AP Top 25: Week Five

We are now well and truly into the college football season. Every team either already has or is about to open their conference schedule. Most teams have now played a decent sample size worth of games, and we’re starting to get a decent grasp at what teams are good or bad and what they excel or struggle at.

This past weekend was not a great one for UNC as they were fairly dominated by Notre Dame at home. Elsewhere, there weren’t a ton of major upsets, but there were some fairly notable results across the country. Now that the dust has settled, let’s take a look at where everyone stands in this week’s AP Rankings.

AP Top 25

1. Georgia Bulldogs (55 first place votes)
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (4)
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (4)
4. Michigan Wolverines
5. Clemson Tigers
6. USC Trojans
7. Kentucky Wildcats
8. Tennessee Volunteers
9. Oklahoma State Cowboys
10. NC State Wolfpack
11. Penn State Nittany Lions
12. Utah Utes
13. Oregon Ducks
14. Ole Miss Rebels
15. Washington Huskies
16. Baylor Bears
17. Texas A&M Aggies
18. Oklahoma Sooners
19. BYU Cougars
20. Arkansas Razorbacks
21. Minnesota Golden Gophers
22. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
23. Florida State Seminoles
24. Pittsburgh Panthers
25. Kansas State Wildcats

Where is UNC?

Well...about that. The past two weeks, the Tar Heels have been on the fringes of the Top 25, among the top teams in the “others receiving votes” category. A win over Notre Dame may well have gotten Carolina into the rankings. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and, while the Heels are still getting a couple votes, they’re now a ways away from the #25 spot.

Biggest Winners

The biggest jump of the week belongs to the team that now occupies that #25 spot, Kansas State. The Wildcasts’ upset win over previously #6 Oklahoma saw K-State jump from getting no votes all the way to the 25th ranking. Funnily enough, that win also probably kept their in-state rival, Kansas, from getting ranked, as the Jayhawks are the first team out after improving to 4-0.

Biggest Losers

Losers of said aforementioned upset, Oklahoma, ended up being the biggest faller of the week, going from #6 to #18, a 12 spot drop. They were closely followed by Arkansas, who fell 10 spots after taking a loss to Texas A&M after a crazy missed field goal that might’ve won them the game.

Conference Breakdown

• SEC: 7
• ACC: 5
• Big 12: 4
• Big Ten: 4
• Pac-12: 4
• Independent: 1

Marquee Matchups This Week

• #7 Kentucky (4-0) at #14 Ole Miss (4-0) - Saturday at 12:00 PM ET on ESPN
• #2 Alabama (4-0) at #20 Arkansas (3-1) - Saturday at 3:30 PM ET on CBS
• #9 Oklahoma State (3-0) at #16 Baylor (3-1) - Saturday at 3:30 PM ET on FOX
• #10 NC State (4-0) at #5 Clemson (4-0) - Saturday at 7:30 PM ET on ABC

Coaches Poll

1. Georgia (34 first place votes)
2. Alabama (26)
3. Ohio State (4)
4. Michigan
5. Clemson
6. USC
7. Oklahoma State
8. Kentucky
9. Tennessee
10. NC State
11. Ole Miss
12. Penn State
13. Utah
14. Baylor
15. Oregon
16. Oklahoma
17. Texas A&M
18. Washington
19. Arkansas
20. BYU
21. Wake Forest
22. Florida State
23. Minnesota
24. Pittsburgh
25. Syracuse