AP top 25 poll: Week 5 college football games most likely to shake up the rankings

The very reason for the oft-cited line that scheduling fall weddings should be illegal (OK, at least strongly discouraged) is for college football Saturdays like this one.

Even the more casual college football fan is not going to want to break away from the TV with a Saturday slate that features four matchups between ranked teams, including an ultimate SEC heavyweight clash and one of the most tantalizing games on the entire Big Ten season schedule.

But even beyond those headliners, the Week 5 schedule sets up for a lot of potential disruption to the rankings. (All times Eastern; all betting lines from ESPN BET.)

No. 6 Oregon (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) at No. 3 Penn State (3-0, 0-0), 7:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC

Penn State is giving Oregon the White Out treatment Saturday night in Happy Valley in a game that will provide real clarity as to the top of the Big Ten power rankings.

The case can certainly be made that no team in college football has been more dominant so far than Oregon, which has won its first four games by an average margin of 41.5 points per game. Quarterback Dante Moore (962 passing yards, 11 TDs, 1 INT) has emerged in the Heisman Trophy conversation with the second-best odds, and the Ducks have lost just once since the start of last season (splitting their two matchups with eventual national champion Ohio State).

Penn State, meanwhile, has a veteran quarterback in Drew Allar and one of the best running back tandems in the country featuring Kaytron Allen (273 rushing yards, 3 TDs) and Nicholas Singleton (179 yards, 5 TDs).

Both teams are also stout defensively, with the Nittany Lions ranking ninth nationally at 224 yards per game allowed and the Ducks 12th at 228.8.

Penn State is a 3.5-point favorite, but coach James Franklin is just 4-20 vs. AP top 10 teams during his tenure.

No. 17 Alabama (2-1, 0-0 SEC) at No. 5 Georgia (3-0, 1-0), 7:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC

It almost seems sacrilegious -- in the college football sense -- to give this game second billing. It's Alabama-Georgia, after all! The two most successful programs of the last decade. What more needs to be said?

Second-year Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer could sure use the goodwill of beating the rival Bulldogs for the second straight year (the Tide won 41-34 in Tuscaloosa last season), while Georgia looks to position itself as the early SEC front-runner after already scoring a big road win at Tennessee.

Needless to say, it's the biggest game yet in the careers of Alabama QB Ty Simpson (862 passing yards, 9 TDs, 0 INT) and Georgia's Gunner Stockton (721 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs).

Georgia is a 2.5-point favorite at home.

No. 4 LSU (4-0, 1-0 SEC) at No. 13 Ole Miss (4-0, 2-0), 3:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC

Another great SEC showdown takes place in Oxford, Mississippi, between the Tigers and Rebels.

Despite wins over Clemson and Florida, LSU hasn't fully found itself offensively yet -- 69th in total offense (391.8 YPG) and 76th in scoring (29.0 PPG) -- and the Tigers and QB Garrett Nussmeier will need to play to their full potential on that side of the ball against an Ole Miss team averaging 44.8 PPG (12th).

Lane Kiffin has had his offense humming while not missing a beat when injured starting quarterback Austin Simmons had to give way to Trinidad Chambliss the last two weeks as the backup passed for 660 yards and 3 TDs and rushed for 174 yards and 2 TDs in wins over Arkansas and Tulane. Chambliss is expected to make his third straight start Saturday, per ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Ole Miss is a 1.5-point favorite.

No. 21 USC (4-0, 2-0 Big Ten) at No. 23 Illinois (3-1, 0-1), 12 p.m. Saturday on FOX

Illinois got straight-up embarrassed last week, entering the weekend as a top-10 team before losing 63-10 at Indiana. Now, the Fighting Illini face another one of college football's most dynamic offenses while trying to fix its defense on the fly as USC comes to town.

Lincoln Riley's Trojans look rejuvenated after two down seasons, ranking third in total offense at 583.8 YPG and fifth in scoring at 52.5 PPG behind QB Jayden Maiava (1,223 passing yards, 9 TDs, 0 INT; 2 rushing TDs). Meanwhile, this might be the best defense Riley has had in four years at USC as the Trojans are tied for first nationally in sacks at 4 per game.

Another loss would truly send Illinois' season spiraling while the Trojans -- 6.5-point favorites -- will look to keep climbing the rankings.

No. 22 Notre Dame (1-2) at Arkansas (2-2), 12 p.m. Saturday on ABC

Arkansas is a frisky 2-2 team, having played Ole Miss to within six points before a narrow one-point loss to Memphis in which it let a big lead slip away.

The point being this is not a game Notre Dame can take lightly after its 1-2 start. The Fighting Irish defense hasn't been what it was a year ago, and the Razorbacks have a very capable offense (43.5 PPG) behind veteran QB Taylen Green (1,191 yards, 12 TDs, 4 INTs; 360 rushing yards, 2 TDs).

Notre Dame is a 4.5-point favorite.

No. 15 Tennessee (3-1, 0-1 SEC) at Mississippi State (4-0, 0-0), 4:15 p.m. Saturday on SEC Network

The Volunteers are a missed field goal against Georgia away from being 4-0 and ranked squarely in the top 10. They'll look to get their first SEC win this week against a Mississippi State team that has been the surprise of the league, having already doubled its win total from last season while scoring a notable upset over a 2024 College Football Playoff qualifier in Arizona State.

A Tennessee loss would likely knock the Vols out of the rankings while making the Bulldogs one of the stories of college football. Tennessee is a 7.5-point favorite on the road.

Auburn (3-1, 0-1 SEC) at No. 9 Texas A&M (3-0, 0-0), 3:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN

Auburn may feel disrespected after being booted from the rankings despite playing Oklahoma (now No. 7 in the AP poll) competitively in a down-to-the-wire 24-17 loss on the road. Well, the Tigers get another high-profile opportunity Saturday in College Station, Texas.

Texas A&M is coming off a bye and has built its early-season resume almost entirely off a 41-40 win over Notre Dame while otherwise handling business against UTSA and Utah State.

The Aggies are 6.5-point favorites.

No. 24 TCU (3-0, 0-0 Big 12) at Arizona State (3-1, 1-0), 9 p.m. Friday on FOX

There are two pretty intriguing Friday night games that could have rankings implications.

TCU jumped into the poll this week after beating SMU last weekend, and the Horned Frogs now take on another 2024 CFP team in Arizona State.

TCU QB Josh Hoover (1,000 passing yards, 11 TDs, 2 INT) is climbing up the Heisman Trophy odds list as a dark horse, but the Horned Frogswill be without leading rusher Kevorian Barnes for a second straight week due to injury.

Arizona State suffered an early setback loss to Mississippi State and is coming off a narrow 27-24 win over Baylor last week. A win here could vault the Sun Devils back into the rankings, but they enter the matchup as a 3.5-point favorite.

No. 8 Florida State (3-0, 0-0 ACC) at Virginia (3-1, 1-0), 7 p.m. Friday on ESPN

Florida State holds a place in the top 10 by virtue of its Week 1 upset win over Alabama, but the Seminoles haven't been tested otherwise with lopsided wins over East Texas A&M and Kent State.

So what do we really know about this FSU team that was just 2-10 last year? That's the question and the reason to tune in Friday night as the rebuilt Seminoles and QB Tommy Castellanos (594 passing yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT; 139 rushing yards, 3 TDs) take on a Virginia team that blew out Coastal Carolina, William & Mary and Stanford along with a four-point loss on the road at NC State.

Sixth-year QB Chandler Morris, formerly at Oklahoma, TCU and North Texas, has passed for 1,050 yards, 8 TDs and 1 INT with a rushing TD so far for the Cavaliers.

Florida State is a 6.5-point favorite.

No. 1 Ohio State (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) at Washington (3-0, 0-0), 3:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS/Paramount+

We're assigning a low upset risk here, but it bears monitoring as Washington looks to be building in its second year under coach Jedd Fisch. The Huskies haven't had a tight game yet, blowing out Colorado State (38-21), UC Davis (70-10) and rival Washington State (59-24) behind junior quarterback Demond Williams Jr. (778 passing yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs; 220 rushing yards, 2 TDs) and star running back Jonah Coleman (347 rushing yards, 9 TDs).

That said, the Huskies also haven't faced a team anywhere near Ohio State's stratesphere yet.

The Buckeyes are 7.5-point favorites coming off a bye last week.

Arizona (3-0, 0-0 Big 12) at No. 14 Iowa State (4-0, 1-0), 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN

Another surprise team so far this season has been Arizona, which went 4-8 last season in coach Brent Brennan's first year but has started the 2025 campaign 3-0 with a notable win over Kansas State.

The Wildcats still have veteran quarterback Noah Fifita (712 passing yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT; 3 rushing TDs) and transfer running back Ismail Mahdi, from Texas State, is averaging 7.1 yards per carry (263 rushing yards, 1 TD while Portland State transfer Quincy Craig is averaging 9.2 YPC behind him.

All of that is to say Arizona is a good test for No. 14 Iowa State, which beat Kansas State and Iowa by just 3 points each and then won 24-16 over Arkansas State. The Cyclones are 5.5-point favorites.

No. 11 Indiana (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) at Iowa (3-1, 1-0), 3:30 p.m. Saturday on Peacock

Can Indiana avoid a letdown after its 63-10 evisceration of Illinois last week?

Probably. Curt Cignetti's Hoosiers have been remarkable consistent since the start of last season, taking care of business in games like this, but it's worth noting that Iowa was 6-1 at home each of the last two seasons and has seen its long-slumbering offense come to life the last two games with 47 points vs. UMass and 38 in a win over Rutgers.

But Indiana's offense has been on another level led by current Heisman favorite Fernando Mendoza (975 passing yards, 14 TDs, 0 INT; 2 rushing TDs).

The Hoosiers are 8.5-point favorites on the road.