NCAAF Top 25 Power Rankings: Week 5

With a month of college football under our belts, it’s time for our first SportsRaid NCAAF Top 25 Power Rankings of the season…

SO MUCH OF THE BEAUTY AND INSANITY OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL COMES DOWN TO ARBITRARY RANKINGS. Teams play most of the year inside their own conference, and so many games come down to just a few plays. In the end, we are left with a few plays in a handful of stray non-conference games from teams that haven’t even hit their stride yet to tell us how to rank teams between the conferences. It’s lunacy.

Alas! Nothing in sports beats a good Power Rankings, and it’s time for our first SportsRaid NCAAF Top 25 Power Rankings of the year. We’re not interested in the Associated Press or Coaches Polls here: just resumes and team performance so far. I’m not ranking on preseason hype, and it doesn’t matter how good teams might one day be.

What have they actually done so far? Who have they beaten?

That’s what we’re trying to figure out, and it’s a daunting task after just a few games each. But hey — someone’s gotta do it…

TIER VII — THE PLACEHOLDERS

25. SMU 4–0 (Previous ranking: not ranked) 24. Appalachian State 3–0 (NR) 23. Hawaii 3–1 (NR) 22. Washington 3–1 (NR) 21. USC 3–1 (NR)

Look, we could’ve just done a Top 20 but that’s not how college football works. Top 25 it is. These bottom few spots are basically placeholders for the teams de jour that filter in and out of the ranks. Usually this is just a space to recognize teams that wiggle their way into the NCAAF season discussion before they fade into the winds of the season again like a whisper.

In the rankings I did last week at SportsBook Review, this is the section where teams like Wyoming, Temple, and Arizona State found a foothold. None of them were ever Top 25 teams to start with, but at 3–0 it was fun to give them some hype, and now with a loss, POOF, they’re gone from the rankings. So too Michigan, who I had #21 a week ago and out altogether now. Embarrassing.

Instead let’s give a little shine to SMU, a school whose team was literally given “the death penalty” in my lifetime, barely 30 years ago. SMU football was left for dead. The Mustangs missed two entire seasons and had only one winning season among the next two decades. Even June Jones couldn’t get SMU back to their glory days. But now Sonny Dykes has the team at 4–0 with an impressive road win at Gary Patterson’s TCU, and SMU could even be in the conversation for a New Year’s Day bowl if they keep winning. Amazing.

USC and Washington were ranked early, then not. Now they’re back again. The Trojans beat PAC-12 favorite Utah, and Washington beat down Hawaii, the team just after them. Hawaii is practically a PAC-12 team themselves at this point, having played the Huskies along with Oregon State and Arizona.

As for Appalachian State? They went to UNC and got the win, moving to 3–0 for the first time at the FBS level, and it’s always a good time to remember: Appalachian State is HOT-HOT-HOT!!

TIER VI — THE FUN UNDERDOGS

20. Kansas State 3–0 (24) 19. Virginia 4–0 (NR) 18. California 4–0 (NR) 17. Boise State 4–0 (20) 16. North Dakota State 4–0 (23)

We don’t know a ton about these teams yet. That will change one way or another — either they’ll take a big loss soon and fall from relevance, or with another win or two, they’ll really have our attention.

Virginia is the second best team in the ACC for now, pretty much by default since everyone else in the conference sucks. UVA took most of the game to pull away from Old Dominion, so don’t get your hopes up.

After UCF was upset by Pittsburgh, Boise State takes its place atop the non-power-5 schools. They took care of a quality Air Force team with ease. Cal leaps into the rankings as the top undefeated PAC-12 team. They have a pair of solid road wins now at Washington and Mississippi. They also beat FCS powerhouse UC-Davis in the opener.

Hey, you know who else just beat UC-Davis? The North Dakota State Bison, that’s who. How many FBS teams would be favored against NDSU at this point? I’m not sure the answer is more than 10 or 15 against a team that’s won 7 of the last 8 FCS championships, so why not rank them accordingly? Why isn’t NDSU the top non-power-5 school? The answer… they probably are.

TIER V — THE ONE-LOSS CREW

15. Utah 3–1 (8) 14. Notre Dame 2–1 (9) 13. Oregon 3–1 (16) 12. Texas 3–1 (14)

One loss is not the end of the world, and these teams can all still cling to playoff hopes for now. Notre Dame hung close enough to Georgia to win some folks over. Utah lost on the road to USC by a TD — no real shame in that.

Oregon and Texas look like the two best one-loss teams out there. They each lost to opponents in my top three, and they’ve each looked awfully good in their other games. We know now that one loss is not the end, especially if it comes early in the season. Don’t rule out the Ducks or Longhorns yet.

TIER IV — BIG NAMES YET TO PROVE IT

11. Florida 4–0 (13) 10. Penn State 3–0 (11) 9. Iowa 3–0 (10)

Undefeated is undefeated, and we know Florida, Penn State, and Iowa have plenty of pedigree. We’re still waiting to see them do it against an opponent of note. The Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions play each other in a few weeks, and the Gators get a Towson warm-up before facing Auburn, LSU, and Georgia in the month after.

TIER III — THE MAJOR TITLE CONTENDERS

8. Alabama 4–0 (3) 7. Oklahoma 3–0 (6) 6. Ohio State 4–0 (5) 5. Wisconsin 3–0 (12) 4. Georgia 4–0 (7)

Remember, we’re ranking solely on who these teams have played thus far. Alabama is better than the eighth team in the country — they always are — but they don’t have a single opponent of note yet. They will, soon enough. For now, they’re going to have to earn their way up, just like everyone else.

Oklahoma and Ohio State were plenty impressive in non-conference play. Let’s see how things look once the competition level ramps up.

Georgia and Wisconsin are this week’s biggest risers. Georgia was a bit underwhelming against Notre Dame but took care of business. Some will argue they have the best win in NCAAF this season, but you’re supposed to win at home against an inferior opponent.

And perhaps you can say the same for Wisconsin. They outscored their opponents 138 to 0 in the first ten quarters of the season. That’s pretty ridiculous no matter who you’re playing — even if it’s only Michigan. Traditional rankers will keep Wisconsin around the bottom of the top 10 based on them starting the year below these other teams. But you win a game like that, you move up in these here Power Rankings.

You play. To win. The game.

TIER II — TIME TO TAKE THESE TIGERS SERIOUSLY

3. Auburn 4–0 (4) 2. LSU 4–0 (2)

All the national polls have SEC teams ranked #2 and #3. Right conference, wrong teams.

These pair of Tigers have the best wins of the season. LSU has the single best win, a 45–38 win at Texas. This is not your father’s LSU team, and Joe Burrow might be the Heisman front runner right now.

Auburn might have an even more impressive pair of wins. Their opening weekend victory over Oregon speaks for itself, but this week’s dominant win at Texas A&M is impressive in its own way.

The SEC will sort itself out soon enough with this bloodbath of teams, but for now, the two sets of Tigers deserve to rank at the top, above the Tide and Bulldogs.

TIER I — ONE TIGER TO RULE THEM ALL

1. Clemson 4–0 (1)

Like the Highlander, there can only be one Tigers team atop the standings, and that’s still Clemson until someone knocks them off.

If you win the title and return your key guys the next season, you stay at the top til someone knocks you off. Even if that happens to be another Tiger. ■

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