College Football Rankings 2014: Final NCAA Overview of Week 5 Standings

Week 5 of the 2014 college football season is upon us, but fans of the sport want to get a final look at the NCAA rankings before Saturday’s intense slate of games kicks off.

With vaunted teams like Florida State, Auburn, Texas A&M, Baylor and more all playing on Saturday, there will be more than enough action to keep even the most jaded college football fans satisfied.

Here are the Week 5 college football rankings and a focus on Saturday’s most underrated matchup.

Rank	Associated Press Top 25	Amway Top 25	Bleacher Report Top 25
1	Florida State Seminoles	Florida State Seminoles	Oregon Ducks
2	Oregon Ducks	Alabama Crimson Tide	Florida State Seminoles
3	Alabama Crimson Tide	Oklahoma Sooners	Alabama Crimson Tide
4	Oklahoma Sooners	Oregon Ducks	Oklahoma Sooners
5	Auburn Tigers	Auburn Tigers	Auburn Tigers
6	Texas A&M Aggies	Baylor Bears	Texas A&M Aggies
7	Baylor Bears	Texas A&M Aggies	Baylor Bears
8	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
9	Michigan State Spartans	Michigan State Spartans	Michigan State Spartans
10	Mississippi Rebels	UCLA Bruins	Mississippi Rebels
11	UCLA Bruins	Mississippi Rebels	UCLA Bruins
12	Georgia Bulldogs	Arizona State Sun Devils	Georgia Bulldogs
13	South Carolina Gamecocks	Georgia Bulldogs	South Carolina Gamecocks
14	Mississippi State Bulldogs	Stanford Cardinal	Mississippi State Bulldogs
15	Arizona State Sun Devils	South Carolina Gamecocks	Stanford Cardinal
16	Stanford Cardinal	Mississippi State Bulldogs	Arizona State Sun Devils
17	LSU Tigers	Wisconsin Badgers	BYU Cougars
18	USC Trojans	LSU Tigers	USC Trojans
19	Wisconsin Badgers	Nebraska Cornhuskers	LSU Tigers
20	BYU Cougars	Ohio State Buckeyes	Wisconsin Badgers
21	Nebraska Cornhuskers	BYU Cougars	Nebraska Cornhuskers
22	Ohio State Buckeyes	USC Trojans	East Carolina Pirates
23	East Carolina Pirates	Duke Blue Devils	Ohio State Buckeyes
24	Oklahoma State Cowboys	East Carolina Pirates	Clemson Tigers
25	Kansas State Wildcats	Kansas State Wildcats	Oklahoma State Cowboys

*Full links for Amway Coaches, Associated Press and Bleacher Report Top 25 polls.

Matchup of the Day: USC vs. Oregon State

One of the most underrated games on Saturday’s schedule is the Pac-12 battle between the ranked USC Trojans and the Oregon State Beavers.

USC is ranked No. 18 overall in the Associated Press and Bleacher Report Top 25 polls, but ranked No. 22 overall in the Amway Coaches Poll. The Trojans were considered an early-season favorite to contend for a spot in the playoffs, but a loss to Boston College two weeks ago has thrown a wrench in the works.

According to Josh Webb of USCFootball.com, how the Trojans perform on Saturday will be one of the determining factors in how the team finishes the 2014 season:

Led by junior quarterback Cody Kessler, the offense has averaged 292 yards per game through the air. Add in the 151 yards per game on the ground for USC, and the offensive unit is more balanced than many anticipated.

After dominating Fresno State in the season opener and beating the vaunted Stanford Cardinal, USC suffered a hangover and lost the following game at BC. With a bye in Week 4, the Trojans have been stewing on the 37-31 loss and will look to bounce back against a conference foe.

The task won’t be easy against the Beavers, though, as USC head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke glowingly about Oregon State, via ESPN.com:

"

Sean Mannion I think is a great player and he has been doing it for quite a while and he's in a really good scheme. Coach (Mike) Riley does a great job with the play-action pass game. They do a really nice job with their stack and bunch assignments, running two-man routes and really forcing your secondary to communicate on the fly.

"

As good as Sarkisian thinks Oregon State is this year, the Beavers haven’t won at the L.A. Coliseum since 1960. If there was ever a time to buck the trend, it would be with the talented squad head coach Mike Riley put together.

Led by Mannion and the 903 yards and four touchdowns he threw over the first three games, the Beavers offer an offensive unit just as balanced as USC’s. With an average of 301 yards passing and 145.7 yards rushing per game, Oregon State will torch a Trojans defense that allowed 37 points and 506 total yards to Boston College.

While Oregon State has not won at the Coliseum in a long time, the two teams have split the last six meetings. If the Beavers find a rhythm early and USC isn’t fully mentally recovered from the loss to BC, this could be one of the biggest upsets in Week 5.

A win for Oregon State would put them at 4-0 this season and would make the program a top candidate to crack the Top 25 in the Week 6 rankings. For USC, another loss would likely push them out of the rankings.

Predicted Final Score: Oregon State 30, USC 27

*Stats via ESPN.com.

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