tech (-4)
14. Ole Miss (+1)
15. Missouri (+2)
16. Iowa State (-3)
17. Texas (-1)
18. Tennessee (+1)
19. USC (+5)
20. Michigan (NR)
21. Mississippi State (+2)
22. Alabama (-)
23. Washington (NR)
24. TCU (NR)
25. USF (-4)

Week 5 of the college football season marks some of the final non-conference games of the season, meaning the rankings are about to continue changing. There’s sure to be plenty of intrigue as the calendar gets ready to flip to October.