College Football Rankings Week 5: Possibly Our Craziest Top 25 Yet

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Before you go one step further with the Week 5 CFN Top 25, please understand one extremely important disclaimer: We don’t like our rankings this week, either.

There’s a Grand Canyon-sized glitch happening at the moment, and there’s just no way around it until next week, at least – Tulsa beat Oklahoma State 24-10 in Week 1 (and it wasn’t some last-second Hail Mary thing).

We’ve done our rankings the same way ever since we started in 1998 – always go by what happened on the field, regardless of school name, beliefs, or hype, and then, as the season goes on, there’s a combination of Respect The Results along with our sane and rational judgment.

So please, be kind, understand that we totally get it, and yes, there will be massive changes coming soon.

CFN Week 5 Top 25 Teams: It Has To Be This Way, For Now

25. Oregon Ducks

Record: (3-1)
Last Week Rank: 38
Week 4: Oregon 41, USC 27
Up Next: OPEN DATE
And here’s our problem. We want to rank Oregon because it really is one of the 25 best teams in college football – and, honestly, when it’s humming, it probably belongs in the top five.

We also want to give the Ducks credit for beating USC, but there’s a problem with that, too – USC’s wins were against San Jose State, Fresno State, Louisiana, and it struggled against a lousy Rutgers team that got whacked by UMass. Trade the USC name for, say, Purdue, with the same sort of resume and results, and the win wouldn’t be that big of a deal.

But to rank Oregon means we have to respect the 39-31 loss to a 3-1 Oklahoma State team that we also want to rank, so …

24. Oklahoma State Cowboys

Record: (3-1)
Last Week Rank: 37
Week 4: Oklahoma State 41, West Virginia 24
Up Next: OPEN DATE
The win over West Virginia in Morgantown was fantastic. The Cowboys are up to speed, looking great over the last three weeks against the Mountaineers, Murray State, and, of course, Oregon. So to do this correctly – for now – we must rank the Cowboys ahead of the Ducks, which means we (seriously, we’re holding our noses here) have to rank …

23. Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Record: (3-1)
Last Week Rank: 36
Week 4: Arkansas 34, Tulsa 6
Up Next: North Texas
Again, Tulsa stuffed this Cowboy team in Week 1 in a 24-10 win, and it was even more impressive than you might think. The Golden Hurricane were up 17-3 late in the third, forced four turnovers, and were only outgained by seven yards. So for now, Tulsa has to be ranked higher than Oklahoma State, which means – and hold on to your butts on this …

22. Arkansas Razorbacks

Record: (2-2)
Last Week Rank: 75
Week 4: Arkansas 34, Tulsa 6
Up Next: at Texas A&M
Before you holler at us, remember who the two Arkansas losses were against. Georgia, who might win the national title, and Utah, who might at least win the Big 12 Championship. Those two are destroying everyone, not just Arkansas, who just blew out Tulsa, making this the hardest piece of the puzzle to fit. And with that, the top 21 becomes a tad more normal.

21. Cincinnati Bearcats

Record: (4-0)
Last Week Rank: 55
Week 4: Cincinnati 31, Kansas State 26
Up Next: at Arizona
After screaming from the rooftops for the last six months that Kansas State was terrific, now we have to give the just-due credit to the team that beat the team we liked so much. Also, Washington State put up a fight against Washington and Arizona, and got whacked by the Bearcats by 27.

20. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Record: (4-0)
Last Week Rank: 43
Week 4: Nebraska 31, Michigan State 13
Up Next: Maryland
It would be nice to have a stronger top win than Michigan State, but it was on the road – it beat the Spartans by more than Notre Dame did. Somewhat quietly, the Huskers have four double-digit blowout wins to start the season, and there will probably be a fifth next week against Maryland before hosting Indiana.

19. Virginia Tech Hokies

Record: (4-0)
Last Week Rank: 26
Week 4: Virginia Tech 21, Boston College 14
Up Next: Pitt
This falls into the “prove it, already” category, but we liked James Franklin’s team all offseason, and it’s getting the job done in workmanlike fashion so far. Now it has to beat an unbeaten Pitt team.

18. Michigan Wolverines

Record: (3-1)
Last Week Rank: 19
Week 4: Iowa 20, Michigan 19
Up Next: at Minnesota
The defense is so good that this bunch can hang with just about anyone, and the offense is so blah that we realize this is way too high. Don’t blow off the Oklahoma win just because the Sooners got rocked by an amazing Georgia team; that was still a strong victory. But like Virginia Tech, there’s a prove-it thing happening here. Go win the Little Brown Jug game at Minnesota next week, and the respect will follow.

17. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Record: (4-0)
Last Week Rank: 22
Week 4: Texas Tech 49, Sam Houston 14
Up Next: at Colorado
We should probably be giving more respect to the win over Houston two weeks ago, but overall, this schedule is just so … meh. The team hasn’t looked like last year’s version, but 4-0 doesn’t care where 4-0 came from.

16. BYU Cougars

Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 18
Week 4: OPEN DATE
Up Next: at TCU
The Arizona win deserves respect, and the 41-23 victory at Colorado State should’ve been by more. Next week’s date at TCU will be interesting. If the Cougars are all that, they should roll.

15. UCLA Bruins

Record: (4-0)
Last Week Rank: 25
Week 4: UCLA 54, Maryland 3
Up Next: OPEN DATE
Just when it became concerning that the defense couldn’t slow down Purdue, and there might be issues … BOOM. It shut down a high-powered Maryland team in College Park, and once again, the ground attack was incredible. There still isn’t an amazing win, but after a week off comes a trip to Oregon.

14. Tennessee Volunteers

Record: (3-1)
Last Week Rank: 12
Week 4: Texas 20, Tennessee 17
Up Next: Auburn
Forgetting the clown show that was the final 90 seconds, Tennessee had a throw into the end zone that wasn’t terribly far off from beating the No. 1 team in America. This team is still really good.

13. Iowa Hawkeyes

Record: (4-0)
Last Week Rank: 33
Week 4: Iowa 20, Michigan 19
Up Next: Ohio State
For just about anyone else, the eye-test would keep the Hawkeyes from coming anywhere near this high – you and ten friends could slow down the Michigan offense. But that’s how this bunch works. Great defense, special teams, stay in the game, and when there’s a chance to do something special, do it. (Now do something special and don’t get doornailed by Ohio State.)

12. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Record: (4-0)
Last Week Rank: 20
Week 4: Mississippi State 31, Missouri 24
Up Next: Alabama
Minnesota went to Washington and handed the Huskies their first defeat. When Mississippi State beat the Gophers, at the time that was more about how bad Minnesota was, when in reality, the 38-13 domination on the road showed how good the Bulldogs were, and they proved it with wins over South Carolina and Missouri.

11. Utah Utes

Record: (4-0)
Last Week Rank: 11
Week 4: Utah 28, Iowa State 20
Up Next: OPEN DATE
The win over an okay Iowa State team could’ve been a bit more impressive, but that’s what the Cyclones do – they play close games. Utah obliterated that Arkansas team that beat Tulsa, that beat … (sorry, too soon … too soon …)

10. LSU Tigers

Record: (3-1)
Last Week Rank: 6
Week 4: LSU 35, Texas A&M 6
Up Next: McNeese
Again, we don’t like our own top 25 this week. Really, LSU is probably one of the five best teams in America – especially in Baton Rouge – but if we’re going to set the dial to full pretentiousness, then yeah, for now we have to rank the Tigers behind Ole Miss after the loss two weeks ago.

9. Ole Miss Rebels

Record: (3-1)
Last Week Rank: 5
Week 4: Florida 52, Ole Miss 28
Up Next: OPEN DATE
Florida appears to be just that amazing, and Ole Miss seemed a tad fried after the overblown hype around the Lane Kiffin/LSU game. The schedule ahead is a bear, but the Rebels did beat LSU, and Trinidad Chambliss is still amazing.

8. Indiana Hoosiers

Record: (4-0)
Last Week Rank: 8
Week 4: Indiana 29, Northwestern 23
Up Next: at Rutgers
This is a total gift considering how sloppy the defending national champs were against Northwestern. After starting the season with three cream puffs, there was no excuse to struggle that much. Let’s just say Curt Cignetti has earned the benefit of a few hundred doubts.

7. Miami Hurricanes

Record: (4-0)
Last Week Rank: 9
Week 4: Miami 52, Central Michigan 3
Up Next: at Clemson
It’s been lost in the weeds, but don’t blow off the 33-20 win at Wake Forest a few weeks ago. The Demon Deacons have been fabulous, including a great win over Louisville this week. The date at Clemson should be an interesting measuring stick.

6. Florida Gators

Record: (4-0)
Last Week Rank: 14
Week 4: Florida 52, Ole Miss 28
Up Next: at Missouri
You hang 44 at Auburn and follow it up with a dominant win over the team that just handed that LSU team a loss, and you’re doing something right. The defense might still need some reworking, but Jon Sumrall’s team is humming offensively.

5. Alabama Crimson Tide

Record: (4-0)
Last Week Rank: 7
Week 4: Alabama 49, South Carolina 18
Up Next: at Mississippi State
It was 35-3 in the first half against a South Carolina team with the talent to – at least in the minds of some – pull off the upset. It’s time to put Keelon Russell deep into the Heisman conversation.

4. Georgia Bulldogs

Record: (4-0)
Last Week Rank: 4
Week 4: Georgia 41, Oklahoma 13
Up Next: Vanderbilt
No one really wants to believe this, but Oklahoma is actually good, and Georgia just ran over it like it was a light scrimmage. If you want to say this is the No. 1 team in America right now based on the way its playing, no argument here.

3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Record: (4-0) 
Last Week Rank: 3 
Week 4: Notre Dame 49, Purdue 10
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was against Purdue, but it was 35-0 before anyone could get comfortable. And all of a sudden, that 41-13 win over Wisconsin looks even better. If anything, we all might be undervaluing that this is it. This is the best team in America, and it’s going to blast through everything in its path.

2. Ohio State Buckeyes

Record: (3-1) 
Last Week Rank: 2 
Week 4: Ohio State 42, Illinois 19
Like we said last week, the kid hits the field goal attempt straight late in the game at Texas, and Ohio State is the unquestioned No. 1 team in America. Jeremiah Smith is terrifyingly great.

1. Texas Longhorns

Record: (4-0) 
Last Week Rank: 1 
Week 4: Texas 20, Tennessee 17
Give credit to a Texas team that had to scratch and claw its way to pull off a win against Ohio State, and got through a rock fight at Tennessee when things weren’t working quite right. We all know how talented this team is, but it’s got grit.

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