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2025 College Football Rankings Recap: Week 5
Ole Miss (5-0) stays on top of The Davis Rankings after week 5 of the 2025 season, with a score of 95.2 out of 100. The rest of the top five: #2 Texas A&M, #3 Oklahoma, #4 Ohio State, #5 Louisville.
Every score comes from the same published formula, explained on the methodology page.
The top 25
The Real Big 10 - trying to keep the losers out... UCLA (#133), 4th week running
| Rank | Team | Record | TDR scoreTDR | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ole Miss | 5-0 | 95.2 | - |
| 2 |  Texas A&M | 4-0 | 94.0 | ▲ 1 |
| 3 |  Oklahoma | 4-0 | 93.0 | ▲ 1 |
| 4 |  Ohio State | 4-0 | 92.1 | ▲ 20 |
| 5 |  Louisville | 4-0 | 91.9 | ▲ 6 |
| 6 |  Iowa State | 5-0 | 91.8 | ▲ 2 |
| 7 |  Navy | 4-0 | 91.7 | - |
| 8 |  Indiana | 5-0 | 91.5 | ▲ 13 |
| 9 |  Oregon | 5-0 | 91.4 | ▲ 19 |
| T-10 |  BYU | 4-0 | 91.3 | ▲ 12 |
| T-10 |  Georgia Tech | 5-0 | 91.3 | ▲ 9 |
| T-10 |  Vanderbilt | 5-0 | 91.3 | ▲ 5 |
| 13 |  Houston | 4-0 | 91.2 | ▼ 8 |
| 14 |  Texas Tech | 4-0 | 91.1 | ▲ 4 |
| T-15 |  Maryland | 4-0 | 91.0 | ▼ 2 |
| T-15 |  Memphis | 5-0 | 91.0 | - |
| 17 |  North Texas | 5-0 | 90.7 | ▼ 6 |
| 18 |  Miami | 4-0 | 90.4 | ▲ 8 |
| 19 |  Missouri | 5-0 | 89.9 | - |
| 20 |  UNLV | 4-0 | 88.5 | ▲ 10 |
| 21 |  Tulane | 4-1 | 81.1 | ▲ 36 |
| T-22 |  Alabama | 3-1 | 78.4 | ▲ 24 |
| T-22 |  Arizona State | 4-1 | 78.4 | ▲ 12 |
| 24 |  Michigan | 3-1 | 78.2 | ▲ 7 |
| 25 |  Illinois | 4-1 | 77.8 | ▲ 36 |
Biggest movers
26 teams jumped two or more tiers (10 up, 16 down). 43 more moved a single tier.
Risers
| Team | From | Direction | To | Tiers | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kansas State 2-3 | Oh Crap | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▲ 2 | 126 → T-82 | ▲ 44 |
| After a home win over T-26 UCF (34-20). An upset: Kansas State entered with 19.8 TDR points to UCF's 90.3. Now 2-3. TDR score +27.2: win/loss record +8.2, road-win bonus +2.2. | ||||||
 Minnesota 3-1 | Do We Need to Talk? | → | Feeling Good | ▲ 2 | 80 → T-38 | ▲ 42 |
| After a home win over T-65 Rutgers (31-28) in a one-score game. An upset: Minnesota entered with 51.0 TDR points to Rutgers's 55.3. Now 3-1. TDR score +21.8: win/loss record +4.6, road-win bonus +1.3. | ||||||
 South Carolina 3-2 | Do We Need to Talk? | → | Feeling Good | ▲ 2 | 91 → 49 | ▲ 42 |
| After a home win over #48 Kentucky (35-13) in a blowout. An upset: South Carolina entered with 39.8 TDR points to Kentucky's 69.6. Now 3-2. TDR score +22.7: win/loss record +5.5, road-win bonus +1.3. | ||||||
 Toledo 3-2 | Sick of It | → | Character Building | ▲ 2 | 101 → 59 | ▲ 42 |
| After a home win over #106 Akron (45-3) in a blowout. As expected: Toledo entered with 38.8 TDR points to Akron's 35.2. Now 3-2. TDR score +22.3: win/loss record +5.5, road-win bonus +1.2. | ||||||
 Washington State 3-2 | Do We Need to Talk? | → | Feeling Good | ▲ 2 | 89 → 48 | ▲ 41 |
| After a road win at #117 Colorado State (20-3). As expected: Washington State entered with 40.4 TDR points to Colorado State's 24.0. Now 3-2. TDR score +22.4: win/loss record +5.5, road-win bonus +2.1. | ||||||
and 5 more tier jumpers
Hawai'i 85→45, Northwestern 112→73, Tulane 57→21, Illinois 61→25, Stanford 109→74
Fallers
| Team | From | Direction | To | Tiers | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Georgia 3-1 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 5 → 63 | ▼ 58 |
| After a home loss to #46 Alabama (21-24) in a one-score game. An upset: Georgia entered with 92.5 TDR points to Alabama's 72.0. Now 3-1, first loss of the season. AP: #5 to #12. TDR score -34.6: win/loss record -13.8, road-win bonus -3.8. | ||||||
 TCU 3-1 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 8 → 61 | ▼ 53 |
| After a road loss at #34 Arizona State (24-27) in a one-score game. An upset: TCU entered with 91.5 TDR points to Arizona State's 74.7. Now 3-1, first loss of the season. AP: #24 to unranked. TDR score -33.2: win/loss record -13.8, road-win bonus -2.9. | ||||||
 Washington 3-1 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 13 → T-64 | ▼ 51 |
| After a home loss to T-24 Ohio State (6-24). A coin flip: Washington entered with 91.2 TDR points to Ohio State's 90.4. Now 3-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -33.4: win/loss record -13.8, road-win bonus -3.8. | ||||||
 Mississippi State 4-1 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 8 → T-55 | ▼ 47 |
| After a home loss to #41 Tennessee (34-41) in a one-score game. An upset: Mississippi State entered with 91.5 TDR points to Tennessee's 72.8. Now 4-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -29.9: win/loss record -11.0, road-win bonus -2.7. | ||||||
 Penn State 3-1 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 22 → 66 | ▼ 44 |
| After a home loss to #28 Oregon (24-30) in a one-score game. A coin flip: Penn State entered with 90.5 TDR points to Oregon's 90.1. Now 3-1, first loss of the season. AP: #3 to #7. TDR score -33.3: win/loss record -13.8, road-win bonus -3.3. | ||||||
and 11 more tier jumpers
Kansas 38→T-82, Iowa 37→80, Syracuse 42→T-84, Utah State 39→79, Kentucky 48→87, Arizona 24→62, Rice 39→T-77, Tulsa 69→T-103, Jacksonville State 74→107, Missouri State 75→108, Georgia Southern 71→T-103
Weekly awards
Eight awards in four groups, each with one you want and one you don’t. The biggest poll gaps are in Polls vs the data, in detail under Mind the Gap. Season totals for every team are on the Awards page. The week’s game honors are in Games that mattered.
Kitchen
Who sits on top of the rankings, and who is stuck at the bottom.
Mountaineering
Two straight weeks of climbing, and two straight weeks of falling.
Biggest two-week rise, up both weeks
Mind the Gap
Where the polls and the data disagree most.
Data rank far better than any poll's
Poll rank far better than the data's
Polls vs the data, in detail
The biggest gaps between the TDR rank and the best rank in any poll. A team in no poll counts as just outside them, so its gap is a minimum (shown with a +). Gaps under 5 spots are not listed.
Wins don't matter
TDR counts every win.
| Team | TDR | AP | Coaches | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville 4-0 | 5 | NR | NR | ▲ 21+ |
| Navy 4-0 | 7 | NR | NR | ▲ 19+ |
| BYU 4-0 | T-10 | 23 | 23 | ▲ 13 |
| Houston 4-0 | 13 | NR | NR | ▲ 13+ |
Explaining losses away
Every loss is about 8% of a season.
| Team | TDR | AP | Coaches | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State 3-1 | 66 | 7 | 6 | ▼ 60 |
| Georgia 3-1 | 63 | 12 | 10 | ▼ 53 |
 Florida State 3-1 | 67 | 18 | 19 | ▼ 49 |
 Notre Dame 2-2 | 60 | 21 | 21 | ▼ 39 |
Moving Company
The biggest single-week moves up and down the rankings.
Biggest rank rise of the week
Biggest rank fall of the week
Games that mattered
The week’s standout games, each shown once, in the first list it qualifies for. The one exception: a close loss by a top-25 team can be in both Upset of the Week and Winnin’ ain’t easy (one is about the size of the gap, the other about how close it was). Upset of the Week, Winnin’ ain’t easy and Coin Flips are recognitions: they are not trophy-case awards, so they never go on a helmet.
The lowest-entering team to beat a better-ranked one. Ranks are from the week before.
- Kansas State beat
UCF34-20#126 vs #26100 spots - Illinois beat
USC34-32#61 vs #259 spots 
Virginia Tech beat 
NC State23-21#107 vs #5651 spots
Louisiana beat 
Marshall54-51#124 vs #7747 spots- South Carolina beat
Kentucky35-13#91 vs #4843 spots
A top-25 team in a one-score game against a team ranked far below it: it survived, or it fell. Ranks are from the week before.
- Georgia Tech beat
Wake Forest30-29#19 vs #83top-25 team survived by 1 - Illinois beat USC34-32#61 vs #2top-25 team fell by 2
- Houston beat
Oregon State27-24#5 vs #133top-25 team survived by 3 - Alabama beat Georgia24-21#46 vs #5top-25 team fell by 3
Teams within 3 points of each other on paper going in, closest finish first. Scores are away, then home.
- Oregon at Penn State30-240.4 points apartwon by 6
- Ohio State at Washington24-60.8 points apartwon by 18
Arizona at Iowa State14-391.1 points apartwon by 25
One-score games involving a top-60 team that are not already above.
- Arizona State beat TCU27-24T-22 vs #61won by 3
- BYU beat
Colorado24-21T-10 vs #99won by 3 
Cincinnati beat 
Kansas37-34#36 vs T-82won by 3- Minnesota beat
Rutgers31-28T-38 vs #86won by 3 
San Diego State beat 
Northern Illinois6-3#35 vs #114won by 3
The biggest margins by a team in the current top 50, the two top tiers.
- Missouri beat
Massachusetts42-6#19 vs #136won by 36 
Duke beat 
Syracuse38-3#47 vs T-84won by 35
Utah beat 
West Virginia48-14#26 vs #106won by 34
Conference snapshot
Conferences by average team score, with how many of each conference's teams sit in each tier. This is a different measure from the non-conference record ranking (for this week) on the standings page.
| Conference | Avg score | Highest-ranked team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEC | 68.0 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | #1Ole Miss |
| Big 12 | 63.3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | #6Iowa State |
| Big Ten | 62.6 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 4 | - | 1 | #4Ohio State |
| ACC | 55.7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2 | - | #5Louisville |
| American Athletic | 53.9 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | #7Navy |
| Mountain West | 51.0 | 1 | 5 | - | 2 | 4 | - | #20UNLV |
| Sun Belt | 47.4 | - | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | #37 James Madison |
| Conference USA | 39.8 | - | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | #28 Louisiana Tech |
| Mid-American | 31.6 | - | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | T-50 Ohio |
Winning | Feeling Good | Character Building | Do We Need to Talk? | Sick of It | Oh Crap
The most teams in the Winning tier: SEC and Big Ten (6 each). The most teams in the bottom two tiers (Sick of It and Oh Crap): Mid-American (9).
Not ranked as a conference: FBS Independents (not a conference: UConn #57, Notre Dame #60); Pac-12 (only 2 teams: Washington State #48, Oregon State #132).
Conference race
Who leads each conference and what the title game picture looks like. Ties are shown as ties, never broken: each conference decides them with its own rules. See the full conference standings.
| Conference | Leaders | Title game |
|---|---|---|
| SEC | FinalChampion: Georgia | |
| Big 12 | FinalChampion: Texas Tech | |
| Big Ten | FinalChampion: Indiana | |
| ACC | FinalChampion: Duke | |
| American Athletic | FinalChampion: Tulane | |
| Mountain West | FinalChampion: Boise State | |
| Sun Belt | FinalChampion: James Madison | |
| Conference USA | FinalChampion: Kennesaw State | |
| Mid-American | FinalChampion: Western Michigan |
Looking ahead to week 6
The biggest games between current top-25 teams, best matchup first.
Show all 50 games between ranked teams
Every game next week between two ranked FBS teams, best matchup first. The matchup score is the two ranks added together plus how far apart they are (lower is better). A coin marks a toss-up by the numbers.
#64 
#69 
#43 
#73 
#88 
#70 
#89 
#94 
#96 
#97 
#100 
#103 
#111 
#94 
#33 
#112 
#113 
#101 
#115 
#116 
#77 
#117 
#118 
#91 
#119 
#120 
#121 
#42 
#122 
#123 
#124 
#34 
#124 
#71 
#41 
#126 
#127 
#130 
#91 
#131 
#90 
#93 
#133 See the full 2025 week 5 rankings, see every team by tier, the conference standings, or browse every weekly recap.
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