One of the primary storylines throughout Week 5 was a curiosity over how many undefeated teams would make it through the weekend maintaining that moniker. College football’s oft-unbalanced schedules create circumstances in which teams can get through the first month of the season with a zero in the loss column even if that’s not indicative of their true standing within the sport. It’s right about now — one-third of the way through the season — when conference play begins and that number declines rapidly.
Week 5 was a “prove it” period for many teams in the eyes of the AP Top 25 poll voters.
Oklahoma State and Ole Miss are two examples of teams coming out on the positive end of this “prove it” weekend with both remaining undefeated despite facing ranked opponents . The Cowboys’ best win had previously been Arizona State until Mike Gundy’s squad got in and out of Waco, Texas, with a win against Baylor. Similarly, the Rebels had just one win against a Power Five opponent prior to holding off Kentucky with a pair of fourth-quarter defensive stands. Oklahoma State and Ole Miss are not only slated for a bump up in the rankings, they picked up wins that will solidify their positions as two of the better teams in the country.
Just as we saw some ranked teams solidify their position, others fell short in their “prove it” opportunities. Minnesota had surged into the national picture with its win against Michigan State but will drop in the polls after falling to Purdue. The same was expected for Washington and Florida State as they were also favored to win this weekend but instead dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten. How voters respond to these setbacks will differ, but what’s certain is that all of these teams will be ranked lower than they were going into the weekend.
The most interesting debate for the AP Top 25 will be how the voters reward previously unranked teams that made it through the weekend undefeated. Kansas was the first team on the outside looking in last week — don’t blame us, they were No. 23 in the CBS Sports 131 — so the Jayhawks appearing in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2009 is basically a guarantee.
However, the rest of the group was not as well represented in last week’s balloting. Will simply being undefeated be enough to jump other teams in the battle for those last 10-12 spots? UCLA and TCU seem like locks to not only be ranked but see…
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