Ridley’s College Football Rankings – Week Five

Another great weekend of college football is in the books. Not necessarily exciting, with only two ranked teams losing during the week, but enjoyable nonetheless. The big winner of Week 5 was undeniably UCLA, who, after a sluggish start to the season, pummeled 15th-ranked Arizona State 62-27. So where did UCLA end up? Let’s find out …

If you need a refresher of how the rankings work, you can find an explanation here.

The Rankings

1. Florida State (100.00) [7] – The Noles were challenged by a tough NC State team in the first half before rallying in the second half to win 56-41. The host 2-3 Wake Forest next.
2. Oregon (99.42) [4] – The Ducks lost the top spot on their bye week by virtue of FSU’s improved portfolio, but still find themselves breathing on the neck of Jimbo Fisher’s team. Next up is the undefeated Arizona Wildcats at home.
3. Alabama (96.80) [5] – Bama was also on a bye this week. If they handle business on the road against Ole Miss on Saturday, they could find themselves at the top of not only these rankings, but the AP as well.
4. Auburn (93.58) [3] – The other half the Iron Bowl easily defeated Louisiana Tech on Saturday, giving them the second-largest normalized scoring differential in the top 25. Another challenge from the Pelican state awaits as the Tigers host the other Tigers (LSU) Saturday.
5. Oklahoma (92.98) [9] – Bob Stoops’ crew was resting this week in preparation for undefeated and newly ranked TCU on the road. Seeing how the Sooners respond to their first challenge of season should give us a true idea of how good these Sooners really are.
6. Texas A&M (89.65) [6] – A&M was pushed to the limits by Arkansas, with the Aggies narrowly escaping in overtime. Even with the seven-point victory, Kevin Sumlin’s group still claims the highest scoring differential in the FBS.
7. UCLA (86.79) [2] – The Bruins dismantling of the Sun Devils bolted them up three spots in the total ranking and eight spots in the AP-free rankings. Time will tell if they can ride the momentum into matchups against Utah and Oregon the next two weeks.
8. Baylor (83.44) [15] – Art Briles squad continues to win games and rack up lopsided wins — the Bears have the second-highest score differential in the FBS — but they have the lowest opponents winning percentage out of any team in the top 50.
9. Notre Dame (79.26) [14] – Notre Dame had a solid victory over Syracuse, but the challenge the Orange presented will be nothing compared to what the Stanford Cardinal will offer the Irishmen.
10. Mississippi State (78.95) [1] – The Bulldogs continue to have the most impressive resume on the season, even with a bye in Week 5. The rest will be needed with the high-powered Aggies coming to visit in Week 6.
11. Ole Miss (76.88) [8] – Memphis presented little to challenge the Rebels on Saturday. The sharps are expecting a lot more from Alabama this week.
12. Michigan State (73.29) [23] – Sparty crushed a decent Wyoming team 56-14. They face their second ranked opponent on Saturday when the Cornhuskers come to town.
13. LSU (66.54) [12] – The Bayou Bengals were on a bye this week … no, wait, they played New Mexico State but it wasn’t exactly a “game”. A trip to Auburn on Saturday will be a different story.
14. Georgia (64.65) [30] – The seventh and final SEC team in the top 25, the Bulldogs eeked out a win over Tennessee 35-32 on Saturday. They host in-state rival (and current SEC whipping boy) Vanderbilt this week.
15. Stanford (62.74) [27] – The Cardinal managed a seven-point win over Washington to move to 3-1 with a trip to Notre Dame looming.
16. USC (61.54) [19] – USC breezed by Oregon State by the tune of 35-10. Next is an Arizona State team that was just embarrassed by the other L.A. school.
17. BYU (59.33) [13] – The Cougars had a week to recover after a tough game against Virginia. Bitter rival Utah State is the next challenge for BYU as they look to bust the FBS playoff picture.
18. Nebraska (57.67) [11] – Undefeated and underrated? Maybe. A trip to Michigan State should set the record straight.
19. Wisconsin (55.95) [25] – Despite dominating Bowling Green by 51 points, Wisconsin’s 98-point scoring differential is just 18th in the FBS.
20. Ohio State (47.21) [40] – The Buckeyes easily moved past Cincinnati on Saturday. Now they head east to face new Big Ten rival Maryland.
21. Oklahoma State (46.34) [29] – Mike Gundy’s Cowboys are 3-1, yet they have the lowest normalized scoring differential in the top 35.
22. East Carolina (43.24) [35] – As the lone American Athletic Conference rep in the top 50, the Pirates have a heavy burden on their shoulders. Luckily for them, they face winless SMU this week.
23. Arizona (41.99) [10] – The Wildcats are undefeated, but they have won their last three games by 3, 7 and 4, respectively. They will need to play their best if they hope to top the Ducks this Thursday
24. Kansas State (41.84) [28] – The other Wildcats responded to their Auburn loss with a 30-point win over UTEP. Texas Tech and a bye stand between Bill Snyder’s team and a showdown with Oklahoma.
25. TCU (41.36) [17] – Rounding out the top 25, TCU jumped into the AP poll after a 56-0 win over in-state rival SMU. If they can beat Oklahoma, their stock will start to soar.

Ranked Teams That Missed the Cut

Missouri was the only team ranked in the AP that didn’t find themselves in Ridley’s Rankings. The Tigers just missed the cut, coming in at 26 after an upset victory over South Carolina on the road. They were actually 24th based off my numbers, but the AP component allowed Kansas State to leapfrog Mizzou, pushing the Tigers out.

Oregon Teams

The Ducks were already discussed above as they continue to vie for the title of best team in college football. As for the Beavers, they suffered a precipitous drop after a 35-10 beat down at the hands of the Trojans. The loss dropped Oregon State to 47, one spot ahead of Pac-12 rival, Utah. They should be able to rebound as they travel to 2-3 Colorado this week.

Other Notable Teams

Marshall (27) and Georgia Tech (28) are the only two undefeated teams not ranked … South Carolina dropped to 31 after their loss to Missouri … Arkansas (30) is the highest ranked two-loss team … Colorado State (51) is the highest-ranked team from the Mountain West … Georgia Southern (59) sits atop the Sun Belt … Boise State fell to 58 after an embarrassing loss to Air Force that featured four interceptions by their starting quarterback … Northern Illinois (60) can claim the dubious title of being the best in the MAC …. Vandy (108) continues to be the worst of the SEC. In fact, they’re the only team in the conference out of the top 50 … Southern Methodist remains winless but somehow is only at 118 … and finally, our bottom five for the week are Idaho (124), Kent State, Miami (OH), Troy, and Massachusetts (128).