AP College Football Poll 2020: Week 5 Top 25 Rankings Announced

The start of SEC and Big 12 play and the return of Big Ten teams helped create quite a few changes in the latest Associated Press poll. 

While Saturday was officially Week 4 of the college football season, it featured the first appearances for several top teams as well as the first true test for many more. It resulted in two losses from teams that were considered potential title contenders, while other teams showed they were even better than many believed.

It led to some tough choices for AP voters heading into the Week 5 Top 25.

Associated Press Poll

1. Clemson

2. Alabama

3. Florida

4. Georgia

5. Notre Dame

6. Ohio State

7. Auburn

8. Miami (Florida)

9. Texas

10. Penn State

11. UCF

12. North Carolina

13. Texas A&M

14. Oregon

15. Cincinnati

16. Mississippi State

17. Oklahoma State

18. Oklahoma

19. Wisconsin

20. LSU

21. Tennessee

22. BYU

23. Michigan

24. Pittsburgh

25. Memphis

The Big Ten initially postponed its season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic before announcing it would return, with the new schedule beginning games on Oct. 24.

Voters were told to include teams from the conference in the preseason poll but removed them over the next few weeks. With the schedule in place, it means the top squads are back in the rankings as they prepare for the start of their season.

This week, voters added Ohio State (No. 6), Penn State (No. 10), Wisconsin (No. 19) and Michigan (No. 23). Oregon was also slotted in at No. 14 from the Pac-12.

It will still be nearly a month before any of these squads see the field, but we can start comparing them to the rest of the nation.

On the field, there was no game bigger than Kansas State's 38-35 upset of No. 3 Oklahoma.

Skylar Thompson starred with 334 passing yards and four total touchdowns, helping his team overcome a 21-point deficit in the second half with 24 unanswered points.

"There's not really any words I can say to describe it," Thompson said after the game, per Max Olson of The Athletic. "It's like you had to be there to feel it."

Sooners quarterback Spencer Rattler had his moments, but three interceptions ruined his day. It resulted in Oklahoma dropping to No. 18 in the poll, while Kansas State remained unranked.

LSU also fell from No. 6 to No. 20 after being a part of the other big upset of the weekend.

K.J. Costello tallied 623 passing yards and five touchdowns for Mississippi State, which debuted at No. 16 in Sunday's poll.

Though the Bulldogs were impressive under Mike Leach, the game creates significant concern for LSU, which is replacing most of its entire lineup from last year's national championship squad. 

Clemson and Alabama remain in the top spots after strong starts to their season, but they will both be challenged in conference matchups next weekend.