College Football Rankings: Grading the Week 5 Performance of the Top 25

With college football in full swing now, teams are beginning to make their move to conference play and are already positioning themselves with huge wins.

While some teams inside the top 25 had the week off, others played important games including matchups with other top 25 teams.

Here is a look at how the top 25 did this week and a final grade given on their Week 5 performance.

No. 25: Arizona State

Opponent: Oregon State

Result: 35-20 Win

Summary: After falling behind early, the Sun Devils turned things around in the second quarter. But winning by 15 against the lowly Beavers has to be a slight disappointment for ASU.

Grade: C

No. 24: Illinois

Opponent: Northwestern

Result: 38-35 Win

Summary: Illinois took things down to the wire this week against Northwestern and managed to get into the end zone with only seconds remaining in the game.

If the Illini hope to be competitive in the Big 10, they need a more consistent effort out of their defense.

Grade: B-

No. 23: Florida State

Opponent: Bye Week

Result: NA

Summary: As if the loss to Oklahoma at home was not bad enough, the Seminoles hit the road and followed it up with a loss to Clemson.

Florida State got some much needed time off for Week 5 to heal up and get refocused on the rest of the season.

Grade: NA

No. 22: West Virginia

Opponent: Bowling Green

Result: 55-10 Win

Summary: After a tough loss to LSU at home, West Virginia recovered nicely and took out there frustrations on Bowling Green.

Once Bowling Green jumped out to a 10-3 lead, West Virginia put their foot and the pedal and never looked back.

Grade: A-

No. 21: Georgia Tech

Opponent: NC State

Result: 45-35 Win

Summary: Paul Johnson has done a great job getting this offense retooled without missing a beat. The Yellow Jackets are now 5-0 and are scoring at will.

As long as the defense can find some consistency, they will surprise a lot of people.

Grade: B

No. 20: TCU

Opponent: SMU

Result: 40-33 Loss

Summary: Coming into the season, people across the nation wondered if the TCU offense could produce without quarterback Andy Dalton. As we have found out from Week 1, the offense is not the issue, it is the defense.

Once again, the offense did not struggle to score, but the SMU offense was able to put up 40 points to earn the upset victory.

Grade: D+

No. 19: Michigan

Opponent: Minnesota

Result: 58-0 Win

Summary: So far this season, Michigan's offense has continued to put up points, but many were interested to see what the defense would do.

While Michigan is 5-0, they have not slammed the door on teams the way that they should have until today. In all areas of the game, Michigan played outstanding and had a great start to their conference schedule.

Grade: A

No. 18: Arkansas

Opponent: Texas A&M

Result: 42-38 Win

Summary: If you grade Arkansas based on how they did in the first half, the result would be much different.

After an average first half that saw them drop behind by 18 points, Arkansas took it to a new level and came all the way back to finish off an impressive victory over No. 14 Texas A&M.

Grade: A-

No. 17: Texas

Opponent: Iowa State

Result: 34-14

Summary: After getting Week 4 off, Texas returned to play this week against a surprising Iowa State team, but the Longhorns were not caught looking ahead to next week's game against Oklahoma.

The Longhorns have dominated from the opening kickoff and it should make for an interesting game against the Sooners.

Grade: B+

No. 16: South Florida

Opponent: Pittsburgh

Result: 44-17 Loss

Summary: South Florida had an outstanding opportunity slip through their hands this past Thursday night, and with the way things unfolded in the Big East last year, it could be something that comes back to haunt them.

Both the offense and defense struggled to get anything going for the Bulls, and this was by far their worst game of the season.

Grade: D

No. 15: Baylor

Opponent: Kansas State

Result: 36-35 Loss

Summary: While the Baylor offense was outstanding today, in particular Robert Griffin, the defense failed to answer the bell and make a stop when the offense needed them most.

If the Bears hope to make an impact in the Big 12 this year, they must get a consistent effort from their defensive unit.

Grade: C

No. 14: Texas A&M

Opponent: Arkansas

Result: 42-38 Loss

Summary: Much like Arkansas, Texas A&M was a team who had two completely different games in today's game.

The Aggies were able to jump out to a big lead after the first half, but a second straight second half collapse will not help the mental state of this team.

Grade: C-

No. 13: Clemson

Opponent: Virginia Tech

Result: 23-3 Win

Summary: For the third straight week, Clemson will be the toast of the college football world—this time with their road victory over Virginia Tech.

With victories over Florida State and now Virginia Tech, the Tigers have their eyes set on more than the ACC title.

Grade: A

No. 12: Florida

Opponent: Alabama

Result: 38-10 Loss

Summary: Despite playing at home, Florida struggled to keep up with the Alabama Crimson Tide and were shown they are not yet quite ready to return to elite status.

Grade: C

No. 11: Virginia Tech

Opponent: Clemson

Result: 23-3 Loss

Summary: After not suffering an early season letdown, Virginia Tech looked like a team that was focused on more then a conference title.

During tonight's home game, the Hokies looked like a team focused on anything other than football.

Grade: C-

No. 10: South Carolina

Opponent: Auburn

Result: 16-13 Loss

Summary: Coming into the season, many believed the South Carolina offense would have to carry this team once again and lead them to victory after victory.

Today, the South Carolina defense stepped up and held Auburn to only 16 points, but it wasn't enough as the Gamecocks offense could only muster 13 points in a losing effort.

Grade: C

No. 9: Oregon

Opponent: BYE

Result: NA

Summary: Oregon received their only bye week of the season this week as they begin to prepare for Cal in Week 6.

Autzen will be the site for Thursday night football; the last time Cal came to Eugene, they left with a 41-3 loss.

Grade: NA

No. 8: Nebraska

Opponent: Wisconsin

Result: 48-17 Loss

Summary: While this game started well for Nebraska, Wisconsin took control in the second quarter and never looked back.

While their first conference game may have not gone well, next week provides the Huskers with an opportunity to take out Ohio State

Grade: D+

No. 7: Wisconsin

Opponent: Nebraska

Result: 48-17 Win

Summary: After a bit of a slow start to the game, Wisconsin got themselves refocused and jumped out to a big lead.

As each week goes by, the Badgers continue to look like they are more than just a conference contender.

Grade: B+

No. 6: Stanford

Opponent: UCLA

Result: 48-19 Win

Summary: As is usually the case, QB Andrew Luck methodically picked apart the Bruins early and often, finishing with 227 yards passing on an amazing 23-of-27 effort, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Grade: A-

No. 5: Oklahoma State

Opponent: Bye Week

Result: NA

Summary: One week after a dramatic come-from-behind win over Texas A&M, the Cowboys enjoyed a week off and now will begin to prepare for their Week 6 game against the Kansas Jayhawks.

If the Cowboys can get the kind of performance they got from their defense in the second half of last week's game the rest of the way, Oklahoma State could be in for a special season.

Grade: NA

No. 4: Boise State

Opponent: Nevada

Result: 30-10 Win

Summary: This week Boise State was able to avenge last year's loss to Nevada but did not do so in their usual impressive matter.

To make things even more interesting, Kellen Moore threw 14 incompletions and two picks.

Grade: B-

No. 3: Alabama

Opponent: Florida

Result: 38-10 Win

Summary: After Florida jumped out to a very early lead, Alabama responded the way that you would expect them to and took the lead for good, reminding Florida the Tide are still one of the SEC's elite.

Grade: A-

No. 2: Oklahoma

Opponent: Ball State

Result: 62-6

Summary: Clearly upset from being jumped in the rankings, Oklahoma came out and flexed their muscles against Ball State.

Not only did the Sooners jump out to a huge lead in the first half, but continued to pour it on in the second half.

Grade: A

No. 1: LSU

Opponent: Kentucky

Result: 35-7

Summary: Another solid performance from the LSU Tigers. After jumping the Sooners in the polls, they came out and played a complete game.

The Tigers got contributions from both sides of the ball and also got another workman-like performance from quarterback Jarrett Lee as they continue to roll through their schedule.

Grade: A