The new AP Top 25 college football poll is out.
The biggest results of the weekend came in the SEC. The Georgia Bulldogs rallied from a 30-7 halftime deficit to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Then the two heavyweights traded fourth-quarter haymakers before Zabien Brown picked off Carson Beck in the end zone to seal the game. QB Jalen Milroe put up huge numbers in the win. Another top-10 team, the Ole Miss Rebels, was upset at home by the Kentucky Wildcats. It was the Wildcats’ highest-ranked win on the road since 1977.
What does it all mean for the new AP Top 25? Let’s break down the rankings.
Stat to know: Jalen Milroe is the first player in SEC history with 350 passing yards, 100 rushing yards and 80% completion percentage in a game.
Stat to know: Texas has won each of its first five games by 15 or more points for the first time since 2008.
What’s next: Oct. 12 vs. Oklahoma (in Dallas), 3:30 p.m.
Stat to know: Ohio State has now won nine straight games against Michigan State, the longest streak in the series. The previous long was the Buckeyes’ eight-game win streak from 1975 to 1984.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Iowa, 3:30 p.m.
Stat to know: Carson Beck is the seventh QB to throw for 400-plus yards against Alabama in the past 20 seasons. However, the Tide are 7-1 in those games.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Auburn, 3:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN+
Previous ranking: 8
2024 record: 4-0
Week 5 result: Defeated UCLA 34-13
Stat to know: Tez Johnson had 11 catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns. It was his second career game with at least 10 catches, 100 receiving yards and two touchdown catches, the most such games by an Oregon player in the past 20 seasons.
What’s next: Friday vs. Michigan State, 9 p.m., Fox
Previous ranking: 9
2024 record: 4-0
Week 5 result: Defeated Illinois 21-7
Stat to know: Penn State recorded seven sacks in this game, tied for its most against an AP-ranked opponent over the past 15 years.
What’s next: Saturday vs. UCLA
Previous ranking: 7
2024 record: 5-0
Week 5 result: Defeated Virginia Tech 38-34
Stat to know: Cam Ward is the first ACC player to start a season with five straight games of 300 yards passing and three passing scores in the past 20 years. Overall, he’s the seventh player to do it at the FBS level in the past 20 years and the first since Bailey Zappe did it at Western Kentucky in 2021.
What’s next: Saturday at Cal, 10:30 p.m., ESPN
Previous ranking: 11
2024 record: 4-0
Week 5 result: Idle
What’s next: Saturday at Texas A&M, noon, ABC/ESPN+
Previous ranking: 12
2024 record: 4-1
Week 5 result: Defeated Minnesota 27-24
Stat to know: This was the second consecutive game Michigan won despite being outgained by its opponent. The last time Michigan won back-to-back games while being outgained in each game was in 2005 against Penn State and Iowa.
What’s next: Saturday at Washington
Previous ranking: 13
2024 record: 3-1
Week 5 result: Defeated Wisconsin 38-21
Stat to know: USC trailed by 11 points at halftime and won by 17. This is the largest win for USC after trailing by 10-plus points at halftime in the past 25 years.
What’s next: Saturday at Minnesota
Previous ranking: 6
2024 record: 4-1
Week 5 result: Lost to Kentucky 20-17
Stat to know: The loss to Kentucky was Ole Miss’ first under Lane Kiffin when allowing 20 or fewer points.
What’s next: Saturday at South Carolina, 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Previous ranking: 14
2024 record: 4-1
Week 5 result: Defeated South Alabama 42-10
Stat to know: Garrett Nussmeier is the third player in LSU history with 400 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns in a game, joining Jayden Daniels in 2023 vs. Georgia State and Max Johnson in 2020 vs. Ole Miss.
What’s next: Oct. 12 vs. Ole Miss
Previous ranking: 16
2024 record: 4-1
Week 5 result: Defeated Louisville 31-24
Stat to know: Riley Leonard has three passing touchdowns in Notre Dame’s past two games combined. That matches his total in seven starts last season at Duke.
What’s next: Oct. 12 vs. Stanford, 3:30 p.m., NBC
Previous ranking: 17
2024 record: 3-1
Week 5 result: Defeated Stanford 40-14
Stat to know: Cade Klubnik had his second game this season with four passing touchdowns and a rushing score. He joins Tajh Boyd (5) and Woody Dantzler (2) as the only Clemson players in the past 25 years with multiple such games in their career.
What’s next: Saturday at Florida State
Previous ranking: 18
2024 record: 4-0
Week 5 result: Defeated Houston 20-0
Stat to know: This is Iowa State’s first shutout win on the road since beating UNLV 24-0 in 1999. It’s the Cyclones’ first shutout road win in a conference game since beating Kansas State 24-0 in 1971.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Baylor
Previous ranking: 22
2024 record: 5-0
Week 5 result: Defeated Baylor 34-28
Stat to know: This was the first win by the road team in this series since the Cougars won in double overtime in 2022.
What’s next: Oct. 12 vs. Arizona
Previous ranking: 10
2024 record: 4-1
Week 5 result: Lost to Arizona 23-10
Stat to know: The loss to Arizona snapped Utah’s 31-game home winning streak to unranked opponents.
What’s next: Friday at Arizona State, 10:30 p.m., ESPN
Previous ranking: 21
2024 record: 4-1
Week 5 result: Defeated Auburn 27-21
Stat to know: Oklahoma is now 5-0 all time on the road against SEC opponents. That’s the most wins without a loss by any team since 1936.
What’s next: Oct. 12 vs. Texas (in Dallas), 3:30 p.m.
Previous ranking: 23
2024 record: 4-1
Week 5 result: Defeated Oklahoma State 42-20
Stat to know: DJ Giddens, who rushed for 187 yards and caught one pass for 22 yards, is the first Wildcats player with 200 or more scrimmage yards against a ranked opponent since Tyler Lockett had 278 against No. 22 Oklahoma in 2013.
What’s next: Oct. 12 at Colorado
Previous ranking: 25
2024 record: 3-1
Week 5 result: Defeated Washington State 45-24
Stat to know: Ashton Jeanty, who rushed for 259 yards and four scores, is the only FBS player with multiple games with four or more rushing scores this season. He has 13 rushing scores so far this season, more than any other Mountain West team outside Boise State.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Utah State
Previous ranking: 15
2024 record: 3-1
Week 5 result: Lost to Notre Dame 31-24
Stat to know: The Cardinals are 0-9 on the road in AP-ranked matchups, the most such losses without a win by any team in the AP poll era.
What’s next: Saturday vs. SMU, noon
Previous ranking: NR
2024 record: 5-0
Week 5 result: Defeated Maryland 42-28
Stat to know: Indiana improved to 5-0, which is tied for the second-best start to a season in IU history. It’s the best since 1967, when the Hoosiers started 8-0 and won a share of the Big Ten title.
What’s next: Oct. 5 at Northwestern
Previous ranking: 19
2024 record: 4-1
Week 5 result: Lost to Penn State 21-7
Stat to know: Illinois has not started a season 5-0 since 2011 when it started 6-0 before losing the last six games of the regular season.
What’s next: Oct. 12 vs. Purdue
Previous ranking: NR
2024 record: 4-0
Week 5 result: Defeated Fresno State 59-14
Stat to know: The 59 points from the Rebels were their second-most scored in regulation against an FBS opponent. UNLV defeated New Mexico 72-7 in 1980.
What’s next: Friday vs. Syracuse, 9 p.m., FS1
