College Football Rankings: AP Top 25 Teams Moving Up, Down in Week 5

There will not be a new No. 1 team in the college football rankings this week.

With a dozen ranked teams playing against each other on the same field this weekend, it was inevitable that AP pollsters would be faced with quite a few consequential decisions when filling out their ballots, and the teams didn’t disappoint over Saturday’s action.

Who is moving up and down coming out of the Week 4 games as September football comes to a close?

Rankings reflect AP top 25 poll

Staying Put: Texas

College Football Rankings: AP Top 25 Teams Moving Up, Down in Week 5 — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last week’s ranking: No. 1

These are the kinds of games that playoff selectors will take a special interest in later this season, and the Longhorns passed a critical test by taking down No. 14 Tennessee to open SEC play on the road and preserve their No. 1 ranking in the AP poll.

While much of the attention was naturally around Arch Manning, the Texas defense did most of the work, recording a stunning 10 sacks against a shaky Vols offensive line, and Colin Simmons tied a single game school record with 5 by himself. But the Longhorns are far from a finished product when it comes to throwing the ball, protecting the quarterback, and cleaning up penalties.

Moving Up: Florida

Last week’s ranking: No. 21

Jadan Baugh looks like the best running back in college football and Florida looks something like an SEC championship contender after pasting No. 4 Ole Miss by a 52-28 count. Baugh had 154 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns and the Gators are 4-0 for the first time since 2019, when it went 11-2 and won the Orange Bowl.

It’s not out of the picture that Florida could be a 6-0 football team going into the game against Texas on Oct. 17, or even a 7-0 club going into the Cocktail Party against Georgia, which could finally feel like a matchup between equals this time around.

Moving Down: Ole Miss

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

The big question on the Rebels’ roster coming into this season was the caliber of the defenders the program brought in through the transfer portal, and after watching them let the Gators rumble for 302 yards on the ground and score 6 times, they’ll have to regroup during the idle week to find a realistic way forward.

It was going to be pretty tough for Ole Miss either way this week, coming off an emotional win against Lane Kiffin and LSU the Saturday prior, making a trip to the Swamp ideal trap game territory. Trinidad Chambliss had a decent outing, covering 342 total yards with 3 scores, but having no Kewan Lacy deprived the offense of a stabilizing force to keep Florida off the field.

Moving Up: Oregon

Last week’s ranking: No. 20

Despite watching starting quarterback Dante Moore exit Saturday’s game after a violent, late hit to the head, the Ducks were still playing against the USC defense, and you know what that means. Dylan Raiola entered the game and led six scoring drives to pull away from the Trojans and pass a massive road test to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Moving Down: USC

Last week’s ranking: No. 12

Conversely, the Trojans’ postseason hopes took another hit because their tacklers still cannot play up to the standard of their better opponents. At this point we’ve seen enough. Every loss suffered by Lincoln Riley is basically the same: the defense gives way to such an extent that even his talented offense eventually can’t keep up, and now it happened against a backup quarterback.

Moving Up: LSU

Last week’s ranking: No. 10

Needing to avoid a second-straight loss after an emotional trip to Ole Miss a week ago, LSU responded in the best way it could, demolishing Texas A&M in a 35-6 result that was the most convincing all-around performance of the weekend, but they could have injury concerns going forward with quarterback Sam Leavitt, linebacker Whit Weeks, and wide receiver Winston Watkins all dealing with issues in the game.

Moving Down: Texas A&M

Last week’s ranking: No. 23

AP voters dropped the Aggies by the largest margin of any team in last week’s poll after a loss to unranked Kentucky, and after a 29-point loss at LSU this week, we should see this team fall out of the rankings entirely, as Mike Elko’s program looks like it’s entering a nosedive with a passing attack going nowhere and a far-too-generous air defense.

Moving Down: Tennessee

Last week’s ranking: No. 14

Back to the drawing board for Josh Heupel, whose offense was suffocated in the face of the Texas defense, spooking young quarterback Faizon Brandon to constantly bail even on clean pockets and take off running, the ground game had just 1.6 yards per carry, and a late chance to win the game was foiled by penalties, another sack, and some poor throws.

Moving Up: Iowa

Last week’s ranking: No. 17

Another one-second stunner at the Big House, this time with the Wolverines on the losing end as the Hawkeyes stole a 20-19 decision on the road when Hank Brown threw a game-winning touchdown to Reese Vander Zee to cap off a 91-yard drive.

It’s the first win for Iowa against a ranked team on the road since 2021, its first win at Michigan since 2010, and its first win on the road against a ranked Big Ten team since 2015, enough to buy the Hawkeyes a few more votes in this week’s AP ballot.

Moving Down: Michigan

Last week’s ranking: No. 18

Bryce Underwood needed to prove he could lead the Wolverines’ vertical passing offense, and he helped engineer an attack that produced two 100-yard wide receivers in a home game for the first time since 2002, and his 49-yard bomb for JJ Buchanan seemed to win the game for Michigan late, but this defense has a lot to account for after allowing Iowa to build that last-second drive.

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