Two major disruptions and two encounters of strength that heralded a return to the game caused a significant change in the Top 25 AP.
Clemson and Alabama remain the most sensitive of the vote as week five enters, yet Oklahoma and LSU have lost more than 14 spots after their frustrated losses. They fell slightly more than expected, as the Palestinian Authority electorate can now qualify for the Big Ten and Pac-12 teams.
And the return of the state of Ohio, Oregon and others required a major reorganization in the rankings.
Finally, a new Top 25 AP is full of scenarios.
AP Survey Week 5
1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Florida
4. Georgia
5. Notre-Dame
6. State of Ohio
7. Auburn
8. Miami
9. Texas
10. Penn State
11. UCF
12. North Carolina
13. Texas A&M
14. Oregon
15. Cincinnati
16. State of Mississippi
17. State of Oklahoma
18. Oklahoma
19. Wisconsin
20. LSU
21. Tennessee
22. BYU
23. Michigan
24. Pitt
25. Memphis
Welcome Big Ten and Pac-12
Just because the Palestinian Authority legalized its voting framework to rank Big Ten and Pac-12 schools doesn’t mean they had to come with either program.
“Only the groups that have had effects now and for the rest of the season,” said Jon Wilner of the Bay Area News Group.
And that’s a very moderate position. However, a sufficient electorate marked five schools out of those two power meetings.
The state of Ohio registered at No. 6 and the state of Penn landed at No. 10. Wisconsin and Michigan entered the survey at No. 19 and 23, respectively. By smart measure, Minnesota won the third-highest number of votes among Top 25 outdoor systems.
No. 14 Oregon is the only Pac-12 team in the Top 25, yet USC is only Minnesota in the “others getting votes” category.
While Big Ten opens the season on October 24, Pac-12 is expected to release a recap on November 7.
Unfortunate winners drop out of the Top 25
Since the aforementioned quintet entered the poll, simply winning this weekend has secured a spot on the leaderboards.
Tennessee No. 21, BYU No. 22 and Pitt all won Saturday while falling five, four and three places respectively. Louisiana and Virginia Tech won, but got off the ballot 19-20, along with former No. 25 Marshall.
True or false, welcome to 2020.
“Remember, it’s a crazy year and the ratings are fluid,” said Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times of his poll.
Simply put, this is the simplest recommendation for this season’s polls. Subjectivity is the most important thing in the AP Top 25 anyway, and an inconsistent timeline across all of school football just adds another layer.
What wrinkle will week five produce?
Follow Bleacher Report editor David Kenyon on Twitter @ Kenyon19_BR.