Rant Sports Week 6 Official College Football Top 25 Rankings
College Football Top 25
After a solid performance from the top-25 teams in week four, the top-25 is experiencing a bit of a shake-up of the lower-ranked teams this week. Mostly every team from the top-15 saw a win tallied in the record column, but some teams weren't so lucky.
Oklahoma State was expected to do big things in week four against a seemingly-lackluster West Virginia squad, but constant struggles on both sides of the ball led to a 30-21 loss.
They weren't the first, only or last top-25 team to lose, however, as four other ranked teams fell in week five. Some teams lost their spot in the rankings for week six because of the embarrassment of the loss or just the previous position was so low in the top-25. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish hosted a surging Oklahoma Sooners squad that came and stole a win away from them on their home field. It was an impressive performance from the Sooners and newly-appointed quarterback Blake Bell.
The Georgia Bulldogs and LSU Tigers met in Athens and it took a lot from both quarterbacks offensively to keep their teams in the game as the defenses played mediocre ball. It was weird to see LSU's defense struggle so mightily, but that's what happens when you go against Aaron Murray and Todd Gurley. The game ended as one of the best games of the early season as the Bulldogs won 44-41.
The other game of the week featured the Ohio State Buckeyes matched up against the Wisconsin Badgers at home. The Buckeyes proved to be elite behind Braxton Miller and took down a solid offense led by running backs Melvin Gordon and James White.
Check out our experts' top-25 rankings for week six.
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at [email protected].
25. Northern Illinois Huskies (4-0)
Northern Illinois is led by Jordan Lynch who is No. 1 on the team in rushing as well as passing. Coming off a huge win at Purdue is enough to put them in the top 25 for the first time this season.
Last week: NR
24. Maryland Terrapins (4-0)
Maryland destroyed a West Virginia team in week four that just took down a top-15 team in the country in week five. With a bye week in week five, the Terrapins had time to reflect on just how dominant they have been through four weeks.
Last week: NR
23. Fresno State Bulldogs (4-0)
Fresno State took down a mediocre Hawaii team in week five. It was close, but the Bulldogs pulled it out in the end behind Derek Carr's impressive performance.
Last week: 24
22. Arizona State Sun Devils (3-1)
Arizona State rebounded nicely from a Stanford loss last week and took down USC to end the Lane Kiffin era.
Last week: NR
21. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-1)
Oklahoma State had a really rough week on both sides of the ball and it all starts with the quarterback. Oklahoma State was one of two teams that lost after being in the top-15.
Last week: 12
20. Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-0)
A week off might have taken some electricity away from the red-hot Red Raiders. However, this team is one of the top up-and-coming units in college football and a dark-horse to win the Big 12.
Last week: 25
19. Michigan Wolverines (4-0)
It is safe to say that the Wolverines needed a bye week in week five more than anyone in the country. Michigan has had two really tough weeks in a row against lowly opponents that barely resulted in wins.
Last week: 19
18. Florida Gators (3-1)
Jeff Driskel is gone for the year and the Gators are still rolling. Taking down a lowly Kentucky squad isn't that impressive, but Tyler Murphy played well in his first start under center. It will be interesting to see how he fares against tougher teams in the SEC.
Last week: 20
17. Baylor Bears (3-0)
Baylor had a week off in week five, but it will take a lot more than that to cool off the most explosive offensive in college football. Yes, they are scary -- the Bears average about 70 points per game.
Last week: 18
16. Washington Huskies (4-0)
Washington continues to roll and running back Bishop Sankey is starting to sneak into Heisman talks. Holding an explosive Arizona offense to 13 points will earn you a spot in the top-16.
Last week: 16
15. Miami Hurricanes (4-0)
Miami has a guy by the name of Duke Johnson that excels in the run game. He has yet to really have a big breakout game, but give him another week and he will lead this Miami offense to an even better performance.
Last week: 16
14. Northwestern Wildcats (4-0)
Northwestern has a week off to prepare for easily its biggest game of the year, Ohio State. Hosting the unbeaten Buckeyes will be a tough test for the Wildcats. Kain Colter will need to have the best game of his career to take down the team that hasn't lost in over 600 days.
Last week: 15
13. UCLA Bruins (3-0)
The UCLA Bruins have a Heisman-hopeful quarterback in Brett Hundley who has been outstanding this season. They have three weeks to prepare for Stanford and then Oregon in back-to-back weeks.
Last week: 13
12. Oklahoma Sooners (4-0)
Oklahoma marched into Notre Dame and stole a win from the Irish. Blake Bell is proving to be the savior on offense for this team.
Last week: 14
11. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-1)
Sneaking out a close win at UCF wasn't extremely impressive, but the Gamecocks had a pretty off week. This team has the potential to win the SEC, but has a lot of straightening up to do before the season nears the end when they play Florida and Clemson. Many easier games in between, however.
Last week: 11
10. LSU Tigers (4-1)
Zach Mettenberger led the Tigers into Athens and lost to the Bulldogs in a very close finish. However, they couldn't pull off the victory in the end and had to go home with their first loss of the young season. Don't be surprised if they take down Alabama in a month and head to the SEC title game -- this team is better than everyone thought.
Last week: 6
9. Texas A&M Aggies (4-1)
Texas A&M and Johnny Football marched into Arkansas to take a win away from the Razorbacks on their own home field. The win wasn't overly-impressive and the Aggies' defense is still lackluster, but a win's a win.
Last week: 9
8. Florida State Seminoles (4-0)
Florida State rolled on against Boston College thanks to another Heisman-worthy performance from Jameis Winston in which he threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns.
Last week: 10
7. Louisville Cardinals (4-0)
Louisville has the week off and it won't make much of a difference as their easy schedule will continue in week six. The toughest game of the season for the Cardinals comes in week 14 when they play the Cincinnati Bearcats. Teddy Bridgewater might lead this team to an easy 12-0 season.
Last week: 8
6. Georgia Bulldogs (3-1)
Aaron Murray had quite the game for the Bulldogs as he threw for 298 yards and four scores. Surprisingly, Gurley wasn't the leading rusher and the Bulldogs still took down LSU -- scary.
Last week: 7
5. Stanford Cardinal (4-0)
Stanford didn't know what they would see from a surprisingly-tough Washington State team in week five, but the Cardinal were just not impressed with the Cougars' 3-1 start. They embarrassed Washington State on their own field, 55-17.
Last week: 5
4. Clemson Tigers (4-0)
Clemson keeps on winning as they took down Wake Forest by an impressive 49 points. Tajh Boyd continues his Heisman campaign with another three touchdown passes.
Last week: 4
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0)
Ohio State got Braxton Miller back in time to pull off a huge home victory against the Wisconsin Badgers in week five. It was the Big Ten game of the week and could possibly be the difference in the Leaders Division.
Last week: 3
2. Oregon Ducks (4-0)
What a surprise, Oregon blew out another team in impressive fashion, proving to be much more than just an offensive squad. The Ducks took down an impressive Cal offense, holding it to just 16 points. Final score: 55-16. This team finally got a first-place vote from one expert this week.
Last week: 2
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (4-0)
The Tide keep on rolling over opponents, taking down a top-25 squad for the second time in three weeks. Ole Miss didn't stand a chance as Alabama's defense came back big time after a lackluster performance against Texas A&M in week three. Will this team ever lose the top spot? It's not looking like it.
Last week: 1
Be sure to check out the Rant Sports 100 in 100 Series, a preview of the top 100 College Football Teams for the 2013 Season!
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