College football top to bottom: The 1-130 rankings after Week 5
Here are our 1-130 rankings after Week 5.
Week 5 was thought to be one of the best weeks of the season and it lived up to billing, with important victories in “big” games as well as some big upsets.
There are two new teams in the top 10 and five new teams in the top 25, as well as a lot of reshuffling all over the place.
Anyway, here are this week’s 1-130 rankings; the 1-130 rankings are updated every Tuesday during the season. There are comments on each of the top-25 teams; in addition, there are comments on other noteworthy teams this week.
The top 25
1. Alabama (5-0 / last week’s ranking: 1st)
The buzz: All the hype about the Alabama-Ole Miss game? It was decided in the first quarter.
2. Georgia (5-0 / 2nd)
The buzz: All the hype about the Arkansas-Georgia game? It was decided in the first quarter.
3. Penn State (5-0 / 4th)
The buzz: The Nittany Lions have won nine in a row dating to last season. The last team to beat Penn State? Iowa, which beat Penn State 41-21 last November and plays host to the Nittany Lions this Saturday.
4. Iowa (5-0 / 6th)
The buzz: The last time Iowa started 5-0 was 2015, and the Hawkeyes finished 12-0 in the regular season before losing to Michigan State in the Big Ten title game.
5. Oklahoma (5-0 / 7th)
The buzz: The Sooners have played four FBS teams; all four games were one-score affairs. Will the trend continue this week in Dallas against Texas?
6. Cincinnati (4-0 / 8th)
The buzz: Desmond Ridder played one of the best games of his career in guiding the Bearcats past Notre Dame in what might have been the biggest regular-season game in school history. The rest of the schedule is not overly daunting, meaning an unbeaten regular season looms.
7. Ohio State (4-1 / 10th)
The buzz: We admit it: We’re already looking ahead to the October 30 matchup with Penn State.
8. Oregon (4-1 / 3rd)
The buzz: If only the Ducks didn’t ever have to play Stanford. Get this: The Cardinal now has beaten a ranked Oregon team five times since 2009; three of those times, including this past Saturday, Oregon was in the top three.
9. BYU (5-0 / 12th)
The buzz: It’s not too soon to mention “BYU” and “could finish undefeated” in the same sentence.
10. Arizona State (4-1 / 15th)
The buzz: The Sun Devils are coming off an impressive 19-point win at UCLA. They welcome in Stanford on Friday in the first game of a four-game stretch in which three are at home.
11. Oklahoma State (5-0 / 18th)
The buzz: The Cowboys are winning with defense; they have been especially good against the run. They’re off this week, then hit the road in back-to-back weeks to play Texas and Iowa State.
12. Arkansas (4-1 / 5th)
The buzz: The Hogs were flying high after beating Texas and Texas A&M, but they thudded back to earth against Georgia. An offensive line that had dominated opponents through the first four weeks was overpowered by the Bulldogs.
13. Michigan (5-0 / 19th)
The buzz: The Wolverines have struggled to run the ball the past two weeks, but it hasn’t really mattered because the opposing offenses (Rutgers and Wisconsin) weren’t exactly elite. This week, the Wolverines are at Nebraska, who is second in the league and 11th nationally in total offense (502.0 yards per game).
14. Texas (4-1 / 21st)
The buzz: Arkansas beat up the Longhorns in Week 2, holding them to 256 yards in a 40-21 rout. In the three ensuing games, Texas has piled up 1,673 yards (557.7 yards per game).
15. Michigan State (5-0 / 23rd)
The buzz: Kenneth Walker III, a Wake Forest transfer (more on the Demon Deacons real soon), leads the nation with 680 rushing yards. The Spartans rushed for 640 yards as a team last season (they played seven games).
16. Wake Forest (5-0 / 24th)
The buzz: Meet Dave Clawson and his merry band of Demon Deacons, who are the lone remaining unbeaten in the ACC.
17. Auburn (4-1 / 26th)
The buzz: The Tigers’ defense did the job in the fourth quarter, which enabled Bo Nix to lead Auburn to a come-from-behind victory at LSU. (There is a lot of “wow” after the comma in that sentence, and not just because it was Auburn’s first win in Baton Rouge since 1999.)
18. Notre Dame (4-1 / 13th)
The buzz: The Irish’s lack of a running game finally caught up to them in the loss to Cincinnati. Averaging 2.4 yards per carry on the season is … embarrassing.
19. Kentucky (5-0 / 45th)
The buzz: UK stamped themselves as the main threat to Georgia in the SEC East by beating Florida. Now the Wildcats need to follow up when they welcome in LSU this week. UK is at Georgia on October 16, so this is sort of a key stretch of the season for the Wildcats.
20. Ole Miss (3-1 / 14th)
The buzz: Uhhh, that Ole Miss offense that looked unstoppable? There were stop signs all over the field in Tuscaloosa.
21. Coastal Carolina (5-0 / 27th)
The buzz: The Chanticleers’ next three games are non-Saturday affairs, starting with Thursday night’s game at Arkansas State. This could get ugly: The Chants are second in the nation in scoring offense (48.2 points per game) and Butch Jones’ Red Wolves are next-to-last in scoring defense (5.6 ppg).
22. NC State (4-1 / 32nd)
The buzz: This past Saturday’s win over Louisiana Tech moved the Wolfpack to 4-0 at home this season. But four of the next five are on the road, starting October 16 at Boston College.
23. Florida (3-2 / 9th)
The buzz: The Gators have an annual series with Kentucky and have lost just three times to the Wildcats since 1979. Dan Mullen now has two of those losses.
24. SMU (5-0 / 37th)
The buzz: QB Tanner Mordecai, an Oklahoma transfer, leads the nation with 24 TD passes; the single-season school record in that category is 34 by Texas transfer Shane Buechele in 2019.
25. Louisiana (4-1 / 29th)
The buzz: The Ragin’ Cajuns have won four in a row since the season-opening loss at Texas. They look to have just two potentially losable games left: Next Tuesday vs. Appalachian State and November 20 at Liberty. Louisiana does not play fellow Sun Belt member Coastal Carolina in the regular season.
Teams 26-50
26. Clemson (3-2 / 30th)
27. Boston College (4-1 / 22nd)
28. Fresno State (4-2 / 16th)
29. UCLA (3-2 / 17th)
30. Stanford (3-2 / 36th)
The buzz: The Cardinal’s defense isn’t that good. But QB Tanner McKee has provided a spark to the offense, especially in the passing game, and helped Stanford to the OT upset of Oregon.
31. Kansas State (3-2 / 31st)
32. LSU (3-2 / 20th)
33. Iowa State (3-2 / 34th)
34. Maryland (4-1 / 25th)
35. Mississippi State (3-2 / 50th)
36. Texas A&M (3-2 / 11th)
The buzz: Before the season, conventional wisdom seemed to be that the Aggies had a legit shot at winning the SEC West. Now? Conventional wisdom seems to be that the Aggies have a legit shot at finishing last in the division.
37. Baylor (4-1 / 40th)
38. Nevada (3-1 / 44th)
The buzz: The Wolf Pack snapped its nine-game losing streak at Boise State this past Saturday, winning there for the first time since 1997. In addition, it was just Nevada’s second win over the Broncos in the past 18 meetings.
39. Virginia Tech (3-1 / 39th)
40. Indiana (2-3 / 33rd)
41. Louisville (3-2 / 41st)
42. TCU (2-2 / 38th)
43. Wisconsin (1-3 / 35th)
The buzz: The Badgers are 1-3 for the first time since 1990. That was Barry Alvarez’s first season as coach and the Badgers finished 1-10. Three years later, they were in the Rose Bowl.
44. Texas Tech (4-1 / 65th)
45. Oregon State (4-1 / 57th)
46. North Carolina (3-2 / 46th)
47. Virginia (3-2 / 56th)
48. Appalachian State (4-1 / 48th)
49. Houston (4-1 / 67th)
The buzz: The Cougars are winning with defense. They have allowed just 55 completions this season, and the 11.0 completions per game average is the lowest in the nation.
50. West Virginia (2-3 / 28th)
Teams 51-75
51. Utah (2-2 / 53rd)
52. San Diego State (4-0 / 54th)
53. Boise State (2-3 / 43rd)
54. Western Michigan (4-1 / 58th)
55. Pitt (4-1 / 59th)
The buzz: Pitt hammered Georgia Tech this past Saturday. The Panthers now have scored at least 40 points in five consecutive games, the first time that has happened in program history.
56. UTSA (5-0 / 61st)
57. USC (3-2 / 62nd)
58. Liberty (4-1 / 63rd)
59. Miami (2-3 / 47th)
60. Rutgers (3-2 / 51st)
61. UAB (3-2 / 52nd)
62. Tennessee (3-2 / 70th)
The buzz: The Vols piled up 683 yards and 62 points in walloping Missouri this past Saturday. The last time they scored in the 60s and had 600 yards of offense? In 2016 against Mizzou.
63. UCF (2-2 / 42nd)
64. Missouri (2-3 / 49th)
65. Nebraska (3-3 / 72nd)
66. Purdue (3-2 / 55th)
67. San Jose State (3-2 / 68th)
68. Minnesota (3-2 / 83rd)
The buzz: The Golden Gophers rebounded nicely from their embarrassing loss to 30.5-point underdog Bowing Green by winning at Purdue. They won despite running 33 fewer plays and being outgained by more than 150 yards.
69. Washington (2-3 / 60th)
70. Memphis (3-2 / 66th)
71. Syracuse (3-2 / 71st)
72. Florida State (1-4 / 73rd)
The buzz: Saturday’s 33-30 win over Syracuse was the 14th one-score game the Seminoles have been involved in since the start of the 2018 season. They had lost six of the past eight such contests going into Saturday.
73. Kent State (2-3 / 74th)
74. South Carolina (3-2 / 75th)
75. East Carolina (3-2 / 77th)
Teams 76-100
76. Georgia Tech (2-3 / 76th)
77. Louisiana Tech (2-3 / 80th)
78. Tulane (1-4 / 69th)
79. Tulsa (1-3 / 79th)
80. Wyoming (4-0 / 81st)
81. Toledo (3-2 / 82nd)
82. Buffalo (2-3 / 84th)
83. Utah State (3-2 / 88th)
84. Washington State (2-3 / 89th)
85. California (1-4 / 64th)
86. Illinois (2-4 / 86th)
87. Marshall (2-3 / 78th)
88. Hawaii (3-3 / 98th)
89. Colorado (1-4 / 85th)
The buzz: The Buffs lost their fourth in a row, falling to USC this past Saturday. They now are 0-15 all-time against the Trojans.
90. Air Force (4-1 / 90th)
91. Ball State (2-3 / 92nd)
92. Army (4-1 / 87th)
93. FAU (3-2 / 93rd)
94. Central Michigan (2-3 / 91st)
95. Northern Illinois (3-2 / 95th)
96. Duke (3-2 / 96th)
97. Northwestern (2-3 / 97th)
The buzz: All three losses are to Power 5 opponents. The combined margin of the losses: 73 points. The average yards surrendered in those losses: 576.3 per game.
98. Miami (Ohio) (2-3 / 102nd)
99. Navy (1-3 / 108th)
100. Colorado State (1-3 / 100th)
The bottom 30
101. Charlotte (3-2 / 101st)
102. Middle Tennessee (2-3 / 111th)
103. Bowling Green (2-3 / 103rd)
104. USF (1-4 / 104th)
105. Georgia Southern (2-3 / 105th)
106. Western Kentucky (1-3 / 106th)
The buzz: If nothing else, Hilltoppers games are entertaining. Western Kentucky averages 39.0 points and 521.8 yards per game. The Hilltoppers give up 35.0 points and 459.5 yards per game.
107. Georgia State (1-4 / 99th)
108. Temple (3-2 / 121st)
109. South Alabama (3-1 / 112th)
110. Ohio (1-4 / 109th)
111. Arkansas State (1-4 / 94th)
The buzz: To be kind, the Red Wolves are struggling defensively. Arkansas State has allowed an average of 45.6 points and 563.8 yards per game. Those figures rank next-to-last and last nationally, respectively.
112. Eastern Michigan (3-2 / 107th)
113. Kansas (1-4 / 110th)
114. North Texas (1-3 / 113th)
115. Arizona (0-4 / 115th)
116. Vanderbilt (2-3 / 114th)
117. UTEP (4-1 / 122nd)
The buzz: The Miners have three wins over FBS teams, one win over a FCS team and a 41-point loss to Boise State. The three FBS teams they’ve beaten have a combined one FBS victory.
118. Rice (2-3 / 120th)
119. Texas State (1-3 / 116th)
120. FIU (1-4 / 117th)
121. ULM (2-2 / 118th)
122. Troy (2-3 / 119th)
123. Southern Miss (1-4 / 123rd)
124. UNLV (0-5 / 124th)
125. New Mexico (2-3 / 125th)
126. Akron (1-4 / 126th)
127. Old Dominion (0-5 / 127th)
128. UConn (0-6 / 128th)
The buzz: The Huskies looked like they were going to pull one out this past Saturday; they scored a TD with 1:07 left to take a one-point lead at Vanderbilt. But UConn committed a personal foul on the ensuing kickoff, which meant Vandy started its drive at its 40. The Commodores then moved 47 yards on six plays — helped by a 15-yard interference penalty — and kicked a 31-yard field goal on the final play for the win.
129. UMass (0-5 / 129th)
The buzz: It’s finally here: The UConn-UMass showdown is this Saturday. Get your tickets now.
130. New Mexico State (1-5 / 130th)