Ranking the 134 college football teams after Week 5: Alabama is inevitable

Editor’s Note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.

“You couldn’t live with your own failure. Where did that get you? Back to me.”

When Nick Saban retired, many wondered if Alabama would take a step back. It had to be this way, right? The greatest coach in the history of sports was dead. Surely the days of the Alabama dynasty were finally over. Georgia had become the new Alabama.

But like Thanos, Bama might be inevitable. After a 41-34 win over Georgia, the Tide returned to No. 1 in the Athletic 134 rankings.

It is the first time since the 2022 preseason that Alabama has been atop these rankings. This year, Georgia took over more than a week after overwhelming Oregon, and the Tide haven’t been ranked No. 1 since.

But it turns out head coach Kalen DeBoer can make a big difference if he cooks up some things for top talent. Jalen Milroe appears to be the best quarterback in the country. After the wild swings in Game of the Year, I don’t really know what to think of either team. Alabama had a 28-0 lead and also blew a 28-0 lead. Georgia has overcome this deficit abroad. But in the end, it’s the best win of the season for any team, moving Alabama from No. 7 to No. 1.

Georgia falls back to third place not only because of this result. Clemson’s Week 1 blowout is looking better every week. The Bulldogs’ schedule doesn’t get any easier, however, with a trip to No. 2 Texas just a few weeks away.

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Here is the latest edition of The Athletic 134.

1-10

I’m aware that the SEC is in the top four spots here. I don’t expect that to be the case until the end of the season. But so far, Alabama beat Georgia, Texas beat Michigan, Georgia beat Clemson and Tennessee beat NC State and Oklahoma. So that’s how it is at the moment. Ohio State University’s big games are just around the corner and the Buckeyes will advance if they win.

Miami slips to No. 8 after needing an overturned Hail Mary to beat Virginia Tech, and Penn State beat a ranked Illinois team to move up to No. 7. I don’t think the ceiling is very high for Michigan after it held on to beat Minnesota, but the Wolverines’ win last week against USC means they’re here to stay until something changes.

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11-25

BYU jumps to 12th after beating Baylor, but its earlier win over SMU continues to look better after the Mustangs moved to 4-1 with a 42-16 win over Florida State. (Last weekend’s K-State win looks better, too). Clemson is ranked 13th and is still in the lead since Week 1 after a 40-14 win over Stanford.

Utah falls from No. 9 to No. 17 after a 23-10 loss to Arizona. It’s really difficult to rank the Utes since we don’t know when (or if) injured quarterback Cam Rising will return. Notre Dame narrowly moves up to 18th place after beating Louisville. The loss to Northern Illinois continues to look worse, but the wins against Louisville and Texas A&M help. Indiana continues to roll and is ranked 19th after a 42-28 win over Maryland.

Ole Miss falls from No. 5 to No. 20 after a 20-17 loss to Kentucky. The Rebels simply don’t have good wins to offset the loss and make a case for a higher ranking. They beat Furman, Middle Tennessee, Wake Forest and Georgia Southern. Oklahoma is back in the Top 25 after a comeback win at Auburn. Undefeated UNLV is back in the mix after a 59-14 win over Fresno State, and Boise State moves into the Top 25 after a 45-24 win over Washington State .

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26-50

Texas A&M’s win over Arkansas moves the Aggies to No. 29. Navy’s 41-18 win at UAB moves the Midshipmen to No. 31. Rutgers moves up to No. 32 after beating Washington on Friday night, and Arizona is up Moved up to 31st place. 33 after the win against Utah. It’s Arizona’s 31-7 loss to Kansas State a few weeks ago that’s keeping the Wildcats from being higher for now.

Oklahoma State falls from No. 20 to No. 37 after a 42-20 loss to K-State. The Cowboys are 0-2 in Big 12 play and needed a late comeback to beat Arkansas. Kentucky’s win over Ole Miss puts the Wildcats at No. 39, but their blowout Week 2 loss to South Carolina keeps the Wildcats behind the Gamecocks for now.

Colorado jumps from No. 67 to No. 44 after a 48-21 win at UCF, easily the most impressive performance of the Deion Sanders era.

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51-75

No. 55 NIU is now 0-2 since the loss to Notre Dame, but the Huskies fell just short in a 24-17 loss to NC State, which advances to No. 54. Virginia Tech actually moves up two spots to No. 56 after this. Given the nature of this finish, the loss to Miami is overturned. Army is 4-0 at No. 62 after its third straight win against an Owls team (FAU, Rice, Temple).

Sam Houston jumps from No. 91 to No. 68 and is now 4-1 after a 40-39 win over Texas State. Since an 0-8 start as an FBS program last year, the Bearkats are 7-2 in their last nine games.

76-100

Kansas falls to No. 80 after falling to 1-4. The Jayhawks started the weekend with three consecutive one-score losses, but their most recent setback was a 38-27 loss to TCU. Florida State falls again to No. 81 after a stunning loss at SMU.

Louisiana moves up to No. 84 after beating Wake Forest, which drops to No. 88. UConn makes a big jump to No. 86 after a dominant 47-3 win over Buffalo. The Huskies have definitely trended upward over the last three weeks. Georgia State drops out of the top 50 to No. 85 after the loss to Georgia Southern, reducing the value of the win against Vanderbilt. USF could fall short after a tough non-conference schedule, falling to No. 87 after a 45-10 loss to Tulane.

East Carolina defeated UTSA 30-20 to move up to No. 92. Purdue and Mississippi State stayed close in the first half with Nebraska and Texas, respectively, but remain the lowest-ranked Power 4 teams at No. 98 and No. 99. Purdue fired offensive coordinator Graham Harrell on Sunday.

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101-134

ULM is ranked 101st, now 3-1 after defeating Troy. That’s already an improvement over last season’s 2-10 record for first-year coach Bryant Vincent. Bowling Green competed well with Penn State and Texas A&M, but falls to No. 105 after losing to previously winless Old Dominion. Wyoming also got its first win of the season over Air Force to move up to No. 119, while Air Force falls to No. 120 and Navy is next.

San Diego State falls to 112th after a last-second field goal loss to Central Michigan. Charlotte defeated Rice in a wild finish to move to 2-3 and move up to No. 124.

We only have three winless teams left and they make up the bottom three. They also each suffered losses to FCS programs after Kennesaw State lost 24-13 to UT Martin. Kent State remains ranked 134th. The Golden Flashes played close in the box against Eastern Michigan, but four turnovers led to a 52-33 loss.

The Athletic 134 Series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic retains full editorial independence. Partners do not control or participate in the reporting or editing process, and do not review stories before publication.

(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)