NCAA Football Rankings 2019: Predicting Top Movers in Week 5 Post-Week 4 Results
Two of the biggest movers in the Week 5 AP Top 25 are coming off victories over ranked opposition.
Auburn is expected to inch closer to the group of College Football Playoff favorites following its win over Texas A&M, while Wisconsin should leap into the Top 10 by way of its triumph versus Michigan.
Notre Dame, Utah and Michigan will all drop, but the biggest loser in the polls could be UCF, who fell on the road to Pittsburgh.
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The Knights entered the season with little room for error, and instead of continuing a push upward, they are in danger of falling out of the rankings.
AP Top 25 Prediction
1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. LSU
5. Oklahoma
6. Auburn
7. Ohio State
8. Wisconsin
9. Florida
10. Notre Dame
11. Texas
12. Penn State
13. Oregon
14. Iowa
15. Utah
16. Boise State
17. Virginia
18. Michigan
19. Washington
20. California
21. Kansas State
22. USC
23. UCF
24. Army
25. Texas A&M
Biggest Movers
Auburn
Auburn's second win over a ranked foe was much more convincing than the first.
The Tigers held a 14-point lead over Texas A&M through one quarter and went on to win 28-20 at Kyle Field.
The manner in which Auburn won is significant when comparing it to Oklahoma and Ohio State. Both the Sooners and Buckeyes have dominated opponents, but neither of them have beaten Top 25 teams.
Some voters could make the argument to place the Tigers above Oklahoma or Ohio State because of their pair of ranked victories, the other occurred in Week 1 over Oregon.
At the very least, Auburn will move into the No. 7 position beneath the six playoff contenders. It may be a one-spot move, but it is significant when it comes to joining the top-tier programs of the sport.
If Gus Malzahn's team continues to win, it will move further up the rankings, as it has LSU, Georgia and Alabama still on its schedule.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin's path to the Top 10 is wide open thanks to its win over Michigan and Utah's Friday night defeat at the hands of USC.
The Badgers continued their dominance from the first two weeks by pulverizing the Wolverines at Camp Randall Stadium.
Through three contests, Paul Chryst's team outscored opponents 145-14, and Jonathan Taylor compiled 440 rushing yards.
At minimum, the Badgers should move up three positions, and they could jump up more spaces depending on how the voters stack their Week 4 win up against others.
Since the Big Ten West is perceived as the weaker division in the conference, Wisconsin could reside in the Top 10 for an extended period.
Wisconsin's next three contests come at home versus Northwestern, Kent State and Michigan State before it hits the road to play Illinois.
If the Badgers run through that lineup, they could be in store for a Top 5 clash with Ohio State October 26. In that best-case scenario, the Badgers would work themselves into the playoff conversation as the conference's top option.
UCF
One week after moving up two spots off a home win against Stanford, UCF will be on the brink of dropping out due to a road loss to Pittsburgh.
Because of their Group of Five status, the Knights had a slimmer margin of error than any other power-conference team, and they likely lost their claim as the top Group of Five team to Boise State, who is 4-0.
Now that they have a blemish on their resume, the Knights will be valued less and will be on the fringe of the national conversation for a few weeks.
Since a majority of the programs beneath it won, Josh Heupel's team may land in the bottom few spots, or out of the rankings completely.
UCF might avoid a tumble out of the Top 25 since Washington State and Arizona State lost Saturday night, and the list of potential entrants is light following Oklahoma State's defeat to Texas.
UCF also took a hit in strength of schedule, as Temple and Houston suffered Week 4 defeats. If the Knights were to climb back up the rankings, they would need some quality victories.
Entering conference play, the most beneficial win for UCF could come against Cincinnati or Tulane, who are a combined 5-0.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
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