Josh’s College Football Rankings 2022–Week 5

Some huge upsets this week. Look, I should mention that two loss teams will not be in these rankings this early in the year. I do not care who the losses are against. You have to win games in order to stay ranked. Now, by the end of the year, two and three losses can be ranked, but at this point? Nope, you leave the rankings. Also, I would like to clarify the Watch List. Those are not teams that I consider to be the next five teams. I mean, in some cases yes, but for the most part those are teams that I am paying attention to for a variety of reasons. For example, James Madison is new to FBS, and they have started the year off undefeated, with a big against App State. 

1. Alabama (5-0)–#1–W 49-26 #22 Arkansas–Bryce Young leaves the game with an injury and the Crimson Tide still manage to crush a ranked opponent.
2. Ohio State (5-0)–#3–W 49-10 Rutgers–The Buckeyes have so many weapons, and they just do not seem to have any weaknesses.
3. Georgia (5-0)–#2–W 26-22 Mizzou–The Bulldogs do not look great at the moment. They struggled with Mizzou, particularly in the red zone. They had troubles with Kent State last week. Yeah, I am justified in dropping them to the third spot.
4. Clemson (5-0)–#4–W 30-20 #10 NC State–The Tigers defense was able to hold down Devin Leary and the Wolfpack, while DJ looked good in this win.
5. Michigan (5-0)–#5–W 27-14 Iowa–A win at Kinnick Stadium is always a positive.
6. USC (5-0)–#6–W 42-25 Arizona State–The Sun Devils hung around for the first half, but Caleb Williams and the Trojans were just too much in the second half.
7. Tennessee (4-0)–#7–BYE
8. Oklahoma State (4-0)–#8–W 36-25 #15 Baylor–The Cowboys avenged that loss from last year in convincing fashion.
9. Ole Miss (5-0)–#12–W 22-19 #9 Kentucky–The Rebels first win over a top ten team in like a billion years or something. The defense did a good job handling Levis and the Wildcats.
10. Penn State (5-0)–#11–W 17-7 Northwestern–The Nittany Lions won. It was not pretty, but the rain was a major factor (although, sometimes running the ball in the rain is not the safest option–fumbles). The defense came through to give the offense a break.
11. Oregon (4-1)–#16–W 45-27 Stanford–The Ducks are the best of the one loss teams in my opinion. Yeah, they got crushed by Georgia, but I am not sure whether that happens if they play now. Bo Nix looks more comfortable in that offense.
12. TCU (4-0)–NR–W 55-24 #14 Oklahoma–An absolute beatdown of the Sooners. The Horned Frogs are for real (hence why they were in my Watch List last week).
13. Kansas (5-0)–NR–W 14-11 Iowa State–I think I have the Jayhawks ranked a little too high, but I have a feeling it will not matter after next week.
14. UCLA (5-0)–HM–W 40-32 #13 Washington–I knew it was too early to jump the Huskies so high, and it may be too early to bump the Bruins up there. They have some tough games coming up.
15. Utah (4-1)–#18–W 42-16 Oregon State–Utah is in that same boat as Oregon. They have one loss, but they have started rolling.
16. Kentucky (4-1)–#9–L 22-19 #12 Ole Miss–I thought Kentucky was ready to take the step into the next level, but that loss puts them back in that second tier of one loss teams. I could see them ending up with four losses.
17. NC State (4-1)–#10–L 30-20 #4 Clemson–They better rebound quickly because their schedule does not get much easier.
18. Wake Forest (4-1)–#19–W 31-21 #23 Florida State–Sam Hartman and the Demon Deacons offense continues to look good. It was nice to see their defense not give up too many points to an inferior offsense.
19. BYU (4-1)–#21–W 38-26 Utah State–A meh win, but they benefit by so many other teams losing.
20. Syracuse (5-0)–#25–W 59-0 Wagner–I like this type of FCS game this late (I think a few other teams do them even later). It allows the team to take a breath before a bunch of tough games.
21. Washington (4-1)–#13–L 40-32 UCLA–They have an easy slate for the next three weeks. They have to win those games to convince me they are big time.
22. Mississippi State (4-1)–NR–W 42-24 #17 Texas A&M–Every year I buy into the Bulldogs being a good team after a win like this, and then they make me look stupid. They have a brutal schedule for the next five games where they could end up 4-6 OR they could be 7-3 (I mean, if they get through that stretch at 9-1–they will be in the top four).
23. UNC (4-1)–NR–W 41-10 Virginia Tech–They can score, but I have no idea if they are good.
24. Kansas State (4-1)–NR–W 37-28 Texas Tech–That loss to Tulane hurts them, but not too much since Tulane is a solid 4-1 as well (how did they lose to Southern Miss?).
25. Florida State (4-1)–#23–L 31-21 #19 Wake Forest–I did not drop FSU much because…well I do not know. It was not a bad loss against a better team.

Honorable Mention
Cincinnati (4-1)–W 31-21 Tulsa–Just keep winning and eventually they will be ranked.
James Madison (4-0)–W 40-13 Texas State–Another conference win.
Maryland (4-1)–W 27-13 Michigan State–The Spartans are falling apart, but I feel like this is the type of game Maryland would typically lose in years past.
Washington State (4-1)–W 28-9 California–Win the games you must.
Minnesota (4-1)–#24–L 20-10 Purdue–The Gophers needed to win this one to head to the bye week undefeated and give them a solid lead in the West.

Watch List
Coastal Carolina (5-0)–HM–W 34-30 Georgia Southern–I feel like every game is close for them, but they still keep winning. Keep an eye on them over the next few weeks.
LSU (4-1)–W 21-17 Auburn–The Tigers started off with a loss, but have since rattled off four straight wins (including a win against Mississippi State).
Illinois (4-1)–W 34-10 Wisconsin–The Badgers are having a rough time this season, but you cannot discount the great job Bielema has done turning things around at Illinois.
Baylor (3-2)–#15–L 36-25 #8 Oklahoma State–Keep an eye on Baylor, two losses does not mean they are out of the thick of things just yet.
Arkansas (3-2)–#22–L 49-26 #1 Alabama–The Razorbacks have a tough schedule (Mississippi State, BYU, Auburn, Liberty, LSU, Ole Miss, Mizzou). It may be tough for them to reach bowl eligibility (or they win out and jump back into the top ten).

Next week’s games are not too great. The biggest matchup in my opinion is #12 TCU at #13 Kansas. If TCU blows them out, I probably take Kansas out of the rankings, but if Kansas wins, then I was wrong about them and both teams deserve to be ranked. We also have #15 Utah at #14 UCLA. #7 Tennessee heads to LSU. #22 Mississippi State hosts Arkansas. #3 Georgia needs to blow out Auburn to convince me they are on par with ‘Bama and tOSU. Washington State heads to #6 USC, and this is probably my upset game of the week. Depending on Bryce Young’s health, Alabama could have a tough time with Texas A&M. #25 FSU heads to #17 North Carolina State, they need a big upset in order to stay relevant. And finally, the game that is most intriguing to me is #19 BYU heading to South Bend to face Notre Dame. The Irish have lost two games, but they did beat UNC and the week off may have them ready for the Cougars.