Alabama is projected to vault into the top five of the AP poll after Week 5, a wild turnaround from their No. 11 preseason ranking which was their lowest since way back in 2008. The Crimson Tide are looking like straight-up national title contenders, and anyone who doubted them early on has gotta be eating crow right about now.
Bama’s Back, Baby!
Talk about a narrative flip! When the AP Top 25 dropped back in August, Alabama was sitting at No. 11, which for them felt like being in the basement. Kalen DeBoer, coming into this gig, was always going to be compared to his predecessor, and that preseason ranking, sitting behind multiple conference rivals no less, wasn’t exactly Crimson Tide status. But five weeks into the regular season, things are *different*. After another offensive explosion, this time on the road against a tough Mississippi State squad in front of those infamous cowbells, Bama is absolutely climbing. We’re talking top-five status. While hitting No. 4 last season isn’t new territory for DeBoer’s teams, this jump signals a serious shift in how folks view their spot in the SEC pecking order. And the best part? They’ve got a massive showdown with Georgia up next, a real chance to prove they’re the best team in the whole damn country.
Mizzou’s Wild Ride and the SEC Grind
Speaking of changing attitudes, how about Missouri? Last week, over half the AP voters didn’t even rank them after they took a loss to Mississippi State. Yeah, the same Mississippi State that Bama just rolled. But then Mizzou came out and absolutely crushed top-10 Florida, and now they’re set to surge up the rankings. Their resume’s a head-scratcher with that Miss State loss, but then they beat a Florida team that just took down Ole Miss. Honestly, you gotta figure those head-to-head edges might just get smoothed out in some voters’ minds. There’s been a lot of chatter about the SEC “overpopulating” the AP poll, with teams like Missouri and Kentucky getting some side-eye. But both of those squads just logged wins in Week 5, and it’s gonna be tough to push them out now. The conference is a gauntlet, plain and simple.
The Big Showdown Everyone’s Waiting For
So, what’s the top of the projected poll looking like? Texas holds steady at No. 1 after a bye week and will face rival Oklahoma next. Georgia, still sitting at No. 2, had another dominant defensive performance in their 38-14 win over Vanderbilt, keeping Blaze Berlowitz bottled up. Their defense is giving up just 14.7 points per game in SEC play through three games. All that means the anticipation for next week’s meeting with Alabama is absolutely through the roof. Get ready, college football fans, because Week 6 is about to deliver a heavyweight bout that could define the season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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