College Football Rankings 2013: Top 25 Teams with Most to Prove in Week 5

Looking back in Week 4 in college football, well, um, at least there was a UFC pay-per-view to divert some of our attention?

That's about the best thing you can say about a relatively putrid Saturday across the sport. There were exactly zero upsets of Top 25 teams.

Seven of the 19 games involving ranked teams this past week were decided by 40 or more points. Twice teams agreed upon a running clock to quell the utter annihilation, and Miami and Savannah State shaved three whole minutes off their fourth quarter to get everyone the hell out of there limbs still intact.

Week 4 in college football was filled with grisly carnage, the lifeless also-rans getting chewed up and spat out like accidentally-eaten cat food.

And the Week 5 rankings reflect that widespread domination. Only one team dropped from its perch within the best 25 in the Associated Press' new rankings, and it's worth noting that one of those teams was Arizona State, which had the indignity of getting pummeled on the road against fifth-ranked Stanford. 

Not exactly a loss worth criticizing.

That being said, fans should be in for a more enjoyable viewing experience next Saturday. In-conference play kicks off across college football, meaning the best of the best will actually be playing teams in it for more than just a fat check. 

There will likely be at least a couple of upsets, and surely fewer running clocks and 70-point blowouts. With the difficulty ratcheted up, that means a few questionable teams hanging on will have a ton to prove in Week 5.

Let's check in with the new AP rankings and determine which teams should be in "prove it" mode.

No. 22 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Last season, Notre Dame specialized in gutting out close and at times ugly wins. The Irish defense was almost unquestionably the nation's best in the regular season, allowing Everett Golson to manage his way through games most teams wouldn't otherwise win. In eight of their 13 games, the Irish scored 22 or fewer points and only lost one—the national championship game against Alabama.

Saturday's win over Michigan State had to feel a whole lot like 2012 in South Bend. Quarterback Tommy Rees completed only 14 of 34 passes for 142 yards, but he avoided critical turnovers and threw a second-quarter touchdown that gave the Irish a lead at half. The team's group of running backs combined to average only 2.4 yards per carry, and yet Cam McDaniel managed a rare seven-yard gain for what turned out to be the game-winning score.

Meanwhile, the defense suffocated Michigan State. A questionable offensive team to begin with, the Spartans were rendered completely fangless by the Notre Dame front seven. Running back Nick Hill, who had been the team's big-play threat, had only 34 yards on his 13 carries, and Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook essentially played Rees even.

For those who studied the matchup, it was an expected result. Although the Irish offense has been off to a better start than a year ago, Rees can't carry an attack, and the team is still sorting out its running back situation. And Michigan State's offense is simply dreadful; this was bound to be a low-scoring contest.

The Irish won't have as much schedule luck this week when Oklahoma makes the trip up to South Bend.

Blake Bell's arrival to the starting lineup in Week 3 came with an instant shot in the arm, with the junior quarterback tossing four touchdowns in a blowout win over Tulsa. Freshman Trevor Knight had been unable to parlay his excellent preseason into anything of substance, and it was instantly obvious how much better the Sooners offense was with Bell.

With the combo meal of Brennan Clay and Damien Williams at running back, the Irish defense will face arguably their biggest test of the season—depending on how bullish you're feeling on Devin Gardner at the moment. 

The last time Notre Dame played a ranked team, it gave up 40 points. Last week, the Irish looked as dominant as they were last season defensively. Will the real Fighting Irish please...OK, not going there. But we'll find out whether this year's Notre Dame team is worthy of Top 25 billing in Week 5. 

No. 6 LSU Tigers

According to my excellent math skills, we're in year eleventy billion of the Les Miles era. We all should have a pretty good idea that the Tigers are going to be competitive and go to a January bowl game. That's just how these things work.

The "prove it" mantle here specifically applies to quarterback Zach Mettenberger. Arguably the biggest reason LSU didn't make a BCS bowl game a year ago, Mettenberger has been bar none the most improved player in the SEC through the first few weeks. The senior signal-caller has thrown for 1,028 yards and 10 touchdowns against a single interception, playing a beautifully efficient style.

To contrast, Mettenberger threw for 2,609 yards and 12 touchdowns against seven interceptions last season. The first third of the 2013 regular season has him on pace to obliterate those numbers in every conceivable way.

Having a trio of elite running backs certainly hasn't hurt matters—the Tigers are averaging a very solid 5.4 yards per carry so far—but Mettenberger has this team looking like a borderline national championship contender.

Now comes the first real test for the LSU quarterback's improvement.

Ninth-ranked Georgia has already been through a gauntlet. The Bulldogs opened their season with a one-possession loss to Clemson and followed it up by taking down South Carolina at home. They had a bye in Week 3 before a virtual bye versus North Texas this past week, meaning they will have had three weeks to prepare for hosting LSU come next Saturday.

That could spell the end of Mettenberger's honeymoon phase. LSU has either played at the friendly confines of Tiger Stadium or at a neutral location in each of its first four games this year. Going to Athens and engaging in what could be a shootout against Aaron Murray, Todd Gurley and Co.?

I'm bearish on whether Mettenberger 2.0 will be able to keep up. A tiger doesn't change his stripe...OK, not going there, either. But betting on Mettenberger on the road against a top-10 team just isn't something I'm ready to do at this point.

Win on Saturday? The conversation changes.

No. 16 Washington Huskies

This may be the most underrated game (and possibly the best) of the entire week. Washington hosts unranked Arizona in a battle of the unbeatens in a contest that may determine Oregon and Stanford's biggest dark-horse challenger for the Pac-12 crown.

Both teams have been borderline unstoppable this season. The Huskies have a plus-98 point differential already this season, winning each of their games by double-digits and dominating on both sides of the ball. They rank inside the top 20 in passing offense, rushing offense and both facets on the defensive side as well.

Quarterback Keith Price looks recovered from his lost junior season. He's thrown for 879 yards and completed 77 percent of his passes, resembling the breakout star he was in 2011. With a 7-to-1 touchdown-to-interception rate, Price has been comfortable and efficient in the pocket.

Having Bishop Sankey lining up behind him has obviously helped. The Washington running back has rushed for 446 yards and four touchdowns already this season, averaging a whopping seven yards per carry. That balance has made them nearly impossible to stop and allowed them to control the clock and keep their defense off the field as much as possible.

Arizona doesn't have nearly that level of balance—only six teams in the entire nation are averaging fewer passing yards per game—but the efficiency is there. Led by a dominant defense and the trio of Ka'Deem Carey, Daniel Jenkins and quarterback B.J. Denker, the Wildcats have eviscerated their opponents by pounding them into the ground.

Rich Rodriguez's read-option offense has returned to the hyper-efficiency that hasn't been seen since his days in Morgantown. Arizona is averaging 6.4 yards per carry as a team, with Carey and Jenkins hovering around the seven per clip mark. 

Things get a bit hairy when Denker is expected to throw, but Steve Sarkisian's team isn't without its flaws. The Huskies have forced only five turnovers through their first three games and coughed it up four times themselves. Plus-one isn't exactly a dreadful turnover rate by any stretch; it's just hard seeing it getting much better as the schedule gets harder.

With Arizona running the hyper-efficient, low-turnover option attack, it'll at least be interesting to see how this game plays out.

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