ESPN updates Top 25 college football Power Rankings following Week 5

ESPN updated its College Football Top 25 after a loaded Week 5. And what else can you say? It was a tremendously entertaining couple days 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. Plus, it is once again the Pac-12 who leads with five top-15 teams and six total clubs ranked.

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

1. Georgia (5-0)

Won at Auburn 27-20 — Just like vs. South Carolina, Georgia found themselves down by two possessions in the first half against a lesser SEC opponent. Of course, Brock Bowers came to the rescue with eight catches for 157 yards and a touchdown and did most of that work in the fourth quarter alone while Carson Beck continues to post strong passing numbers and put up 313 yards vs. Auburn.

But looking at Georgia’s body of work… this is not a juggernaut team yet. Auburn and South Carolina are two of the worst-performing teams in the SEC so far this year and both gave UGA a big scare. Now, they face a 5-0 Kentucky team that is vastly improved from a year ago and only lost to the ’22 team by 10 points. If the Dawgs keep playing with matches, they’ll get burned.

2. Michigan (5-0)

Won 45-7 at Nebraska — 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. With that offense beginning to hit its stride, we may be talking about the clear best team in the country at the moment. Now, they just need to prove that statement against an opponent of substance.

3. Texas (5-0)

Won vs. Kansas 40-14 — 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 as GameDay heads to Austin.

4. Florida State (4-0)

Bye Week — 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. With few, if any, great teams remaining on the schedule, these guys ought to have the best current odds at a CFP spot.

5. Washington (5-0)

Won 31-24 at Arizona — 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.

Michael Penix was once again fantastic, throwing for 363 yards while completing 75% of his passes. And this time, he really spread the wealth. Germie Bernard became the fourth different Husky to lead the team in receiving yards through just five games, grabbing eight balls for 98 yards. The other leaders: Rome Odunze (twice), Ja’Lynn Polk, and Jalen McMillan.

6. Ohio State (4-0)

Bye Week — After the exhilarating and narrow win over Notre Dame, it was an idle week for the Buckeyes and they stay mid-top-10 in these rankings. With likely wins vs. Maryland and Purdue coming up, don’t expect Ohio State do go anywhere any time soon.

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.

7. Penn State (5-0)

Won 41-13 at Northwestern — 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.

8. Oregon (5-0)

Won at Stanford 42-6 — Oregon dragged their feet a little bit to open up Saturday’s game vs,. Stanford. After the first play of the second quarter, the Cardinal had scored twice while Oregon had failed to muster any points offensively — a shocker against one of the two weakest opponents in the Pac-12. And they’re lucky Stanford settled for field goals, because a 14-nothing score would have looked a lot more concerning than just 6-0.

At 6-0, Oregon still needed just one possession to erase all the early good vibes in Palo Alto, as Jordan James sprinted for 30 yards to take the lead for good on the Ducks’ first touchdown run. After that, the flood gates opened for an Oregon slaughter. They won 42-6 and out-gained Stanford by 274 yards on the day.

9. USC (5-0)

Won at Colorado 48-41 — SC and Caleb Williams came out and gave the Buffaloes a similar start to what they saw vs. Oregon last week. The Trojans scored the first three touchdowns of the game and ran up a 21-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter before Colorado finally found some momentum. However, USC would score two more first-half TDs to make it 34-7 at one point.

Credit Deion Sanders and the Buffs, though, because they didn’t back down. USC gained a lead as large as 27 points before taking their foot off the gas pedal. Colorado made a late fourth quarter rally and even had an onside kick that would have given them the ball down seven with just over a minute to play, but ultimately, the Trojans got the job done.

10. Alabama (4-1)

Won 40-17 at Mississippi State — 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. But first, let’s see if they can control their snaps a bit better.

ESPN rankings 11-25

11. Notre Dame (5-1)
12. Washington State (4-0)
13. Oklahoma (5-0)
14. Oregon State (4-1)
15. Miami (4-0)
16. Ole Miss (4-1)
17. North Carolina (4-0)
18. Utah (4-1)
19. Duke (4-1)
20. Tennessee (4-1)
21. Kentucky (5-0)
22. Fresno State (5-0)
23. Louisville (5-0)
24. Missouri (5-0)
25. Texas A&M (4-1)