Ohio State's lone blemish to Texas is indelible in college football's first five weeks of the 2026 season.
If the Buckeyes had finished the job in Austin, OSU would be ranked No. 1. Many would be wondering if Ryan Day's team was destined for its second championship in three years.
Now, no matter how many wins the team piles up against Big Ten competition, the doubt from that defeat will follow the Buckeyes around.
How far is Ohio State from the top of college football, though, with two consecutive double-digit wins in the B1G?
Here's our take, in the form of top-25 power ranking ahead of Week 6:
No. 1: Georgia
While Texas is ranked No. 1, Georgia may be the true pound-for-pound best team in the country. If nothing else, we'll know for sure this Saturday when the Dawgs travel to Tuscaloosa for a top-six showdown with Alabama.
No. 2: Texas
The Longhorns own the best two wins of the season over OSU and Tennessee. Together, that may give UT the best resume so far, at least in terms of signature wins. We all saw how vulnerable Steve Sarkisian's team was for those first 43 minutes in Week 2, though.
No. 3: Alabama
The Crimson Tide is ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll, but they have perhaps the most sneakily impressive resume of any team in the country outside of Texas. Alabama could prove it is the true No. 1 by knocking off UGA.
No. 4: Ohio State
Being up by 20 on the Longhorns may have been the most dominant showing of any team in the country...for three quarters. Ohio State isn't far off from the top after owning an extremely impressive road win over Iowa in Week 5.
No. 5: Notre Dame
The Wisconsin win is nice, but Notre Dame hasn't played many tough foes beyond that. Things ratchet up in Week 7 with a trip to Provo to battle BYU.
No. 6: Miami
Unless you overvalue Clemson under Dabo Swinney in the year 2026 for what his past Tigers teams have accomplished, Miami doesn't have an overly inspiring win yet either.
No. 7: BYU
The Cougars have an impressive win over Arizona, but BYU has benefited from a soft schedule otherwise. Week 6 brings a decent challenge in Iowa State before the Fighting Irish bring the ABC spotlight on October 17.
No. 8: Indiana
If Northwestern has a strong 2026 season, Indiana is probably underrated here. If not, the Hoosiers are leaving a lot to be desired so far.
No. 9: LSU
LSU's lone loss was in a generationally tough road environment because of Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss beef.
No. 10: Ole Miss
Though the Rebels knocked off the Tigers in that Week 3 matchup from Oxford, Mississippi, they've since taken a massive blowout loss to Florida in the "Swamp."
No. 11: Utah
Beating Arkansas may not mean much in the year 2026, but Utah also has a win over Iowa State in Ames.
No. 12: Texas Tech
Beating Houston was technically a more impressive win for Texas Tech than beating the Cyclones was for the Utes, but the Red Raiders have more uncertainty at the quarterback position. Truthfully, it's a toss-up, and the real determining factor could be the Big 12 Championship Game if Utah can win the Holy War. Otherwise, the Cougars could be in the Utes' spot.
No. 13: Oregon
Oregon's early-season loss to Oklahoma State makes Dan Lanning's outfit suspect, but the Ducks have since gone to LA and defeated USC. UCLA is a major prove-it game for Oregon on Saturday.
No. 14: Tennessee
The Volunteers were awfully close to upsetting Texas after making it a game in the second half. Tennessee is a team to watch for the CFP if the Vols can steal one from the Crimson Tide or Kiffin's Bayou Bengals.
No. 15: Missouri
Beating Florida to a pulp in CoMo just putt Mizzou on the map. We'll see how long the Tigers can stay there as the schedule offers the Rebels, Longhorns, and Dawgs over the next month.
No. 16: Florida
The Gators killed their own hype by getting the doors blown off them by Missouri. Florida fans are already angry with Jon Sumrall, but the Gators' could still hang their hat on that Ole Miss win.
No. 17: Mississippi State
Mississippi State didn't fare well against Alabama, but the Bulldogs own a win over Mizzou. The SEC has plenty of parity, which could hurt the conference's overall depth come CFP selection time.
No. 18: Iowa
Losing to the Buckeyes hurt the Hawkeyes significantly with poll voters. Iowa is undervalued right now because of how Ohio State made it look.
No. 19: USC
Lincoln Riley should have the Trojans achieving more, but USC is still 5-1 after surviving Washington this past weekend. We'll see if the Trojans can survive Penn State in the White Out. This could be the last weekend USC is sniffing a top-25 rank.
No. 20: UCLA
The Bruins are making a serious run in Bob Chesney's first season. UCLA could shoot up these rankings with a win over the Ducks this coming weekend.
No. 21: Houston
The U of H has only lost to Texas Tech this season, but the pass defense leaves the Coogs vulnerable during the rest of Big 12 play. For now, Houston maintains a top-25 ranking, but Willie Fritz's program may not stay here for long.
No. 22: Oklahoma State
The Pokes' loss to Tulsa in Week 1 is hard to look past, but beating Oregon gives Oklahoma State a ton of credibility. We'll see if the Cowboys have staying power under Eric Morris as the Coogs and Red Raiders loom by season's end.
No. 23: Kentucky
Kentucky won this past weekend at South Carolina but fell out of the AP Top 25. Make that make sense. Will Stein is running a tight ship in Lexington, but the schedule is brutal in November.
No. 24: Pitt
5-0 Pitt just notched an extremely impressive win over Virginia Tech. The Panthers are a sneaky ACC dark horse with a somewhat favorable schedule the rest of the way.
No. 25: Wake Forest
It's sad that the story surrounding Winston-Salem revolves around Jake Dickert finding a bigger spotlight elsewhere. Wake Forest has only lost to The U and has momentum after upsetting Louisville and embarrassing Stanford this past weekend.
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