College Football Rankings: ESPN Names New No. 1 Team in Top 25 Poll for Week 6

Just three teams on the right side of the Top 25 college football rankings lost their games to start off the month of October, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty of notable change across the updated ESPN poll heading into Week 6 action.

A pair of SEC hopefuls, Florida and Mississippi State, saw their perfect seasons get obliterated at the hands of conference rivals, while Iowa couldn’t do enough to test Ohio State in the Big Ten game of the week.

College Football Rankings: ESPN Reshuffles the New Top 25 Poll for Week 6

25. Houston

Rankings change: Up 2

A slow start at home for the Cougars against UCF, not even scoring in the first half, but Conner Weigman put together three important touchdown drives to revive this offense after the break, scoring 27 unanswered points to stay level at 1-1 in Big 12 play with a date at Kansas State up next.

24. Auburn

Rankings change: None

Losers in two of the last three games, the Tigers are coming off a 10-point defeat at Tennessee that drops them to 1-2 in SEC competition heading into a brutal three-game stretch at Georgia, against LSU, and at Ole Miss that could derail Alex Golesh’s first season.

23. Pittsburgh

Rankings change: Down 1

Pitt walked out of Lane Stadium as winners, improving to 5-0 after coming back from 14 points down to stay right in the mix at the top of the ACC after beating Virginia Tech on the road, but at an enormous cost, as star quarterback Mason Heintschel will likely miss the rest of the season with a knee injury suffered in the game.

22. Ole Miss

Rankings change: Down 3

The Rebels took Week 5 off after allowing 52 points and getting carved up for 302 rushing yards in a loss at Florida the Saturday before, and now head into a second-straight road test in SEC play at resurgent Missouri looking to stay above .500 in conference games.

21. Oklahoma

Rankings change: None

Idle this week, the Sooners got some time off to nurse their wounds after getting plastered at Georgia the weekend prior, and now head into a date against rival Texas desperate to avoid an 0-2 start in SEC play, but as an underdog.

20. Penn State

Rankings change: Down 5

Trouble time for new coach Matt Campbell, coming off last week’s loss to unranked Wisconsin and now this week’s stunning defeat at unranked Northwestern, which managed to run for over 400 yards against the Nittany Lions. The last team to do that, Michigan, won the national championship. ESPN is keeping Penn State ranked for some reason.

19. USC

Rankings change: Down 1

It was almost red alert time for the Trojans again as Washington took a lead at the Coliseum, but it was actually USC’s defense that did the job, returning a fumble for a touchdown in the third quarter to take the lead back. Up next are two road tests at Penn State and then Wisconsin.

18. Missouri

Rankings change: Up 17

Maybe the most impressive showing in the SEC this weekend, Austin Simmons torched the Gators secondary for 340 yards in the air and the Mizzou run defense, one of college football’s best coming in, completely stonewalled Florida’s expert ground attack in a 45-17 victory that resets expectations a little heading into October.

17. Northwestern

Rankings change: Up 11

Just a five point loss at Indiana kept the Wildcats from being undefeated, and they got a massive boost in the ESPN rankings after a dominant 34-13 victory to open their brand new stadium against blue blood Penn State. Three winnable games await 3-1 Northwestern before a tough stretch against Oregon, Iowa, and Ohio State.

16. BYU

Rankings change: Up 1

Bear Bachmeier ran for 2 touchdowns to compensate for the loss of lead rusher LJ Martin to an injury and helped the Cougars get out of TCU with a close 17-10 win to stay atop the Big 12 standings looking ahead to two home games, first against Iowa State and then a tough test against undefeated Notre Dame in Provo.

15. Florida

Rankings change: Down 5

Once again, we have to completely reassess what this team is after such a strong start completely evaporated in the wake of an ugly four-touchdown loss at Missouri, which targeted UF’s suspect secondary for 340 yards while the Gators’ famed backfield amassed just 37 total yards on 24 carries. Florida hosts South Carolina before a tough stretch going to Texas and then against Georgia.

14. Texas A&M

Rankings change: Up 2

Coming off a nasty two-game losing skid in SEC play, the Aggies rebounded by smashing up Arkansas at home, building a quick 14-0 lead and then stacking up 20 unanswered points to get back over .500, but three straight road conference games await, against Missouri, Alabama, and then South Carolina as part of a brutal back end of the schedule.

13. Nebraska

Rankings change: Up 1

Trailing at home by nine points in the second quarter against Maryland, the Cornhuskers mounted a serious comeback, stacking up 34 unanswered points to pull away and stay perfect at 5-0, but now come much more stringent tests against Indiana at home and on the road against Oregon.

12. Utah

Rankings change: None

Off this past weekend, the Utes are sitting pretty in the Big 12 pecking order, arguably looking better than favorite Texas Tech, averaging more than 43 points per game and allowing 10, with a two-touchdown win at Iowa State the last time out behind some very efficient football, and now returning in a home matchup against Kansas up next.

11. Texas Tech

Rankings change: Up 2

The Red Raiders’ offense had just 3 points in the first half but put up 26 unanswered points after the intermission to put away Colorado by a 29-7 count going into a Big 12 matchup against Arizona State in two weeks.

10. Tennessee

Rankings change: Up 1

Hats off to Jim Knowles, who in his first season has orchestrated what arguably may be a top-five defense in the SEC this season, holding Auburn to 14 points in a key SEC victory that levels the Vols at 1-1 in conference play, but there are real concerns around a passing offense that mustered just 86 yards. Good thing DeSean Bishop had a career-high 220 rushing yards to hold the line offensively.

9. Oregon

Rankings change: None

Fresh off last weekend’s signature win at USC, the Ducks sat out the Week 5 action ranking 5th nationally in scoring with almost 48 points per game and confident that backup quarterback Dylan Raiola has what it takes long term going against newly ranked UCLA at home next Saturday.

8. LSU

Rankings change: None

Sam Leavitt had 3 touchdowns and the Tigers ran for over 200 yards to trash McNeese in another tune-up, but the path ahead is intense: at Kentucky, vs. Mississippi State, at Auburn, vs. Alabama and then Texas, then at Tennessee. The first chapter of the Lane Kiffin story at LSU will be told in these games.

7. Indiana

Rankings change: None

Turbo Richard exploded for 204 rushing yards and Josh Hoover threw 4 touchdown passes while the Hoosiers had two 100-yard receivers in a 47-15 rout at Rutgers before a road test at Nebraska and then getting Ohio State at home.

6. Alabama

Rankings change: None

Bama’s offense is in top gear right now, becoming the first since Oklahoma in 2019 to score 45 points in its first five games, and averaging 50 points each time out coming off a big win at Mississippi State, getting elite production from Keelon Russell and especially the Tide’s defense as they return home to take on Georgia next.

5. Miami

Rankings change: None

Darian Mensah had a touchdown passing and another rushing while Mark Fletcher ran for 2 scores and the Hurricanes’ defense added one more to dominate Clemson in a 41-13 rout that once again confirms Dabo Swinney’s outfit is still on the decline, while Mario Cristobal’s remains perfect and going into Florida State atop the ACC standings.

4. Texas

Rankings change: None

Off this past weekend, the still AP No. 1 team in college football has those wins against Ohio State and Tennessee in their back pocket, but also still have questions about the consistency of this offense with Arch Manning at the helm, especially going against what should be another tough Sooner defense next week in the Red River Shootout.

3. Notre Dame

Rankings change: Down 1

That superb Irish defense was tested for the first time on the road against North Carolina, who used a couple of long touchdown drives and a thrilling 98 yard kickoff return to keep it close in a 37-26 decision, but CJ Carr had 5 touchdowns to keep the Tar Heels at bay.

2. Georgia

Rankings change: Down 1

There were some issues running the football and a few unusual mistakes on the defensive side early on, like allowing Vanderbilt to lead two very long touchdown drives with a backup quarterback, but the Bulldogs held the Dores out of the end zone in the second half and pulled away eventually. A trip to Alabama awaits the SEC title favorites.

1. Ohio State

Rankings change: Up 2

Jeremiah Smith continues to leave his imprint on the Buckeyes football program, establishing school records in catches, receiving yards, and now receiving touchdowns after playing an integral role in Ohio State beating up on Iowa. Maryland awaits OSU before a critical three-game stretch at Indiana, at USC, and at home to Oregon.

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