ESPN updates FPI Top 25 rankings following Week 5 of college football

ESPN updated its Football Power Index (FPI) Top 25 after a loaded Week 5 Saturday of college football.

What else can you say, it was a tremendously entertaining week of football. We got the Game of The Year so far between LSU and Ole Miss, which had 100+ points and 1,000+ yards between the two teams. Meanwhile, several contenders sat the bench while the entire top 10 of the list took care of business this week.

Below, you can read about all the action and check out where everyone landed in the full FPI top 25 as we round the corner and head towards Week 6.

(Movement in rankings vs. last week)

1. Ohio State

An idle week for the Buckeyes means staying atop the FPI rankings. While they aren’t quite so highly honored in other human-driven polls, OSU certainly isn’t a fraudulent No. 1. After all, they have beat Notre Dame on the road and boast an undefeated record a year after they came up just short against the two-time champions.

Of course, much tougher tests await down the road, and Penn State and Michigan are as strong as they’ve been in recent years. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes don’t quite have the quarterback advantage they did in the last few contests. With likely wins vs. Maryland and Purdue coming up, Ohio State’s rein at No. 1 here may not be over any time soon.

2. Oklahoma

All eyes towards Red River this week as Brent Venables’ Oklahoma and Steve Sarkisian’s Texas are about to play one heck of a contest, as both clubs are undefeated and appear to be the class of the Big 12. For the Sooners, it’s their first big test.

So far, they’ve simply taken care of business by way of a couple of shellackings vs. Arkansas State and Tulsa, then a 28-11 win over SMU, plus a road win over Cincinnati and a dominant 50-20 blowout vs. Iowa State this week. He may not have huge name recognition yet, but Dillon Gabriel could be a sneaky Heisman contender with 300+ yards in four of five games so far, especially if he lights if Texas.

3. Alabama

Don’t look now but the Crimson Tide absolutely have a path to winning out and getting back to the SEC championship to give themselves a shot at the College Football Playoff. They’ve already taken care of the Mississippi schools and get their biggest rivals, Tennessee and LSU, at home.

There’s no certainty they win those games, obviously, but given that they’re at home and Tennessee’s taken a step back compared to last season, while LSU’s defense just hemorrhages points, the Tide will be favored. To use the old cliche, they do control their own destiny.

4. Texas (+2)

Kansas played well enough to stick around for a quarter and a half vs. Texas this week, but without Jalon Daniels, they simply couldn’t match the Longhorns in a shootout. UT left ’em in the dust en route to a 40-14 victory.

The win marks a terrific start to Big 12 play for Texas, who smashed Baylor 38-6 in Waco before drubbing Kansas this week. After last year’s debacle from OU in the Red River Showdown, the Longhorns have to be prepared for a sharper and much more competitive Sooner squad.

5. Penn State (-1)

The Nittany Lions weren’t so dominant to begin the Northwestern game this weekend, as they finished both the first and second quarters with a tie game. But in quarters No. 3 and No. 4, the Penn State we all know and love showed up to slam the door shut on any upset opportunity.

Thanks to a whole lot of Nick Singleton, PSU came out of the half and immediately scored a touchdown as part of their 17-point third quarter. They would go on to outscore the Wildcats 31-3 in the second half to advance for the victory as they head towards a game vs. a UMass team that was winless in September.

6. Oregon (+1)

Here’s another top team that didn’t come out of the gate strong on Saturday, as the Ducks allowed pitiful Stanford to put the first two scores on the board, both field goals, to take the early 6-0 lead in the second quarter. But those would also be the final two scores of the day.

After surrendering the pair of field goals, Oregon cashed in for the next and final six scores of the afternoon, all touchdowns, to wind up winning 42-6. There continues to be few, if any, teams with the explosiveness and talent level on both sides of the field that Oregon has. However, that defense will be tested for real against the ridiculously potent Michael Penix and that Washington offense — at the Huskies, no less.

7. Georgia (-2)

Georgia just ain’t what they were during their two title-winning seasons and that’s becoming quite obvious. Make no mistake, though: these Dawgs are loaded to the gills with talent, are still undefeated, and are easily favorites to get right back to the College Football Playoff.

But they just aren’t as dominant. South Carolina and Auburn have now both shown that the Dawgs are liable to let you hang around rather than cave your skull in from the moment the game gets kicked off. After those close calls, plus how well Kentucky played them last year, this coming week’s matchup against a hot ‘Cats club makes for another strong test.

8. Michigan (+4)

Well, it’s still not totally clear exactly how great this Wolverine team is, but judging by their continued and precise beatdowns of lesser opponents, we can assume they’ll be square in the CFP mix until the bitter end. Take a look at this week’s win: a 45-7 beatdown of Nebraska that looked like several f their other wins.

This Michigan team is just a consistent killing machine so far. They’ve yet to allow more than one possession’s worth of points in any game and have scored between 30-45 in all of them, with the win over the Cornhuskers coming as a sort of outlier offensively.

9. Washington

Washington absolutely obliterated their first four opponents, scoring 40+ in each game while winning by margins of 37, 33, 34 and 27. Against Arizona, though, the Wildcats showed the Huskies are not purple terminators and may be mortal after all.

With no Jayden de Laura, Arizona made one heck of an effort to make this just a one-touchdown game and a 31-24 final score. While the offense deserves praise for their work without QB1, it’s actually the defense that put together an impressive performance by holding UW to just 31 points, their lowest total of the season by 10 points.

10. Florida State

Following their program-defining overtime triumph against Clemson, the ‘Noles got the week off before they dive head first into their final six ACC games the next six weeks. First, it’s Virginia Tech and Syracuse before a matchup with a decent Duke team.

Look, there’s no better resume in the country than what Florida State has compiled through just four games. The Boston College scare wasn’t a great look, but wins away from home vs. Clemson and LSU are as strong as anyone in the country has.

FPI rankings 11-25

11. Notre Dame
12. USC (-4)
13. Ole Miss
14. LSU
15. Miami (FL)
16. Texas A&M 
17. Clemson
18. Tennessee 
19. Kansas State (+2)
20. Oregon State (+2)
21. North Carolina (-2)
22. Syracuse (-2)
23. Duke (NEW)
24. Wisconsin (NEW)
25. Maryland (NEW)

Notre Dame, USC and Ole Miss all miss the cut after some tremendously entertaining victories for all three clubs this weekend. The Rebels narrowly outlasted LSU in the shootout of the season to date, notching one final touchdown with 39 seconds left before having to stop a last-ditch effort that was much too close for comfort on the final Tiger drive. Then, USC let Colorado make a respectable game out of their early kickoff, while ND got one heck of a final drive from QB Sam Hartman, who charged 95 yards down the field and scrambled to convert a 4th and 16 that setup the game-winning TD.