Welcome to the College Football Top 10 Power Rankings Week 5 As it Should Be. Finally some stability in the Top 10. It takes about 3-4 weeks for the rankings to settle in and we have a really good idea who the best teams in the country are. Last week saw a couple of Top 10 teams IDLE and a huge riser. This week, is separation Saturday. We will truly find out which teams are here for a good time, and which ones are here for a long time. I pray that all you reading this stay healthy and enjoy this season. Now on the the rules.
The Rules: No Bias, No Bull College Football Rankings Week 5
There is no more unbiased ranking out there than Unafraid Show’s College Football Top 10 Rankings Week 5. I get criticized from time to time by people who only want to see the college football world through the lens of the AP Poll. These rankings are not going to look like the AP Poll. Open your eyes to see a different view of evaluating the top 10. Most polls including the College Football Playoff Committee give college blueblood teams a massive “benefit of the doubt.” I don’t believe in that. Teams are ranked by the correct criteria: quality wins, schedule played, and dominance. After the preseason rankings, only games played matter. No consideration is given for future games.
I re-rank the top 10 every Sunday from scratch. The previous week’s rankings do not factor into the next week. So, the rankings will change, sometimes drastically every week because we will have new information. So make sure to come back every Sunday. For reference, you can check College Football Top 10 Power Rankings Week 4 .
Rankings should be fair and unbiased, but that’s not the world we live in when preseason polls ultimately affect the final rankings.
Top 10 College Football Rankings Week 5:
Next Up: Notre Dame, BYU, Oklahoma, Michigan, Fresno State
10. Michigan State (4-0)
Last Week: 23-20 (W) vs Nebraska
Some of the media was down on MSU because they didn’t earn enough “style points against Nebraska. The reality is Scott Frost has his team playing much better and they gave Oklahoma a real fight too. No team goes through the season without playing some close games. The Spartans are fast, well-coached, and have a few nice wins under their belt, while being dominant at times.
9. Ohio State Buckeyes (3-1)
Last Week: 59-7 (W) vs Akron
No CJ Stroud at QB, no problem for the Buckeyes. Fans have been displeased with the results on the field this season. But that is a result of fans being spoiled. They want to blow everyone out despite the opponent of circumstances surrounding their team. But life doesn’t work like that. Neither does football. OSU is still the most explosive offense in college football.
8. Ole Miss (3-0)
Last Week: IDLE
Lane Kiffin lives by the motto “all publicity is good publicity” model. He understands that Ole Miss is not demanding the national attention without him trolling USC fans, Nick Saban, or responding to Michael Wilbon. His team has looked extremely good through three games, but the rubber meets the road against Alabama this week.
7. Cincinnati (3-0)
Last Week: IDLE
Cinci believes they are a big dog and can compete with Power 5 teams week in and week out. Here is there opportunity. In their last game they beat Big Ten opponent Indiana. Now they follow that up with a visit to Notre Dame. If they can win this game and look good, they could be on their was to their first College Football Playoff.
Check out our Pac-12 Football Podcast, Pac-12 Apostles:
6. Iowa (4-0)
Last Week: 24-14 (W) vs Colorado State
I appreciate watching Iowa play, and honestly at this point I believe the Hawkeyes will come back down to reality and will be a 10-2 or 9-3 team. Their future schedule doesn’t include Michigan, Michigan State, or Ohio State. That means if they can beat Penn State and Wisconsin and not lose to a lesser opponent, they could find themselves owning space in the College Football Top 10 Power Rankings all year.
5. Arkansas (4-0)
Last Week: 20-10 (W) vs Texas A&M @ AT&T Stadium
Wins over Texas and Texas A&M look real good right now. The Hogs dominated bothe football games. There are injury concerns about the Arkansas QB Jefferson. After he went out last week, their offense was essentially only able to hold on for dear life. If he is not available vs Georgia the Razorbacks has ZERO shot of winning. Georgia is more talented, so if Arkansas wins we know who the better coach is.
4. Penn State (4-0)
Last Week: 38-17 (W) vs Villanova
Penn State played Villanova. That is a basketball school. You would have expected the score to be a bit more lopsided than that, but it looked like a big win hangover, however, the Nittany Lions were never in any danger and were up 38-3 in the 4th quarter when the reserves gave up a couple of touchdowns.
3. Georgia Bulldogs (4-0)
Last Week: 62-0 (W) vs Vanderbilt
We finally get to see Georgia against a team that appears to be good offensively. Clemson is NOT a great team this year offensively. The Georgia defense looks phenomenal but are we sure they are the greatest thing since sliced bread when they haven’t played a great offense yet. That is the sole reason the Bulldogs sit at #3 instead of #1. THe criteria says they should be #3, but my gut says #1.
2. Oregon Ducks (4-0)
Last Week: 41-19 (W) vs Arizona
The Oregon Ducks are leading the nation is turnover margin. They have forced 13 turnovers on the season while only giving up one turnover. That is a recipe for winning games and dominating opponents. Now we wait for another signature offensive performance like we saw at Ohio State.
1. Alabama (4-0)
Last Week: 63-14 (W) vs So. Miss
Domination.Even though Nick Saban and everyone watching can see this team is not as good as last year, they still are dominating like the best team in college football. It appears they may get pushed to their defensive limit against Ole Miss. However, the real question is can this offense be stopped? We shall we.
Check back next Sunday morning for the College Football Top 10 Power Rankings Week 4.