AP College Football Poll 2026 Week 5 Rankings Released with Top Risers and Fallers

Ole Miss' run in the top five proved to be short-lived.

The Rebels dropped five spots from fourth to ninth in the newest Associated Press Top 25 poll .

A 24-point victory over Pete Golding's squad, meanwhile, catapulted Florida up to eighth. This is the Gators' highest position in the AP poll since 2020.

Having suffered its first loss, USC is now 18th, while Penn State and Michigan fell out of the Top 25 altogether.

Texas' trip to Knoxville to play Tennessee was the biggest game on the Week 4 slate. The matchup didn't quite live up to the hype as neither team excelled, and the Longhorns were fortunate to avoid a late collapse.

Vols quarterback Faizon Brandon hit Mike Matthews for a 30-yard touchdown pass with 1:22 remaining. Tennessee recovered the ensuing onside kick and didn't need to travel far to at least get into field-goal range.

Brandon's inexperience as a true freshman got the better of him, though, as the Volunteers offense couldn't move the ball and lost precious time. Tennessee got as far as the Texas 46-yard line before Brandon's Hail Mary attempt was batted away.

For different reasons, Florida vs. Ole Miss proved to be another mostly anticlimactic affair.

Gators coach Jon Sumrall was surprised to see his team favored leading up to the game. It turns out the Vegas oddsmakers underrated the home team.

Florida was ahead by two scores at halftime and maintained that advantage for much of the second half. Jadan Baugh, who ran for 142 yards, scored the final of his three rushing touchdowns with four minutes remaining to put the finishing touches on the impressive win.

Perhaps a hangover was inevitable after Ole Miss achieved such an emotional high by beating LSU and former coach Lane Kiffin. That result may have also caused the hype surrounding the Rebels to get higher than it should've.

For Florida, a 4-0 start has raised hopes the program finally found a worthy successor to Urban Meyer after a succession of head coaches eventually flamed out.

Over in the Big Ten, Oregon repositioned itself as perhaps the strongest contender to challenge Ohio State and reigning champion Indiana for the conference title.

The Ducks went on to the road and took down USC. Allowing the Trojans to gain 446 yards was a concerning sign, but the Ducks moved the ball at will despite losing starting quarterback Dante Moore midway through the contest. Dylan Raiola came on in relief and went 19-of-25 for 289 yards and two touchdowns.

On the same day Oregon had a statement win, Penn State was upset by an unranked Wisconsin and Michigan gave up a last-second touchdown to Iowa in a 20-19 loss.

Through four games, the Wolverines simply don't look that good within a Top 25 context, and the honeymoon period is already over for Nittany Lions coach Matt Campbell.

Either school could remain in the College Football Playoff conversation once the focus starts shifting more to that. Penn State in particular has a pretty easy schedule. USC and Michigan are the toughest games the rest of the way.

But both remain clear works in progress.