Florida’s coronation lasted only seven days.
After the Gators ran over No. 4 Ole Miss last week, Missouri ran over Florida, 45-17. Apparently that’s life in the SEC this fall. Win big one Saturday, lose big the next. Such bipolar behavior deserves a similar reaction in the CBS Sports Power Rankings.
We also thinned the ranks of the unbeaten to 15 teams, the fewest through Week 5 since 2018. The week got off to a wild start when Pitt survived Virginia Tech as John Love missed – did he miss? – a 36-yard field goal as time expired, but lost in the win was the loss of quarterback Mason Heintschel to a torn ACL. Meanwhile, Northwestern reopened Ryan Field with a 413-yard rushing attack on Penn State, embarrassing first-year coach Matt Campbell and his two dozen Iowa State transfers. Then Saturday opened with Alabama blowing out undefeated Mississippi State in Starkville.
Unsurprisingly, the CBS Sports Power Rankings once again face a shakeup, primarily in the middle of the pack. Missouri vaulted 13 spots after its dominant performance. On the other side, Florida fell 12 and Mississippi State plummeted 13 spots following the 33-point loss at home to the Tide. We also have some newcomers, with Arizona and Houston joining the party after nice wins.
At the top of the Top 25, Ohio State climbed to No. 2, right behind the only team to beat it: Texas, which spent the weekend resting and preparing for a trip to the Red River. The Buckeyes were impressive again, in a 31-14 win at Iowa, and Jeremiah Smith vaulted to No. 1 on the Heisman Trophy ballot with his second consecutive 200-yard performance.
The undefeated ranks will shrink even further after Week 6. Two battles featuring unbeatens headline the slate, as Georgia travels to Alabama and Indiana tests its 21-game winning streak at Nebraska. Over at the Cotton Bowl, Texas and Oklahoma clash in the Red River Rivalry, where the game’s tide shifts on which end of the split stadium is roaring.
Don’t forget about undefeated UCLA and first-year coach Bob Chesney. They visit Oregon on CBS, with the winner firmly in control of their playoff destiny.
Week 6 could be Reality Check Saturday across the sport.
Biggest Movers
13
Missouri
13
Miss. State
|
Rk |
Teams |
Chg |
Rcrd |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
|
1. Texas (–) 4-0 Texas rested after escaping Tennessee. Steve Sarkisian spent the bye working on an offense stuck in too many third-and-longs as his boss penned letters bemoaning his players’ immature behavior. Next up is Oklahoma, which hasn’t scored a TD in Brent Venables’ three rivalry losses. |
— | 4-0 |
2 |
|
Jeremiah Smith now owns Ohio State’s career records for catches, yards and touchdown receptions after piling up 206 yards and two TDs in a 31-14 win at Iowa. Only Smith and Ty Fryfogle have recorded 200-yard games in back-to-back games in Big Ten history. | 1 | 4-1 |
3 |
|
Georgia pulled away in the second half to beat Vanderbilt 38-14, becoming the fifth SEC team to win its first five games by 24-plus points. No SEC team has reached six. The Bulldogs get their shot Saturday at Alabama. | 1 | 5-0 |
4 |
|
Miami beat Clemson in Death Valley for the first time since 2010, a 41-13 rout that was the second-worst home loss under Dabo Swinney. Darian Mensah now has 17 total touchdowns and zero turnovers. Rival Florida State is next. | — | 5-0 |
5 |
|
Notre Dame braved sloppy conditions to beat North Carolina on the road 37-26 for its 15th straight double-digit win, tying 2008-09 Florida for the second-longest streak in 30 years. CJ Carr accounted for five touchdowns. | — | 5-0 |
6 |
|
Alabama hung 56 on Mississippi State, the most points it has ever scored on the road against a ranked team. Kalen DeBoer is 25-8 through 33 games, identical to Nick Saban’s start in Tuscaloosa. Georgia this week might be the biggest game of his career. | — | 5-0 |
7 |
|
Indiana won its 21st straight game in a 47-15 shellacking of Rutgers on the road. Indiana wasn’t penalized once. Josh Hoover has 15 touchdown passes and no interceptions. Next: a trip to unbeaten Nebraska. | 1 | 5-0 |
8 |
|
LSU piled up 731 yards against McNeese, the second-best total in school history. Sam Leavitt threw three TDs and an interception, the first SEC QB with a pick in each of his team’s first five games since 2021. Those turnovers could bite the Tigers in the SEC. | 1 | 4-1 |
9 |
|
Utah rested during the bye week. The Utes have led by 20-plus at halftime in all four games. Morgan Scalley is 5-0 as a head coach, and Utah has won 10 straight dating back to last season. Kansas visits Saturday to face the Utes’ innovative two-quarterback package. | 5 | 4-0 |
10 |
|
UCLA sat at home preparing for Oregon. James Madison’s last three coaches – Curt Cignetti, Bob Chesney and current Dukes coach Billy Napier – are all unbeaten. Chesney returns this week to Eugene, where he led James Madison to a loss in the CFP’s first round last season. | 2 | 4-0 |
11 |
|
With Ahmad Hardy still out, Jamal Roberts ran for 211 yards and three TDs in a 45-17 demolition of No. 8 Florida, Missouri’s first home win over a top-10 team since 2010. Austin Simmons has yet to throw an INT. Texas A&M comes to Columbia next. | 13 | 4-1 |
12 |
|
DeSean Bishop ran for a career-high 220 yards and three TDs as Tennessee beat Auburn at home for the first time since 1999. Freshman QB Faizon Brandon was benched at halftime for George MacIntyre. Arkansas is next. | 2 | 4-1 |
13 |
|
Oregon was idle and Dante Moore remains in concussion protocol with no timetable for his return. If he can’t go, Dylan Raiola, who threw for 289 yards in relief in a win at USC, would start against UCLA on CBS. | — | 3-1 |
14 |
|
BYU won ugly at TCU, 17-10 after losing RB LJ Martin to a lower-leg injury in the first quarter. Bear Bachmeier threw for 62 yards but ran for two TDs. He’s 16-2 as a starter. | 4 | 4-0 |
15 |
|
Texas Tech beat Colorado 29-7 to start 5-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. The defense had a pick six, recording four interceptions, its most since 2021. Arizona State visits Oct. 17. | 2 | 5-0 |
16 |
|
Ole Miss spent its bye trying to fix a defense Florida gashed for 302 rushing yards. RB Kewan Lacy’s shoulder got two weeks to heal in advance of Vanderbilt. | 1 | 3-1 |
17 |
|
Pitt won 35-33 at Virginia Tech on the Hokies’ missed field goal. The Panthers were outgained by 204 yards, the largest margin for a winner in 30 seasons. The bad news: QB Mason Heintschel tore his ACL. Holden Geriner gets his first career start this week against UNC. | 4 | 5-0 |
18 |
|
Nebraska’s best start since 2016 continued as Dwayne McDougle III’s 81-yard pick-six was part of a 34 unanswered points in a 48-23 win over Maryland. Now the real test: defending national champion Indiana. | 1 | 5-0 |
19 |
|
Florida couldn’t block Missouri’s defensive line, and the Gators’ secondary struggled to contain explosives in a 45-17 loss at Mizzou. Jadan Baugh, averaging 150 rushing yards a game, managed only 13. Jon Sumrall’s first loss at Florida was an old-fashioned butt-whooping. | 12 | 4-1 |
20 |
|
Arizona held a Cincinnati offense that averaged 270 rushing yards to 74 in a 34-7 rout, despite losing three receivers to injuries. Brent Brennan has Arizona 4-1 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1993-94. | NR | 4-1 |
21 |
|
Virginia Tech outgained Pitt by 204 yards and lost 35-33 when John Love missed a 36-yard field goal at the gun. James Franklin had been 91-0 against unranked teams when leading by 14 or more, introducing a new wrinkle for critics who point to his struggles in big games. | 1 | 4-1 |
22 |
|
Houston trailed UCF 17-0 late in the third quarter and won 27-17. Conner Weigman ran for three touchdowns. It was the Cougars’ first win when trailing by 17-plus since 2022. Kansas State is next. | NR | 4-1 |
23 |
|
The magic ran out against Ohio State. Iowa lost 31-14 at home, its eighth straight loss to a top-10 team, and Kirk Ferentz fell to 2-11 against the Buckeyes. | 7 | 4-1 |
24 |
|
Alabama scored 56 in Starkville, the most ever allowed at home by a ranked SEC team in regulation. Kamario Taylor has three or more TD passes in all five games, but he was pulled Saturday with an apparent foot injury. LSU awaits after a bye. | 13 | 4-1 |
25 |
|
USC held off Washington 25-21 for its first win over the Huskies since 2016, without suspended linebacker Desman Stephens II. Lincoln Riley is 24-1 at home against unranked teams. Next up is a cross-country trip and Penn State’s White Out. | 2 | 5-1 |
