The fifth week of the college football season is in the books. There were plenty of good games to watch and some matchups had College Football Playoff implications. So who set themselves up well enough to make the College Football Playoff?
Note: These rankings only take into account what has happened on the field and will not project what will happen in the future. Teams with weaker schedules, to this point, will not be ranked as highly until they get some better wins.
CFP Four
1. LSU Tigers (5-0)
Both Miami and Auburn have won the rest of their games since losing to LSU, which helps them retain the top spot. The Tigers played Ole Miss and didn’t have too much trouble sealing that game off. The 45-16 win helps show their improvements on offense this season and that their defense is capable of slowing down good offensive teams.
This week: at Florida Gators
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0)
It looked like Penn State had Ohio State beat, but the Buckeyes were able to orchestrate two scoring drives in the last eight minutes to win in Happy Valley. Winning on the road in a hostile environment against a great team beefs up their resume and puts them in a great position to win the Big Ten again.
This week: vs. Indiana Hoosiers
3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-0)
The Fighting Irish have secured two wins since inserting Ian Book into the starting lineup and are lighting up the scoreboard. This week they pulled away from Stanford in the second half. This not only severely hurts the Pac-12’s playoff hopes, but gives the Fighting Irish their second great win of the season.
This week: at Virginia Tech Hokies
4. Kentucky Wildcats (5-0)
Kentucky got another solid win to add to their total this week. The Wildcats beat South Carolina 24-10 and have been the more physical team in each of their games. The 5-0 is highlighted by this week’s win and the wins over Mississippi State and Florida. All three of those teams were ranked at one point in the season, but only Florida is in the top 25 now at no. 22. There will surely be more tests to come in the SEC including this week when they travel to College Station.
For reference, these are the number of teams that Kentucky has beaten in the top 25 in comparison to other contenders for this spot.
Name of team | # of top 25 wins (when they played) | # of wins over current top 25 teams |
Kentucky | 2 | 1 |
Georgia | 1 | 0 |
Alabama | 1 | 0 |
This week: at Texas A&M Aggies
First Four Out
5. Georgia Bulldogs (5-0)
Georgia still looks dominant with their 38-12 win over Tennessee this week. If these were power rankings, Georgia would be near the top. The Bulldogs have two solid wins over Missouri and South Carolina, but have yet to secure a signature win. South Carolina was ranked win they played, but are no longer in the top 25. They’ll have their chances later in October and early November.
This week: vs. Vanderbilt Commodores
6. Alabama Crimson Tide (5-0)
The Crimson Tide sure look like the best team in the country. They almost broke the scoreboard with their 49 first-half points against Louisiana. Unfortunately, Louisville, Arkansas State and Ole Miss all lost this week, hurting their existing resume. Their best win is over Texas A&M, which isn’t bad, but won’t sway anyone on the committee. The Aggies have two losses on the season, one to Alabama and one to Clemson and are unranked. Like last year, the Crimson Tide will have a chance for good wins in November.
This week: at Arkansas Razorbacks
7. West Virginia Mountaineers (4-0)
Will Grier and co. dominated the first half and the defense hung on to help West Virginia beat Texas Tech 42-34. This was their first ranked win of the season, which comes a week after Texas Tech upset Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Like the teams listed ahead of them, West Virginia has some big resume-building games in November.
This week: vs. Kansas Jayhawks
8. Clemson Tigers (5-0)
Clemson does have issues at the quarterback position now that Kelly Bryant has decided to transfer and Trevor Lawrence is injured, but they still were able to come back and beat Syracuse. Both their win against Texas A&M and Syracuse are solid, but with the ACC being down tthere is limited chances to impress the CFP committee for the rest of the regular season.
This week: at Wake Forest
Next Four Out
9. Oklahoma Sooners (5-0)
Kyler Murray was benched for about two seconds for being late to Friday’s practice, but Oklahoma still dominated offensively. Their defense leaves a lot to be desired though, as the Sooners won 66-33. Ultimately, they haven’t played a great team yet, but do get to play their rival this week.
This week: vs. Texas Longhorns (in Dallas, TX)
10. Auburn Tigers (4-1)
The Tigers’ game got delayed and they still won, but they looked really shaky against Southern Miss. They won by just 11 points and really need to start bringing their “A” game as they have five straight weeks of SEC football. The loss to LSU still holds them back, but they still have games against Georgia and Alabama.
This week: at Mississippi State Bulldogs
11. Washington Huskies (4-1)
Washington hasn’t lost since its week one matchup with Auburn and actually have some nice wins since then. They have wins over Utah, Arizona State and now BYU after a 35-7 win. They hold the Pac-12’s best chances to make the CFP, but still have some tests against Stanford, Oregon and Cal.
This week: at UCLA Bruins
12. Stanford Cardinal (4-1)
Well, the loss to Notre Dame certainly hurts their chances, but if the Cardinal win out there is still a chance they can make the CFP. They still hold wins over Oregon, USC and San Diego State under their belts, although they will need to win out to have any shot at the CFP.
This week: vs. Utah Utes
Make sure to check out our college football page for more updates and rankings.
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