ESNY’s College Football Top 10 Power Rankings — Week Five

Another wild weekend of upsets send the top ten into the blender — again.

College football has been tremendously entertaining this season. Big games, significant losses and drama everywhere have mixed up the rankings on a weekly basis.

The Big Ten is a mess, the Pac-12 is fascinating and the SEC once again looks like the toughest conference in the country. The ACC is now in a bad place because Clemson isn’t good.

There are three games we’re watching this weekend.

Arkansas @ Georgia — two top-ten teams with SEC aspirations will do battle.

Cincinnati @ Notre Dame — are the Bearcats for real? Can the Irish stay hot in spite of injuries? We’ll find out Saturday.

Ole’ Miss @ Alabama — Mississippi comes in ranked 12th in the country. Another huge game in the SEC.

So which ten teams made our rankings this week? Let’s break it down.

1. Alabama (4-0)

Bama has two wins over teams who were ranked (at the time): Miami and Florida. The win at Florida was impressive; Miami has shown itself to be a mess (again) this year. This week we’ll get another strong test for Nick Saban’s crew.

Next Game: vs. #12 Mississippi — 3:30 PM ET

2. Georgia (4-0)

Big-time game this week for the Bulldogs. A red-hot Arkansas team comes to town for a showdown between two top-ten teams. A win this week would make Georgia a solid favorite for a playoff spot even with one loss.

Next Game: vs. #8 Arkansas — Noon ET

3. Oregon (4-0)

The Ducks’ win at Ohio State isn’t holding up as well as they might hope; the Buckeyes are a trainwreck right now. But the fact remains Oregon went into Columbus and earned a big victory. This weekend’s game at Stanford is a huge test.

Next Game: @ Stanford — 3:30 PM ET

4. Arkansas (4-0)

Arkansas has two significant victories on their resume: a blowout win against Texas and last week’s impressive hammering of Texas A&M. The road doesn’t get easier in the SEC, however. They travel to Georgia on Saturday.

Next Game: @ #2 Georgia — Noon ET

5. Penn State (4-0)

Like Notre Dame, Penn State has a quality win over Wisconsin. Unfortunately, those two losses hurt the strength of schedule for both programs. The win over Auburn is another strong victory on the resume of the Nittany Lions.

Next Game: vs Indiana — 7:30 PM ET

6. Notre Dame (4-0)

Kyle Hamilton might be the best player in the country right now. The Irish “hosted” Wisconsin at Soldier Field in Chicago this past weekend and what was an ugly, close game for three quarters turned into a blowout. They’ll be tested this weekend.

Next Game: vs #7 Cincinnati — 2:30 PM ET

7. Iowa (4-0)

Iowa has two wins against teams who were ranked at the time (Indiana and Iowa State). Unfortunately, both teams have fallen apart since. The Hawkeyes have a serious test coming in a rare Friday night game with Maryland’s versatile offense. They’re in the driver’s seat in the Big Ten West.

Next Game: Fri. 10/1 vs Maryland — 8:00 PM ET

8. Florida (3-1)

They haven’t really been tested other than the Alabama game, but a two-point loss to the best team in the country shows more than some other teams fighting for a top-ten spot. The Gators are still a dangerous team.

Next Game: @ Kentucky – 6:00 PM ET

9. Cincinnati (3-0)

Cincinnati hasn’t played anyone yet (sorry, Indiana) but they’ve handled their business in all three games thus far. We’ll find out if they’re for real when they travel to South Bend on Saturday. This shapes up to be a potentially program-defining game for Cincy.

Next Game: @ #9 Notre Dame — 2:30 PM ET

10. BYU (4-0)

BYU has two wins against then-ranked teams (Utah and Arizona State). They’re a strong 4-0 and their offense has improved in all four games. This weekend brings a stiff test against a 3-1 Utah State team on Friday night.

Next Game: Fri. 10/1 @ Utah State — 9:00 PM ET