NCAA Football Rankings 2021: Predicting Week 6 Poll for Top 25 Teams

Alabama and Georgia are in a class of their own in 2021. That's the case in the SEC, and it may even be true when considering the national landscape. The Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs are on a collision course toward the SEC Championship Game—and maybe even a meeting in the College Football Playoff.

Ranked in the top two spots in the AP Top 25 poll entering Week 5, Alabama and Georgia were supposed to be tested Saturday. Instead, each further asserted its dominance. The No. 1 Crimson Tide handily defeated No. 12 Ole Miss 42-21, while the No. 2 Bulldogs cruised to a 37-0 victory over No. 8 Arkansas.

Ole Miss and Arkansas aren't bad teams. Alabama and Georgia are just that much better.

There's going to be some shakeup behind the Tide and Bulldogs in the Week 6 poll, though, as No. 3 Oregon was upset in overtime at Stanford on Saturday. In addition to Oregon, Arkansas and Ole Miss, several other highly ranked teams were knocked off, such as No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 10 Florida and No. 15 Texas A&M.

With another week in the books, here's a prediction for how the AP Top 25 poll will look heading into Week 6.

Top 25 Predictions for Week 6

John Bazemore/Associated Press

1. Alabama (5-0)

2. Georgia (5-0)

3. Penn State (5-0)

4. Iowa (5-0)

5. Cincinnati (4-0)

6. Oklahoma (5-0)

7. Oregon (4-1)

8. Ohio State (4-1)

9. Michigan (5-0)

10. BYU (5-0)

11. Arkansas (4-1)

12. Ole Miss (3-1)

13. Coastal Carolina (5-0)

14. Michigan State (5-0)

15. Oklahoma State (5-0)

16. Notre Dame (4-1)

17. Auburn (4-1)

18. NC State (4-1)

19. Wake Forest (5-0)

20. Kentucky (5-0)

21. Texas (4-1)

22. SMU (5-0)

23. Arizona State (4-1)

24. Clemson (3-2)

25. Florida (3-2)

Cincinnati Has Proved Itself as Top-5 Team

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Since the College Football Playoff system was implemented ahead of the 2014 season, a Group of Five team has never made the four-team field. But Cincinnati is making a strong case this year that it should be the first to do so.

The Bearcats notched a statement victory Saturday, going on the road and earning a 24-13 win over Notre Dame. That snapped the Fighting Irish's 26-game home winning streak. Cincinnati is now 4-0 heading into AAC play, and it has a strong chance to run the table and win all eight of its conference games.

Don't be surprised when the Bearcats move from No. 7 in the AP Top 25 poll to No. 5, leapfrogging Oklahoma, which should stay at No. 6. The Sooners weren't quite as impressive Saturday, holding on for a 37-31 win at Kansas State.

At that point, Cincinnati will be behind only two SEC schools (No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Georgia) and a pair of Big Ten schools (No. 3 Penn State and No. 4 Iowa). And with a lot of season still to play, missteps by top contenders could allow the Bearcats to seal a historic spot in the CFP.

Oregon Still Deserving of Spot in Top 10

Jed Jacobsohn/Associated Press

If Oregon hadn't been on the wrong end of a controversial holding call, it wouldn't have lost Saturday. But the Ducks' penalty with no time remaining gave Stanford an untimed down, which the Cardinal used to score a game-tying touchdown on a 2-yard pass from Tanner McKee to Elijah Higgins and force overtime.

Stanford kept the momentum, and McKee threw a 14-yard touchdown strike to John Humphreys on the first possession of OT. Oregon was then stopped on four plays to give the Cardinal a 31-24 win. The game easily could have gone the other way, especially with how things unfolded on the final possession of regulation.

Still, the Ducks are going to drop from their No. 3 ranking. How far that is remains to be seen. But they should still be in the top 10 considering it was such a close loss and that they had been so impressive over their first four games, a stretch that included a victory at Ohio State.

A fair spot for Oregon should be around No. 7. But if the Ducks have another setback, their next loss is likely to be much more costly, especially with Arizona State seemingly on the rise and likely to re-enter the rankings after its win at UCLA on Saturday night.

Kentucky Will Be Ranked for First Time in 2021

Michael Clubb/Associated Press

Florida always beats Kentucky. That's pretty much how it's been since the mid-1980s, with the Gators routinely finding ways to take down the Wildcats. Entering Saturday, Florida had won 33 of its past 34 meetings with Kentucky—the Wildcats' lone win during that stretch was a road victory in 2018.

Now, Kentucky finally owns another home win over Florida too. The Wildcats beat the Gators 20-13 on Saturday night at Kroger Field, marking the first time they had beat them in Lexington since 1986.

Before Saturday's matchup, Kentucky was close to being in the AP Top 25 poll conversation. It had won each of its first four games, which included a pair of SEC victories over Missouri and South Carolina. However, the Wildcats didn't have a win against a ranked opponent.

By taking down the Gators, the Wildcats have their biggest win of the season thus far. And it should push them into the AP Top 25 poll. They will need to keep the momentum going against LSU in Week 6 because then they play at No. 2 Georgia on Oct. 16, which will be their toughest game of the year by far.