What a week of college football. From Tennessee’s mind blowing Hail Mary to top Georgia’s own Hail Mary, to Clemson’s thrilling win over Lamar Jackson and Louisville, week five saw it all. There were so many entertaining games to take in, and many teams made their cases to move up in the top 25 rankings. The AP Poll has been released, and now it is time for me to release mine:
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- Clemson
- Michigan
- Washington
- Houston
- Louisville
- Texas A&M
- Tennessee
- Miami
- Nebraska
- Wisconsin
- Baylor
- Stanford
- West Virginia
- Boise State
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- North Carolina
- Florida State
- Virginia Tech
- Utah
- Ole Miss
- Western Michigan
- Florida
Colorado (+7), Washington (+6), Boise State (+6) and Arkansas (+6) were the biggest risers in my rankings. Florida State (-8) and Stanford (-7) dropped the most after suffering a loss. North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss, Western Michigan and Florida climbed into the rankings, while Texas, San Diego State, Michigan State, Arizona State and TCU dropped out.
My top ten is the same as the AP top ten. I have Nebraska (#11, #12 AP) ahead of Wisconsin (#12, #11 AP) in my rankings. After Baylor (#13, #13 AP), no teams have the same rankings in both polls. Stanford (#14, #15 AP) took a huge hit after an embarrassing loss. Ole Miss (#23) at #14 in the AP makes absolutely no sense. I feel that the AP has West Virginia (#15, #22 AP) and Colorado (#18, #21 AP) too low. Boise State (#16, #19 AP) and Arkansas (#17, #16 AP) are beneficiaries of the lack of quality teams in the top 25.
North Carolina (#19, #17 AP) notches a spot above Florida State (#20, #23 AP) after defeating them on a last second field goal. Virginia Tech (#21, #25 AP), Utah (#22, #24 AP), Western Michigan (#24, NR AP) help shape the back section of my poll. Florida (#25, #18 AP) is another example – like Ole Miss – of SEC bias in college football. I’m sorry, but a 13-6 win over lowly Vanderbilt does not justify moving up to #18. Not even close. The AP has Oklahoma at #20, but I am sticking to my previous rule that a .500 team that has played four or more games does not deserve a spot in the rankings.
Do you agree or disagree with my rankings? While you ponder that, here are the games to watch in week six:
Texas vs Oklahoma – 11:00 AM on FS1
Virginia Tech @ North Carolina – 2:30 PM (not on national TV…yet)
Tennessee @ Texas A&M – 2:30 PM on CBS
Alabama @ Arkansas – 6:00 PM on ESPN
Florida State @ Miami – 7:00 PM on ABC
Washington State @ Stanford – 9:30 PM on ESPN
