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AP Poll: Buckeyes win big but don’t slip, and only 4 SEC teams ranked?

By Charlie Lockhart

TUSCALOOSA, AL - SEPTEMBER 30: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide looks on during the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
TUSCALOOSA, AL - SEPTEMBER 30: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide looks on during the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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A look at the AP Poll week 5.

It was an amazing week 5 in college football. And not only because there were interesting games with conference implications like Clemson-Va. Tech, USC-Washington State and Wisconsin-Northwestern. In addition to the on-field action, the AP Poll voters moved the Ohio State Buckeyes up this week, not down, even though they won convincingly. And only four SEC teams are ranked in the Top 25.

First let’s take a look at the Buckeyes’ situation. Week 3 Ohio State defeated Army by 31 points and Urban Meyer called the dogs off at the end of the game. The Buckeyes slipped in the AP Poll.

Last week Ohio State dominated UNLV 54-21, even though the Buckeyes lost two fumbles inside the one yard line and played reserves the entire second half. That dropped Ohio State down to 11.

After a convincing 56-0 win versus Rutgers, the Buckeyes have made a giant leap clear up to No, 10. Now for the SEC.

As usual, it takes the voters in the AP Poll longer to figure out what most college football fans realize at the beginning of the season. The Southeastern Conference is overrated.

Not that the SEC is a bad conference, just that it’s not as strong as it was a few years ago. You can make a case that most of the Power 5 conferences, if not all, are pretty much on equal footing at the moment.

Anyway, here are the Top 25 teams in the AP Poll this week.

  1. Alabama
  2. Clemson
  3. Oklahoma
  4. Penn State
  5. Georgia
  6. Washington
  7. Michigan
  8. TCU
  9. Wisconsin
  10. Ohio State
  11. Washington State
  12. Auburn
  13. Miami
  14. USC
  15. Oklahoma State
  16. Virginia Tech
  17. Louisville
  18. S. Florida
  19. San Diego State
  20. Utah
  21. Notre Dame
  22. Florida
  23. West Virginia
  24. North Carolina State
  25. UCF

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I think the voters are finally beginning to get things right. The ACC has five teams ranked in the Top 25  in the AP Poll, and a case could be made it is the strongest conference overall at the moment.

The other Power 5 conferences all have four ranked teams which seems about right.

I know I will hear it, as I always do, early season polls don’t mean a thing. The only poll that matters is the final one by the College Football Playoff Committee. I just wish those who make those arguments would actually look at the facts.

The members of the CFP Committee take all kinds of things into consideration. One of those is a team’s win, or loss, versus a team that was ranked at the time they played them. That’s why a week 5 poll is important.

Next: Week 5 Big Ten Observations: Who's Hot, Who's Not?

I could disagree with the Georgia Bulldogs being ranked as high as they are, or make the case another team should have been moved up or down this week. But for the most part, I think the AP voters did okay this week.

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