College football rankings: AP Poll Top 25 prediction in Week 5

The first 12 teams in the Associated Top 25 should mostly stay the same. From No. 13 to No. 25, however, there is going to be some major movement.

Since No. 5 Oklahoma managed to beat Army 28-21 in overtime, the biggest loss of the day belongs to No. 13 Virginia Tech. The Hokies fell 35-49 at Old Dominion, a Conference USA team 0-3 on the year before Saturday.

The dominoes kept falling. No. 14 Mississippi State lost to  Kentucky 7-28. No. 15 Oklahoma State fell to Texas Tech 17-41. No. 17 TCU lost to Texas 16-31. All three winners were unranked in the Week 4 AP Top 25.

But still, more ranked losses occurred. No. 20 Oregon choked away a potential upset and lost to No. 7 Stanford 31-38. No. 23 Boston College was blown out by unranked Purdue 13-30.

With so many losses, AP voters have a lot to figure out Sunday. Does Oklahoma get to hang onto No. 5? Should LSU be No. 5 instead? The Tigers won 38-21 over Louisiana Tech, but it was a close game (24-21) even in the fourth quarter. But many voters may only vote based on the final score.

Other questions they will have to answer: Can Virginia Tech justifiably remain ranked? Is a two-loss TCU now bounced? How high is too high for teams like Kentucky and Texas to enter the poll?

Here’s our prediction for Week 5:

1. Alabama def. No. 22 Texas A&M 45-23
2. Georgia def. Missouri 43-29
3. Clemson def. Georgia Tech 49-21
4. Ohio State def. Tulane 49-6
5. LSU def. Louisiana Tech 38-21
6. Oklahoma def. Army 28-21
7. Stanford def. Oregon 38-31
8. Notre Dame def. Wake Forest 56-27
9. Auburn def. Arkansas 34-3
10. Penn State def. Illinois 63-24
11. Washington def. Arizona State 27-20
12. West Virginia def. Kansas State 35-6
13. UCF def. FAU 56-36
14. Wisconsin def. Iowa 28-17
15. Michigan def. Nebraska 56-10
16. Miami def. FIU 31-17
17. Boise State BYE
18. Michigan State def. Indiana 35-21
19. Kentucky def. Mississippi State 28-7
20. Texas def. TCU 31-16
21. BYU def. McNeese 30-3
22. Oregon lost to Stanford 31-38
23. Duke def. NC Central 55-13
24. Mississippi State lost to Kentucky 7-28
25. Oklahoma State lost to Texas Tech 17-41

SDS Staff

Saturday Down South reports and comments on the news around the Southeastern Conference as well as larger college football topics.