Week Five of the AP rankings has a slightly unusual look to it – in that Clemson are on the verge of tumbling out! You have to go back to 2014 to find the last time they were out and for the last few years, they have been stalwarts of the playoff picture. A narrow defeat to NC State has them languishing at 25 and it’s only past glories that has let them keep their tentative hold. They play Boston College this week and only a blowout win will keep them ranked.
The other move of note was Oklahoma’s slide from four to six despite moving to 4-0. Needing a late field goal to scrape past West Virginia obviously didn’t cut it with the voters, and this is now 3 one-score wins against FBS competition. They are riding their luck a bit.
The new top nine are all undefeated and the Big Ten has two teams vying for that final playoff spot with Penn State getting the vote over Iowa based on their slightly better quality wins. It is setting up an intriguing clash between the two on 9th October!
Arkansas Gate Crash The top 10
Arkansas had the weekend’s big win knocking off then No 7 Texas A&M. This saw them jump to No 8 leapfrogging Notre Dame who also had a statement win away at Wisconsin. They entertain Cinncinati next week in a game that could define the winners season.
Further down the rankings the Big 12 had a couple of new entries in Baylor & Oklahoma State, while the ACC also saw their representatives swell as Wake Forest and NC State with their big win had to be included, didn’t they? Well no according to the Coaches poll who left them out despite them having the head to head win over the Tigers who they kept at 21!
The Group of Five conferences are still not getting much love but they still have three representatives as both Fresno & Coastal Carolina won.
AP Top 25 Week 5
1 Alabama 4-0
2 Georgia 4-0
3 Oregon 4-0
4 Penn State 4-0
5 Iowa 4-0
6 Oklahoma 4-0
7 Cincinnati 3-0
8 Arkansas 4-0
9 Notre Dame 4-0
10 Florida 3-1
11 Ohio State 3-1
12 Ole Miss 3-0
13 BYU 4-0
14 Michigan 4-0
15 Texas A&M 3-1
16 Coastal Carolina 4-0
17 Michigan State 4-0
18 Fresno State 4-1
19 Oklahoma State 4-0
20 UCLA 3-1
21 Baylor 4-0
22 Auburn 3-1
23 NC State 3-1
24 Wake Forest 4-0
25 Clemson 2-2
Check out Week Fours rankings here.
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