ESPN delivers major shakeup in college football power rankings after huge games

Coming out of an hugely-consequential Saturday and looking ahead to another important slate of games this weekend, ESPN did some surgery to their updated college football power rankings in an effort to reflect the new national atmosphere.

Predictably, most of the heavyweights across the country hail from either the Big Ten or the SEC, with those two conferences dominating the top of the rankings, including in the latest vote from ESPN’s analysts heading into the Week 6 action.

Four AP top 10 ranked teams lost their games over the weekend, including reigning national champion Georgia, which fell from No. 5 into the top dozen, and No. 3 Penn State in a double-overtime loss to now No. 2 Oregon.

Let’s take a look at who landed where, and which teams had the most movement from week to week as we head into the second full month of the 2025 season.

ESPN updates college football power rankings for Week 6

ESPN college football power rankings for Week — Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

25. Louisville. Unranked in the ESPN poll a week ago, the Cardinals improved to a perfect 4-0 mark storming back to take down Pittsburgh by a touchdown, and have played themselves into a sleeper position to make some noise in the ACC title picture.

24. Memphis. We speculated that AP voters would put the Tigers into their rankings this week, but they had to be content with just 38 votes instead. ESPN’s analyst took another view, including the favorites from the American after pounding for almost 300 yards on the ground in a key win over Florida Atlantic.

23. Illinois. Up one spot from last week, the Illini recovered from getting smacked by Indiana by 53 the weekend prior to taking down a ranked (and now unranked) USC team on a last-second field goal, illustrating just how well coached a program this really is at a moment when their season could have gone sideways fast.

22. BYU. Down by two touchdowns early on at Colorado, the Cougars hunkered down in a comeback three-point win, but the Big 12 schedule is about to get much tougher and will prove exactly what this team is made of.

21. Notre Dame. Sam Pittman was put out of a job over the weekend after his Arkansas team was shellacked by the Irish in a 56-13 rout, and the play of young quarterback CJ Carr is a big reason behind the Golden Domers’ two-game win streak after starting 0-2.

ESPN college football power rankings for Week 6 — Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

20. Michigan. Transfer back Justice Haynes has been a revelation for the Wolverines’ offense, rushing for over 100 yards in four straight games and giving this attack some breathing room as freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood finds his own identity.

19. Georgia Tech. Helped somewhat by a blown call from the refs, the Yellow Jackets were nonetheless able to mount a furious comeback after being down by 17 on the road against Wake to stay undefeated after a one-point win in overtime.

18. Vanderbilt. A gifted offense led by quarterback Diego Pavia, who had 6 all-purpose touchdowns in a win over Utah State, has scored more than 50 points in consecutive games for the first time since 1915, and Vandy is 5-0 for the first time since 2008 heading into a rematch against Alabama, who the ‘Dores upset in a massive result a year ago.

17. LSU. Saturday’s loss at Ole Miss, the first of the year for Brian Kelly’s team, somehow didn’t seem like a surprise, given the subpar performance of an offense thus far that was meant to be one of college football’s best. LSU ran for just 57 yards, a continuing problem.

16. Missouri. A predictable splattering against UMass over the weekend, but we’ll see just how good this offensive combo and what looks like a dominant front seven actually fares once SEC play gets started in earnest.

15. Iowa State. Rocco Becht ran for 3 touchdowns to help the Cyclones get past Arizona in a return to Big 12 play.

14. Florida State. Down 7 places in the ESPN rankings this week, the Seminoles took an upset loss on the road against Virginia, an early blow after such a promising start, and now they have to be on guard against letting it define the rest of their season, with a crucial date against Miami up next.

13. Tennessee. This superb Vols defense is allowing almost twice as many points as it did last season, but Joey Aguilar and wideout Chris Brazzell have formed a dynamic duo on offense, and helped UT avoid a major upset at Mississippi State over the weekend.

12. Texas. Idle this past Saturday, the Longhorns finally open up SEC play in a notable road matchup against Florida in what will be a proper test for Arch Manning against the best defense he’s seen since Week 1, and he didn’t look too good in that debut.

11. Georgia. A defense that has helped define that side of the ball in this century hasn’t looked up to its usual standard so far, allowing one big play after another to Alabama in the first half of an eventual 24-21 loss, plunging the Bulldogs to a 1-10 mark in their last 11 meetings against the Tide.

10. Alabama. Up 6 places in ESPN’s rankings, the Tide have a star quarterback on their hands, as Ty Simpson has over 1,100 yards with 11 touchdown passes and no interceptions so far, and coming off a superb showing against Georgia’s defense in a critical road victory that takes some heat off head coach Kalen DeBoer for now.

9. Texas Tech. Off last week after a signature win at Utah the weekend before, the Red Raiders head into another critical road test in Big 12 play, against undefeated Houston.

8. Penn State. Down 3 spots this week, the Nittany Lions remain a consensus top 10 team across most rankings after a six-point double-overtime loss at home to Oregon, but questions linger around the ability of Drew Allar to put this offense on his back and more acutely develop his downfield passing ability.

7. Indiana. Fernando Mendoza hit Elijah Sarratt on a long, late touchdown pass to finally pull away from a stubborn Iowa defense on the road, preserving the Hoosiers’ undefeated record and inching them one more step closer to playoff consideration.

6. Oklahoma. Off this past Saturday, the Sooners are happy to give quarterback John Mateer more time to recover from that surprise hand surgery he had to undergo, and they get Kent State this week before the Red River Shootout against Texas. Mateer will be needed as OU embarks on a punishing SEC schedule the rest of the way.

5. Texas A&M. Something of a regression for the Aggies’ offense, as Marcel Reed failed to throw a touchdown, but the defense did the rest, smothering Auburn to the tune of just 176 total yards, the lowest in Hugh Freeze’s tenure, a good sign for this unit as he delves deeper into SEC competition.

4. Ole Miss. Having their starting quarterback get injured may have actually helped the Rebels’ offense, as backup Trinidad Chambliss has thrown for 300 yards in 3 straight games, accounting for 1,219 all-purpose yards and 6 total touchdowns, and is coming off a huge win against LSU to stay undefeated.

3. Miami. Down one place in ESPN’s rankings this week after Oregon’s rise, the Hurricanes remain in pole position to take the ACC, but a major stumbling block approaches this week with a road trip against a much-improved Florida State team.

2. Oregon. Not enough to take the No. 1 mantle this week, but the Ducks looked like a national championship contender after going into Happy Valley and pulling out a gutsy double-overtime win, as young quarterback Dante Moore looked confident in the face of a tough Penn State defense.

1. Ohio State. A nice, clean 24-6 win on the road against a very good Washington offense moves the Buckeyes to 1-0 in Big Ten games, and further reveals a defensive rotation that, under the direction of Matt Patricia, looks to be as good as, if not better, than the D that won a national title a year ago.

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