2018 College Football Power Rankings Week 5

Not much change in this week’s college football power rankings, but this weekend’s schedule includes two matchups between top-ten teams in the AP poll.

 

1. Alabama (4-0) | Last week: 1

There are a lot of great teams in college football, but Alabama clearly stands at the top after a few weeks. Tua Tagovailoa continues to make spectacular plays and pinpoint throws all over the field. If teams don’t get pressure on the Crimson Tide offense, they’ll be nearly impossible to beat.

 

2. Clemson (4-0) | Last week: 2

A bigger glimpse of the future was given on Saturday against Georgia Tech, as talented true freshman Trevor Lawrence tossed four touchdowns in a 49-point effort for the Tigers. Clemson did a good job of defending the triple-option. You know the Tigers are going to be ready to play this weekend against Syracuse after the Orange upset them in 2017.

 

3. Georgia (4-0) | Last week: 3

Georgia has often been compared to Alabama since Kirby Smart took over as the head coach for his alma mater, and the non-offensive touchdowns is an indicator that the Bulldogs are playing a lot like the Crimson Tide. Georgia has a couple of home games against Tennessee and Vanderbilt before heading to Baton Rouge.

 

4. LSU (4-0) | Last week: 4

It might have been a little closer than LSU would have liked, but they took care of business at home against Louisiana Tech. LSU has a tough task defending Mississippi’s elite group of receivers this Saturday. The matchup starts a stretch of six straight SEC games for the Tigers.

 

5. Ohio State (4-0) | Last week: 5

Urban Meyer’s return went as expected, as the Buckeyes rolled to a 49-6 home victory over Tulane. Now Ohio State has perhaps their toughest game of the early season as they head to Happy Valley to face Penn State on Saturday night. A win would arguably be the best of the season to this point, but Ohio State will be without Nick Bosa.

 

6. Penn State (4-0) | Last week: 6

After playing on Friday night, the Nittany Lions have a little extra time to get ready for the Buckeyes coming to town this weekend. Dwayne Haskins has been great this season, but Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley is probably the best player in the nation and should have the edge at home.

 

7. Oklahoma (4-0) | Last week: 7

That was too close for comfort, as Oklahoma needed overtime to get past Army in Norman. An overtime score by Army might have meant a do-or-die two-point conversion attempt in the first overtime, which would have been fun to watch—but the Sooners deserve credit for stepping up and surviving the weekend with a zero in the loss column.

 

8. Stanford (4-0) | Last week: 9 (+1)

In a tough and rowdy environment in Eugene, Stanford stormed back from a 17-point halftime deficit to win an overtime thriller against Justin Herbert and Oregon. The Cardinal will now head on the road again for a matchup against No. 8 Notre Dame. Because Stanford plays in the Pac-12 and Notre Dame is an independent, there are huge Playoff implications in the game.

 

9. Auburn (3-1) | Last week: 8 (-1)

Auburn bounced back from their close home loss to LSU with a convincing 34-3 showing against Arkansas. They’ll remain home for the fourth straight weekend when they face Southern Miss this Saturday. Jarrett Stidham hasn’t gotten a ton going through the air, so he’ll try to get on track this week.

 

10. Washington (3-1) | Last week: 10

Jake Browning threw three touchdowns as Washington was able to hold off Arizona State for a seven-point victory. Chris Peterson’s squad did a good job of locking up star receiver N’Keal Harry. This weekend, Washington remains at home as they face an upset-minded BYU team that already beat Wisconsin this year.