Ohio State just shot up to No. 2 in the CBS Sports Power Rankings after another absolute clinic, and it’s all thanks to Jeremiah Smith going utterly OFF. This dude had his second straight 200-yard game against Iowa in their 31-14 win, vaulting him to No. 1 on the Heisman Trophy ballot. Seriously, Smith now owns Ohio State’s career records for catches, yards, and touchdown receptions after piling up 206 yards.
SEC Chaos and the Gators’ Sudden Splash
What was that, Florida? Your coronation lasted like, a week? After running over No. 4 Ole Miss, the Gators got absolutely steamrolled by Missouri, 45-17. Talk about bipolar behavior in the SEC, right? One Saturday you’re on top, the next you’re getting thumped. Missouri, meanwhile, leaped 13 spots after that dominant performance, while Florida dropped a full 12. And they weren’t alone in the SEC freefall: Mississippi State plummeted 13 spots after Alabama blew them out in Starkville in a 33-point loss at home to the Tide. Yikes.
Unbeatens Shrink and Week 5’s Wild Ride
This weekend cleared a lot of the fog, leaving us with only 15 undefeated teams, the fewest we’ve seen through Week 5 since 2018. It was a wild one all around, not just in the SEC. Pitt barely survived Virginia Tech when John Love missed a 36-yard field goal as time expired, but that win came at a cost with quarterback Mason Heintschel suffering a torn ACL. Northwestern reopened Ryan Field in style, crushing Penn State with a ridiculous 413-yard rushing attack, which had to be embarrassing for first-year coach Matt Campbell and his two dozen Iowa State transfers. We even saw some newcomers jump into the rankings, with Arizona and Houston making the cut after picking up some nice wins. Up top, Texas is still chilling at No. 1, 4-0 on the season and the only team that’s beaten Ohio State so far, but their coach Steve Sarkisian has got issues to work through with his offense stuck in third-and-longs and his boss sending letters about player immaturity.
Get ready for “Reality Check Saturday” next week, because those undefeated ranks are about to shrink even more. We’ve got two monster matchups featuring unbeatens: Georgia travels to Alabama, and Indiana puts its crazy 21-game winning streak on the line at Nebraska. Oh, and you know the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma is gonna be insane at the Cotton Bowl, especially with Oklahoma failing to score a TD in Brent Venables’ three rivalry losses to Texas. And don’t sleep on undefeated UCLA and their first-year coach Bob Chesney; they visit Oregon on CBS, and the winner is gonna be firmly in control of their playoff destiny. It’s gonna be epic!
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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