Amway College Football Poll 2018: Week 5 Top 25 Rankings Announced
The weekly Amway Coaches Poll was released Sunday, and a number of upsets and marquee matchups shook up the rankings.
Below, we'll look at the Week 5 poll and analyze the weekend.
Rankings
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Georgia
4. Ohio State
5. Oklahoma
6. LSU
7. Stanford
8. Notre Dame
9. Penn State
10. Auburn
11. Washington
12. West Virginia
13. Wisconsin
14. Central Florida
15. Michigan
16. Miami
17. Kentucky
18. Michigan State
19. Mississippi State
20. Oregon
21. Oklahoma State
22. Texas
23. Duke
24. Virginia Tech
25. Boise State
Analysis
Saturday was a wild day of college football, though the nation's elite largely avoided the fracas.
Alabama handled a tough opponent in Texas A&M, 45-23. Tua Tagovailoa continued his remarkable season, throwing for 387 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for another 10 yards and a score.
Nonetheless, Nick Saban found flaws.
"We were fortunate that we made a lot of big plays on offense," the head coach said, per the Associated Press. "We really threw the ball effectively and scored a lot of points, but we really didn't control the game. We didn't control the line of scrimmage. We struggled to run the ball offensively with consistency."
And yet, another blowout win. Every coach in the nation would take Alabama's "concerns."
Clemson, Georgia and Ohio State were likewise dominant, though Oklahoma surprisingly needed overtime to beat Army 28-21. Despite the unexpected scoreline, quarterback Kyler Murray kept his name in the Heisman conversation, throwing for 165 yards, three scores and a touchdown against one interception while also rushing seven times for 71 yards and another touchdown.
And then there was the game of the day, Stanford's 38-31 overtime win at Oregon, which could have major ramifications for the Pac-12 going forward.
Trailing 24-7 late in the third quarter, the Cardinal's comeback began when Stanford linebacker Joey Alfieri recovered a fumble and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown.
They completed it in overtime when K.J. Costello found tight end Colby Parkinson for a 23-yard touchdown pass and Alameen Murphy picked off Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert on the Ducks' possession.
The most memorable moment came with less than a minute remaining and Oregon facing 2nd-and-3. CJ Verdell fumbled on the running play, Stanford recovered and drove down the field, and Jet Toner sent the game to overtime with a 32-yard field goal.
"Unfortunately we kind of shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times, and we did everything we could to just give Stanford the game," Herbert said, per the AP.
Ducks head coach Mario Cristobal, meanwhile, defended the decision to run the ball rather than take a knee.
"We felt pretty good about the run game," he said. "We just needed one more to get a first down and close out the game."
Oregon wasn't the only team licking its wounds after Week 4, as Virginia Tech, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, TCU and Boston College were also upset. Of that group, the Hokies' loss to Old Dominion was perhaps the most shocking, though it was also unexpected for the Horned Frogs to drop to 2-2, even if their loss came against an improving Texas squad.
As for next week, the premier matchups continue, highlighted by a huge Big Ten clash between Ohio State and Penn State. Washington will host BYU, while Stanford's schedule doesn't get any easier with a good Notre Dame team up next.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
