After some heavyweight matchups and big upsets, there were some major shakeups in the power rankings. Here are my national power rankings heading into Week 5.
I will do a top-25 college football power rankings every week for the duration of the regular season. These power rankings will be based on where every team stands at the current moment, not a prediction of where these teams will be at the end of the season. The team’s ranking from the week prior will be in parenthesis next to their current ranking.
#1- Georgia (1)
It was a bye week for the Bulldogs and they are staying put at the top of the rankings. However, they face off with Alabama this weekend in the biggest game of the college football season so far.
#2- Texas (2)
Even without Quinn Ewers, Texas continued to look dominant last week. Granted, it was against a very inferior opponent but Arch Manning had a really solid game and Texas is rolling through its schedule so far.
#3- Ohio State (3)
The Buckeyes keep dominating worse opponents so it’s hard to measure how good they really are. They do start their Big Ten schedule this week against Michigan State so it should be easier to get a read on the Buckeyes moving forward.
#4- Tennessee (5)
Tennessee had the biggest win of the weekend, defeating Oklahoma on the road. The Volunteers’ young QB, Nico Iamaleava, looks fantastic but their defense might be even better than their offense. They are a real contender in the SEC and could challenge for a national title this year. However, some really tough SEC games still lie ahead.
#5- Alabama (4)
It was a bye week for Alabama as it prepared for the massive showdown against Georgia. A win over the Bulldogs would be, without a doubt, the best win of the college football season so far.
#6- Ole Miss (5)
Similarly to Ohio State, Ole Miss has been thrashing inferior opponents to start the season. It also begins its conference schedule this week against Kentucky, which should be a better measuring stick to see how good Lane Kiffin’s team could be.
#7- Miami (7)
Miami played really well against a tough South Florida team last week. Cam Ward is the Heisman frontrunner at the moment but Miami has a tough game against Virginia Tech this weekend as it looks to stay atop the ACC.
#8- Penn State (9)
Penn State dominated Kent State over the weekend, and will now have its toughest challenge of the season so far as it faces a ranked Illinois team. Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions need to take their game to the next level to take care of business against a tough Illinois defense.
#9- Oregon (8)
The Ducks had a bye week last week and will begin their Big Ten schedule with two pretty easy matchups. We won’t get to see how good this Oregon team really is until Oct. 12th when it goes against Ohio State.
#10- Utah (12)
Utah picked up a massive win over Oklahoma State, despite its star QB Cam Rising missing the game with a hand injury. The Utes have the best defense in the Big 12. If their quarterback gets healthy soon, they could run the table in conference play.
#11- Louisville (17)
Louisville picked up a good win over Georgia Tech and has been flying under the radar this season. It can change that this weekend as it plays in one of the biggest games of the week against Notre Dame. This would be a signature win for the Cardinals as they look to contend for the ACC title and make the College Football Playoff.
#12- Iowa State (15)
Iowa State picked up a great win against Iowa earlier in the year and has taken care of business against inferior teams in every other game. The Cyclones are another team that has flown under the radar and has a really manageable schedule over the next few weeks. They could be a dark horse to win the Big 12 title.
#13- Illinois (23)
The Illini picked up a massive overtime win on the road against Nebraska last week. Things don’t get any easier for them as they take on Penn State on the road this weekend. If the Illini can pull off an upset in State College, the sky is the limit for this team.
#14- Missouri (9)
Missouri is still undefeated but has not looked convincing in the last two weeks. It won a close game at home against Boston College and then went to overtime against Vanderbilt at home last week. The Tigers may not be able to withstand their SEC schedule with the way they are playing right now.
#15- Clemson (16)
Since its opening loss to Georgia, Clemson has looked fantastic. It dominated NC State from the jump last week and now has a manageable path to the ACC Championship Game, starting with Stanford at home this weekend.
#16- Michigan (NR)
Michigan made a statement in its win over USC. It still has some glaring issues, namely not being able to throw the football at all. However, it looked much better in the trenches on both sides of the ball than it did previously. It is hard to see this team beating the likes of Oregon and Ohio State but if it continues to improve, it could knock one of those teams off and sneak into the College Football Playoff.
#17- USC (11)
USC showed a lot of fight and grit in its close loss to Michigan, which was arguably the toughest defense it will face all season. Miller Moss is the real deal at quarterback. The Trojans are significantly improved on defense and still have a path to the College Football Playoff if they keep improving.
#18- LSU (20)
LSU still has some major issues on defense and it will only get worse. It lost star LB Harold Perkins for the season in its win over UCLA. Its QB, Garrett Nussmeier, is the real deal. This offense is explosive, but its defense could hold it back again this season.
#19- Boise State (21)
Boise State had another dominant win last week but it faces a really tough test against Washington State this week. A win over the Cougars would give Boise State a huge leg up in the race for the College Football Playoff.
#20- UCF (24)
UCF has the best rushing attack in all of college football and it gets to display it on the national stage against Colorado this week. A win over the Buffaloes would do a lot for this team to get the momentum rolling in its pursuit of a Big 12 title.
#21- Oklahoma State (14)
Oklahoma State suffered a loss to Utah last week but it still has a chance to contend for the Big 12. That mission starts this weekend in a pivotal matchup against Kansas State in which the loser is basically eliminated from College Football Playoff contention.
#22- Indiana (NR)
Indiana has the best passing attack in college football at the moment. It has dominated its opponents so far this season and is playing well on every level. However, this weekend it faces its toughest test of the season so far as it hosts Maryland.
#23- BYU (NR)
BYU knocked off Kansas State last weekend and pushed it out of the power rankings. It is playing really well at the moment but has a couple of tough matchups ahead, starting with Baylor this weekend.
#24- Notre Dame (NR)
Notre Dame has snuck back into the power rankings after taking care of business last weekend. It has a chance to prove it is a good team against Louisville this weekend, but a loss in that spot could see it out of the top 25 for the rest of the season.
#25- South Carolina (NR)
The Gamecocks were robbed of a win over LSU two weeks ago with a couple of questionable officiating decisions. However, even with their backup quarterback stepping in, they dominated last week and are playing at a really high level. Their defense is among the best in the SEC and they have a chance to prove it with matchups against Ole Miss and Alabama ahead after their bye week.
Teams that dropped out after Week 4: Kansas State (13), Nebraska (18), Oklahoma (19), Memphis (22), UNLV (25)
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