Kirk Herbstreit releases updated top five rankings with new No. 1 after Week 5 of college football

Week 5 featured some of the most important results we’ve had this season, and may have all season long, over Friday and Saturday. With that, Kirk Herbstreit has made several changes to his own top-five as the sport comes out of September.

Herbstreit shared the update to his top-five on ‘Nonstop’ alongside Joey Galloway, who also provided a top-five as well. It included three all-new teams for his ranking with LSU at No. 1, Penn State at No. 2, and Georgia at No. 5 from last week each falling out completely following respective losses this weekend.

Here was that top-five from Herbstreit coming out of the fifth week of the season in college football:

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (+2)

Ohio State was the new team at No. 1 for Herbstreit, after moving up from No. 3 where they were after Week 4. That’s with their current formula proving to be more than capable again, with yet another big-time outing by their defense, in a 24-6 win over Washington.

“I got Ohio State, who I didn’t even have up in the top- – I had them at three or four last week. But, I wanted to see them – I have more respect maybe than the average fan for a trip to Seattle. I knew that was a tricky game for them,” Herbstreit said. “Right now, I feel like, with Julian Sayin, they’re leaning on their defense and let’s play high-percentage pass game. Let’s not lose it with a young quarterback, who’s gaining confidence each week. And I wondered if that style would be enough on the road, and clearly it was.”

2. Oregon Ducks (UR)

Oregon wasn’t ranked for Herbstreit last week despite their start at 4-0, which was probably in part because of who they played to get to that record. However, that changed this past weekend with the Ducks going into a Whiteout and winning at 30-24 in double-overtime over Penn State, which has them actually at No. 2 for Herbstreit now but really more like in a near tie at No. 1 with the Buckeyes.

“I’ve got Oregon right there,” said Herbstreit. “It’s like 1a and 1b.”

3. Ole Miss Rebels (UR)

Another team that went from unranked to in, all the way up into the top-three, is Ole Miss, which is undefeated at 5-0. The Rebels have gone almost halfway through their season already unbeaten, with four of those wins already being quality with a non-conference victory over Tulane and a 3-0 start in the SEC at Kentucky, against Arkansas, and most recently over LSU on Saturday afternoon in Oxford.

“Ole Miss? I’ve got at three,” said Herbstreit.

4. Miami Hurricanes (-)

Miami did not play this past weekend after their first bye on Saturday. That’s following a 4-0 start, with three of those being quality wins against Notre Dame, South Florida, and then Florida.

The Hurricanes didn’t move for Herbstreit this week with no result coming out of their bye following their undefeated start in non-conference play. They’ll now have a chance to move up even higher by next week, though, with a top-twenty, in-state league game on the road in Tallahassee on Saturday.

5. Texas A&M Aggies (UR)

Texas A&M also moved into the top-five for Herbstreit with their own undefeated start to the season at 4-0. A&M responded after winning by one on the road at Notre Dame after their bye by opening conference play with a six-point win over Auburn.

The Aggies will play two more games in College Station before going on the road for their next three through the start of November. That’s a slate that, without some of the bigger names so far in the league on it, sets up well for them to continue on this season in trending both for the conference and potentially a spot in the CFP.