College Football Rankings 2015: Week 5 NCAA Standings and Top 25 Team Records
The Top 25 for Week 5 reflects a Week 4 that wasn't nearly as straightforward as fans anticipated.
Oregon—the top-ranked Pac-12 team heading into the season—was not only defeated by Utah, but thoroughly dominated. The Utes blew out the Ducks 62-20 and moved into the Top 10, according to the latest AP Poll.
UCLA proved that it can still be a top team without Myles Jack at linebacker with a 56-30 win over Arizona, and No. 3 TCU avoided an upset bid from Texas Tech in Lubbock.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Here's a look at how the rankings shook out heading into a Week 5 slate that should cause an even bigger shake-up among the college football hierarchy.
| 1 | Ohio State | 4-0 | 1 | 38-12 W vs. Western Michigan |
| 2 | Michigan State | 4-0 | 2 | 30-10 W vs. Central Michigan |
| 3 | Ole Miss | 4-0 | 3 | 27-16 W vs. Vanderbilt |
| 4 | TCU | 4-0 | 3 | 55-52 W vs. Texas Tech |
| 5 | Baylor | 3-0 | 5 | 70-17 W vs. Rice |
| 6 | Notre Dame | 4-0 | 6 | 62-27 W vs. UMass |
| 7 | UCLA | 4-0 | 9 | 56-30 W vs. No. 16 Arizona |
| 8 | Georgia | 4-0 | 7 | 48-6 W vs. Southern |
| 9 | LSU | 3-0 | 8 | 34-24 W vs. Syracuse |
| 10 | Utah | 4-0 | 18 | 62-20 W vs. No. 13 Oregon |
| 11 | Florida State | 3-0 | 10 | No Game |
| 12 | Clemson | 3-0 | 11 | No Game |
| 13 | Alabama | 3-1 | 12 | 34-0 W vs. Louisiana Monroe |
| 14 | Texas A&M | 4-0 | 14 | 28-21 W vs. Arkansas |
| 15 | Oklahoma | 3-0 | 15 | No Game |
| 16 | Northwestern | 4-0 | 17 | 24-19 W vs. Ball State |
| 17 | USC | 3-1 | 19 | 42-14 W vs. Arizona State |
| 18 | Stanford | 3-1 | 21 | 42-24 W vs. Oregon State |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 3-1 | 22 | 28-0 W vs. Hawaii |
| 20 | Oklahoma State | 4-0 | 24 | 30-27 W vs. Texas |
| 21 | Mississippi State | 3-1 | Unranked | 17-9 W vs. Auburn |
| 22 | Michigan | 3-1 | Unranked | 31-0 W vs. No. 22 BYU |
| 23 | West Virginia | 3-0 | Unranked | 45-6 W vs. Maryland |
| 24 | California | 4-0 | Unranked | 30-24 W vs. Washington |
| 25 | Florida | 4-0 | Unranked | 28-27 W vs. Tennessee |
Week 5 Storylines to Watch
Game of the Week: No. 13 Alabama at No. 8 Georgia
The Alabama Crimson Tide find themselves in an unfamiliar situation this week. According to Odds Shark, they will be a two-point underdog when they go between the hedges to play the Bulldogs. As Gil Brandt of NFL.com noted, it's been a while since the Tide have been the underdogs:
It's understandable why the Tide have been forced into the role. Georgia has been nothing short of dominant in its first four games this season, while Alabama recently lost to Ole Miss.
However, counting Alabama out in this one would be a mistake. The Tide are in a do-or-die situation. If Nick Saban's squad picks up its second loss, a College Football Playoff berth and SEC title are pretty much out of the question.
Despite the one in the loss column, the Tide are still No. 1 in the country in an important metric. Football Outsiders' F/+ rankings, which take into account various advanced metrics, still have Alabama as the best team in college football.
Georgia isn't too bad according to the metric, either. The Bulldogs' play has them ranked No. 7 according to Football Outsiders. The highest-ranked opponent they've played, however, comes in at No. 41 (South Carolina). For comparison, Alabama has already played the No. 19 team in the country in F/+ in Wisconsin and lost to the No. 3 team in F/+ in Ole Miss.
Georgia is a strong team. Nick Chubb has played lights-out, and the Bulldogs certainly passed every test thus far. Saturday's test comes with a whole lot more gravitas. Will it be a crowning moment for the Bulldogs at home, or will the Tide keep their CFP hopes alive?
Either way, this has to be considered the biggest matchup of the week.
Potential Playoff Team to Watch: No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 23 West Virginia
There's still plenty of time for a team to move from the middle of the pack to a playoff favorite. One such team that has a shot at starting that run this week is the Oklahoma Sooners.
Remember in 2014 when TCU went from middling Big 12 team to conference co-champions and one of the conference's biggest threats to make the playoff? It was in large part due to a revamping of the offense with a new Air Raid attack to complement an already-stifling defense.
Fast-forward to 2015, and the Oklahoma Sooners are in position to make a similar leap this season. Oklahoma brought in offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley to give the offense a shot in the arm, and he's done just that. Baker Mayfield has already thrown for over 1,000 yards through three games in Riley's system, while Samaje Perine continues to pace the running attack that is averaging 182.3 yards per game.
Even though the Sooners already have a win over a Top 25 team in Tennessee on their resume, West Virginia might be their toughest test to date. Dana Holgorsen has his squad playing really well outside of the conference, and it's led to blowout wins over Georgia Southern, Liberty and Maryland.
Holgorsen shared his thoughts on West Virginia's understanding of its matchup with Matt Keller of Scout.com:
"I’m anxious to get into Big 12 play. We know what we’re getting into at Oklahoma. We understand the history and tradition and their winning percentage and the success they have had. We have a lot of these games coming up in the next month. I think we are prepared as well as we can possibly be. I look forward to getting in there and seeing what happens.
"
Make no mistake, West Virginia is a live dog here. Odds Shark has the Mountaineers pegged as a touchdown underdog. Their dynamic offense makes that an interesting line.
However, Oklahoma has a real chance to make a statement here. Between TCU's struggles with injuries and the fact that Baylor has yet to play anyone of merit at this point, the waters of the Big 12 have been muddied since the beginning of the season.
The eventual league champions might be beating the Mountaineers in Norman on Saturday.
Upset Watch: Texas Tech at No. 5 Baylor
Featuring a lightweight lineup of SMU, Lamar and Rice, the fact that Baylor's nonconference schedule is the most plush in college football is not a well-kept secret. The Bears are consistently listed as a playoff contender this season, but they have yet to be truly tested.
That's about to change.
You remember the Texas Tech Red Raiders, the team that came one miracle tipped-pass touchdown away from upsetting then-No. 3 TCU last week. Now they get a chance to bounce back against a Baylor team that will once again be more than happy to trade explosive plays with them all game.
Josh Norris of NBC Sports noted both teams' general lack of interest in possessing the ball for long periods of time:
The over/under in this contest is 88, per Odds Shark. That means the folks in Vegas expect a shootout. While the Bears might be the 15-point favorite, Texas Tech's offense is no joke. It ranks No. 3 in Football Outsiders' offensive S&P+ numbers.
In a game where neither defense will be able to stop the opposing offense, crazy things are bound to happen. Last week, the Red Raiders found themselves on the bad side of those crazy things. This week, it wouldn't be shocking to see them catch a few breaks.
With Baylor relatively untested so far this season, those breaks might be enough to see them get challenged this week. Few teams can keep up with Baylor's ability to put points on the board. The Red Raiders appear to be up to that challenge and could make things interesting when the game gets into the fourth quarter.
A win for Tech would cause a major reshuffling in the CFP picture, as it would show the Big 12 is once again fairly wide open at the top.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
