ESPN reveals new college football power rankings after Week 5 chaos and big matchups

We've gotten five weeks of data points for all college football teams to this point, with most having played four games (but some have played five), and we're starting to get an idea of who is good, which teams are better than others, and which have had some struggles. But it is a long season, and the teams we may think are the top may eventually fall out, and those relegated to the bottom of the list may finish the year on top.

With that in mind, ESPN has put out its post-Week 5 power rankings, and after a crazy weekend of college football, there's been a ton of movement. Here is the 'worldwide leader's' top 25, along with our thoughts on each.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0)

Previous rank: 1

Ohio State has one of the best wins in college football, even if it hasn't matured as well as it looked at the time (Texas). But going on the road to Washington and not allowing a touchdown was impressive. The defense appears to be legit, but the offense isn't quite as explosive as envisioned in the preseason.

2. Oregon Ducks (5-0)

Previous rank: 3

Oregon may have the actual most impressive win of the season thus far, having gone to Happy Valley and beating a top-10 Penn State team in one of the most hostile environments in the country. In our eyes, the Ducks may be the actual No. 1 team given that they can do it in all three phases and have shown few inconsistencies.

3. Miami Hurricanes (4-0)

Previous rank: 2

Many are talking about Miami as potentially the most complete team after the win over Florida a few weeks ago. The Gators are in complete disarray, but the Week 1 win over Notre Dame remains one of the more impressive wins in the country, even with the Irish losing two weeks later to Texas A&M. For the Hurricanes, it's always a wait-and-see scenario. We'll have a lot more answers this week with Miami traveling to Tallahassee to face Florida State.

4. Ole Miss Rebels (5-0)

Previous rank: 11

It's kind of an odd sight to see Ole Miss ranked as the best SEC team, but after eking out a home win over LSU, it's well-deserved (even if LSU may be overhyped after beating a bad Clemson team in Week 1). The Rebels appear to be complete and Ferris State transfer quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has been a revelation. We'll know more in mid-to-late October when Ole Miss faces both Georgia and Oklahoma on the road.

5. Texas A&M Aggies (4-0)

Previous rank: 9

The Week 3 win over Notre Dame is aging well, and the schedule is amenable without having Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, or Tennessee on it. Texas looms at the end of the season, but has Mike Elko turned things around just that quickly? LSU and Missouri join the Longhorns as tests for what appears to be a resurgent Aggies team.

6. Oklahoma Sooners (4-0)

Previous rank: 8

Without John Mateer for a month due to his thumb surgery, we may not know if the Sooners are truly for real or not. They had to eke out a game against Auburn, but controlled the Week 2 game against Michigan from start to finish. There's perhaps no bigger fans of the Wolverines than everyone in Norman -- especially if the offense struggles without Mateer at the helm. This week is a good tune-up, with Kent State coming to town, but the back half of the schedule is brutal (Texas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, and LSU are the final seven games).

7. Indiana Hoosiers (5-0)

Previous rank: 10

Winning at Kinnick is always impressive, no matter what Iowa team trots out there, and it took all game for Curt Cignetti's squad to put it away. But with Fernando Mendoza at the helm, IU may actually be among the Big Ten's best. We'll know more in two weeks when the Hoosiers travel to Eugene to face Oregon.

8. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-1)

Previous rank: 5

Meet the new Penn State, same as the old Penn State. The Nittany Lions nearly wrestled victory from the jaws of defeat, overcoming a two-score deficit to force what ended up being double overtime. Yet, the game ended the same way all of PSU's big games under James Franklin tend to: with a notch in the loss column. October should be smooth sailing, but James Franklin needs to find a way to beat Ohio State and Indiana in November.

9. Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-0)

Previous rank: 12

Being in the Big 12, it's difficult to tell how good Texas Tech actually is. But the Red Raiders have destroyed every team in their path, including Utah a few weeks ago. But there really aren't many challenges on the schedule, so as long as they keep winning, they should be in.

10. Alabama Crimson Tide (3-1)

Previous rank: 16

After losing to Florida State in Week 1, just about everyone left Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide for dead. However, Alabama did what it nearly always does: it went to Athens and beat Georgia. After winning its 10th of 11 tries against the Bulldogs, it's become clearer that the Crimson Tide remains a tough out, even if they're not as dominant as they were under Nick Saban. The run game leaves a bit to be desired, but the pass game with Ty Simpson at the helm has been impressive.

11. Georgia Bulldogs (3-1)

Previous rank: 6

It's clear that, while Georgia is still very good, that it is not what it was in 2021-22 when it won back-to-back national championships. Quarterback Gunner Stockton didn't exactly light up the field against Alabama, but the run game was solid. The defense, however, just doesn't look like it's in the same stratosphere as some of the Bulldogs' previous iterations.

12. Texas Longhorns (3-1)

Previous rank: 13

We really have no idea if Texas is any good at this point. At no point has quarterback Arch Manning looked the part of being an elite quarterback, unless you count him flexing against Sam Houston State. And the schedule, post-Ohio State, has been a series of also-ran Group of Five teams. The SEC schedule starts this week, which will give us more answers. The defense has been good, and perhaps the week off will help Manning reassess and rise to the occasion?

13. Tennessee Volunteers (4-1)

Previous rank: 14

The Vols lost their only real test thus far (against Georgia a few weeks ago) but they do still look like a potential contender in the SEC. Had UT hit the field goal at the end of the Bulldogs game, it would have been spoken of as the creme of the crop in the SEC — but alas, it lost that overtime contest. Joey Aguilar has been very good, but QB hasn’t generally been the issue for the Volunteers. They need to finish games and consistently beat the top teams in order to rise up higher.

14. Florida State Seminoles (3-1)

Previous rank: 7

After appearing to be giant killers following the Week 1 takedown of Alabama, Florida State returned to form (of the past year) by losing on the road to Virginia. Now, let’s be clear: the Cavaliers are undefeated and are playing good football, so there isn’t shame in that, potentially — just negative name recognition. But with Thomas Castellanos leading the team, this is a dangerous Seminoles squad. Miami looms large, and get past the Hurricanes, the sky could be the limit.

15. Iowa State Cyclones (5-0)

Previous rank: 15

Matt Campbell’s team continues to fly under the radar, even with the impressive upset in Week 0 against Kansas State (though that game hasn’t exactly aged well). Even still, the Cyclones — maybe more than the Red Raiders — might be the Big 12 team no one wants to play against.

16. Missouri Tigers (5-0)

Previous rank: 17

Eli Drinkwitz deserves a lot of credit for consistently fielding a contender in a difficult location. And yet, the Tigers continue to thrive under his leadership. Now, it should be recognized that Mizzou hasn’t exactly played a murderer’s row of teams, but it does have wins over Kansas and South Carolina. But with Alabama, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma on the schedule, the Tigers will have plenty of chances to prove if they’re among the SEC’s best or not.

17. LSU Tigers (4-1)

Previous rank: 4

Perhaps everyone’s preseason lauding of Clemson ended up making that Week 1 win for Brian Kelly and company a bit overhyped. The cracks started showing not too long after, and they all fully manifested for the Tigers in Oxford this past weekend. There are four ranked teams still on the schedule, so it’ll be incumbent upon LSU to turn things around. The good news may be that it’s a bye week this week, because mid-October through early-November is a brutal stretch (South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Alabama).

18. Vanderbilt Commodores (5-0)

Previous rank: 20

The Commodores have picked up where they left off last year, blasting nearly everything in their path. Diego Pavia is clearly among the best quarterbacks in the nation, but he and Vanderbilt will be under a microscope starting this week with a road trip to Alabama kicking off four-straight ranked matchups (LSU, Missouri and Texas come after the bye week).

19. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (5-0)

Previous rank: 18

After Georgia Tech beat Clemson, it had pretty much a clear path to the ACC Championship, and that really hasn’t changed. The only ranked team on the schedule is out of conference, with Georgia coming in Week 14. But teams like Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Duke, and Boston College remain, and none are anywhere close to unbeatable.

20. Michigan Wolverines (3-1)

Previous rank: 19

Michigan football moved down in the two rankings this weekend, and ESPN has also moved the Wolverines down. Michigan was on bye this week and shouldn’t have a problem with Wisconsin this weekend. The big question will come the following week, when the maize and blue travel to LA to face USC on Oct. 11. Get past the Trojans and the sky may just be the limit.

21. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-2)

Previous rank: 23

The Irish lost to the two ranked teams on the schedule in the first two games of the season. And now, they don’t face another ranked team all season. Outside of Boise State and USC, they actually don’t face anyone with a pulse. Would 10-2 be enough to make the College Football Playoff with such a resume?

22. BYU Cougars (4-0)

Previous rank: Unranked

As usual, BYU is flying under the radar, but the real tests don’t come until late-October, when the Cougars travel to both Iowa State and Texas Tech.

23. Illinois Fighting Illini (4-1)

Previous rank: 24

Illinois ran up, down, and all over USC — but still almost lost the game thanks to the Trojans’ offensive firepower. Even so, it was a huge win, especially coming after the 53-point drubbing by Indiana. Will the Illini be a factor in the Big Ten? Maybe, maybe not. But they have shown that, IU aside, they can contend with at least the thought-to-be-good teams.

24. Memphis Tigers (5-0)

Previous rank: Unranked

After beating Arkansas in Week 4, the Tigers have something of a clear path to the College Football Playoff as the Group of Five representative. Can they get to the finish line?

25. Louisville Cardinals (4-0)

Previous rank: Unranked

Don’t look now, but Jeff Brohm has an undefeated team in Louisville. The next two games are tough (vs. Virginia, at Miami), and that should tell us more about whether or not the Cardinals can contend in the ACC this year.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: ESPN updates college football power rankings after wild Week 5