College Football Rankings 2018: Latest Standings and Predictions for Week 5

The early part of the college football season is over, and teams are starting to establish their strengths and minimize their weaknesses as they prepare for the main part of their conference schedules.

There has been little movement in the upper part of the Top 25 in either poll, and once again Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and Ohio State remain in the top four spots. Georgia is the No. 2 team in the Associated Press poll, while Clemson is in that position in the Amway Coaches Poll.

All four of those teams won comfortably Saturday, with the Buckeyes registering the most decisive victory as they rolled to a 49-6 triumph over Tulane.

Alabama registered a 45-23 victory over Texas A&M at home, while Georgia beat Missouri 43-29 and Clemson got the best of Georgia Tech 49-21.

Both the Bulldogs and Tigers got their victories on the road.

Here's a look at the AP and Coaches rankings heading into Week 5.

Oklahoma is in the fifth spot in the coaches poll and the sixth spot in the AP rankings after their 28-21 overtime victory over Army.

Oklahoma breathed a sigh of relief after Kyler Murray threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb in the extra period, and Parnell Motley came up with the interception on Army's extra-period possession.

LSU was pushed by Louisiana Tech, but the Tigers came away with a 38-21 victory. Seventh-ranked Stanford overcame a 17-point halftime deficit on the road to beat Oregon 38-31.

Notre Dame, Penn State and Auburn, the No. 8, 9 and 10 teams, respectively, all rolled to sizable triumphs. Penn State actually trailed Illinois 24-21 in the third quarter, but the Nittany Lions scored the last 42 points of the game.

Alabama hosts Louisiana-Lafayette in what should be an easy game for the Crimson Tide, but Clemson faces a challenge from unbeaten Syracuse. Georgia faces Tennessee at home Friday night, and quarterback Jake Fromm will have an excellent chance to add to the nine TD passes he has thrown this season.

The highlight of the schedule is a pair of games involving top-10 teams.

The fourth-ranked Buckeyes have their biggest challenge of the year to date as they travel to Happy Valley to take on the ninth-ranked Nittany Lions Saturday night. Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins has been superb this year, having completed 87 of 115 passes for 1,194 yards with 16 touchdowns, but he will face a huge test against hard-hitting Penn State.

Notre Dame will host Stanford Saturday night, and the Cardinal have shown they will not be intimidated if they fall behind early. They proved they could overcome a big deficit on the road against Oregon, and they should be ready to come with their best game against the Fighting Irish.

If the Irish are going to come up with the home win, they must overcome the combination of quarterback K.J. Costello and wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside. Costello has thrown 10 TD passes, while Arcega-Whiteside has seven TD catches through the first four games.

Predictions

Alabama will continue to roll with its powerful defense and two-quarterback system. While Jalen Hurts continues to play, Tua Tagovailoa has been dynamic as he has thrown for 12 TDs.

Tennessee is too erratic to cause big problems for Georgia, but Syracuse is good enough to hang in on the road against Clemson for a half. The second half will belong to the Tigers.

Ohio State was tested earlier this year by TCU, and now the Buckeyes have a bigger problem against Penn State. Look for the Nittany Lions to win this game by at least a touchdown.

Notre Dame is a solid team and the Irish play well at home. Stanford has proved itself, and Arcega-Whiteside will score the winning touchdown the game's final minutes.