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First off, congratulations are in order for Bryce Love as he continues his unprecedented start to the season, setting the Stanford single-game rushing record. Beyond that, a fairly uneventful weekend, with classic #Pac12AfterDark action as Wazzu knocked off the Trojans (always a great weekend when Stanford wins and USC loses). Let’s take a look at the polls after the action.
Week 5 Coaches Poll
| Rank | Team | Previous Rank | Record | Drop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Previous Rank | Record | Drop |
| 1 | Alabama | 1 | 5-0 | 0 |
| 2 | Clemson | 2 | 5-0 | 0 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 3 | 4-0 | 0 |
| 4 | Penn State | 4 | 5-0 | 0 |
| 5 | Washington | 6 | 5-0 | 1 |
| 6 | Georgia | 8 | 5-0 | 2 |
| 7 | Michigan | 7 | 4-0 | 0 |
| 8 | Wisconsin | 10 | 4-0 | 2 |
| 9 | Ohio State | 9 | 4-1 | 0 |
| 10 | TCU | 11 | 4-0 | 1 |
| 11 | Washington State | 16 | 5-0 | 5 |
| 12 | Miami | 13 | 3-0 | 1 |
| 13 | Auburn | 15 | 4-1 | 2 |
| 14 | Oklahoma State | 14 | 4-1 | 0 |
| 15 | USC | 5 | 4-1 | -10 |
| 16 | USF | 17 | 5-0 | 1 |
| 17 | Louisville | 18 | 4-1 | 1 |
| 18 | Utah | 19 | 4-0 | 1 |
| 19 | Virginia Tech | 12 | 4-1 | -7 |
| 20 | Florida | 20 | 3-1 | 0 |
| 21 | SDSU | 21 | 5-0 | 0 |
| 22 | Notre Dame | 26 | 4-1 | 4 |
| 23 | WVU | 23 | 3-1 | 0 |
| 24 | NC State | 28 | 4-1 | 4 |
| 25 | UCF | 33 | 3-0 | 8 |
An uneventful weekend means not much movement in the rankings. USC and Virginia Tech dropped fairly significantly after their losses, with LSU, FSU, and Mississippi State dropping out of the Coaches rankings entirely (uhhh....LSU, don’t think you’re supposed to lose to Troy). Washington State crept closer to the top 10 with their signature win against the Trojans, and UCF leapt up a whopping 8 spots after beating Memphis. Hard to argue with any of these rankings so far.
Week 5 AP Poll
| Rank | Team | Previous Rank | Record | Drop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Previous Rank | Record | Drop |
| 1 | Alabama | 1 | 5-0 | 0 |
| 2 | Clemson | 2 | 5-0 | 0 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 3 | 4-0 | 0 |
| 4 | Penn State | 4 | 5-0 | 0 |
| 5 | Georgia | 7 | 5-0 | 2 |
| 6 | Washington | 6 | 5-0 | 0 |
| 7 | Michigan | 8 | 4-0 | 1 |
| 8 | TCU | 9 | 4-0 | 1 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | 10 | 4-0 | 1 |
| 10 | Ohio State | 11 | 4-1 | 1 |
| 11 | Washington State | 16 | 5-0 | 5 |
| 12 | Auburn | 13 | 4-1 | 1 |
| 13 | Miami | 14 | 3-0 | 1 |
| 14 | USC | 5 | 4-1 | -9 |
| 15 | Oklahoma State | 15 | 4-1 | 0 |
| 16 | Virginia Tech | 12 | 4-1 | -4 |
| 17 | Louisville | 17 | 5-0 | 0 |
| 18 | USF | 18 | 5-0 | 0 |
| 19 | SDSU | 19 | 5-0 | 0 |
| 20 | Utah | 20 | 4-0 | 0 |
| 21 | Notre Dame | 22 | 4-1 | 1 |
| 22 | Florida | 21 | 3-1 | -1 |
| 23 | WVU | 23 | 3-1 | 0 |
| 24 | NC State | NR | 4-1 | |
| 25 | UCF | NR | 3-0 |
The AP Poll and Coaches Poll were pretty similar this week, including the same teams but just in a different order. LSU and Mississippi State both dropped out (FSU was already unranked in the AP last week), with NC State and UCF popping into the rankings. Beyond that, probably the biggest difference between the 2 polls is that the AP voters remained higher on the Hokies despite their loss to Clemson. Perhaps they recognized that Clemson is playing at an extremely elite level and a 2-touchdown loss to the reigning national champs doesn’t warrant a huge penalty.
In the Coaches Poll, Stanford jumped from 34th to 31st, and from 32nd to 30th in the AP Poll. If they beat #18/#20 Utah next week they’re sure to be ranked or just on the cusp of being ranked.