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The 2020 college football season will look different than we could have ever imagined thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped the Associated Press from continuing to rank the field.
Following another busy weekend, the AP Top 25 Poll for Week 5 was released.
Clemson and Alabama remained the top two teams in the country, while Oklahoma and UFC fell out of the top 25 following the upset-filled day.
Where does your favorite team stand entering the upcoming week in the eyes of the Associated Press voters?
The preseason AP Top 25 poll can be seen below.
AP Top 25 College Football Rankings — Week 5 Poll
POLL ALERT: Oklahoma, UCF fall out of Top 25 after day of upsets; Iowa State back in; Clemson, Alabama stay Nos. 1-2.
Full poll >> https://t.co/7dTTUiSC1j
More coverage >> https://t.co/2qlqr09CPm pic.twitter.com/c0wwRi3czs
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) October 4, 2020
- Clemson (52)
- Alabama (8)
- Georgia
- Florida
- Notre Dame
- Ohio State (2)
- Miami
- North Carolina
- Penn State
- Oklahoma State
- Cincinnati
- Oregon
- Auburn
- Tennessee
- BYU
- Wisconsin
- LSU
- SMU
- Virginia Tech
- Michigan
- Texas A&M
- Texas
- Louisiana-Lafayette
- Iowa State
- Minnesota
Others receiving votes: Kansas State 142, USC 115, Mississippi State 112, UCF 112, TCU 97, Marshall 49, Tulsa 46, Utah 30, Iowa 26, Coastal Carolina 25, Oklahoma 20, North Carolina State 18, Ole Miss 18, UAB 15, Army 14, West Virginia 13, Memphis 12, Arkansas 11, Pittsburgh 7, Virginia 5, Arizona State 5, Washington 4, Air Force 4, Indiana 1
The Associated Press rankings carry more weight than polls like the Coaches Poll and FWAA Poll, as they are part of the deciding factor on which teams reach the College Football Playoff. The Coaches Poll, which is not part of the College Football Playoff selection committee’s formula to determine the four teams that will compete for the College Football Playoff National Championship, is voted on by 65 FBS head coaches.
Longtime college football writers who vote in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll include Ben Jones, Bill Landis, Brett McMurphy, Brian Howell, Rece Davis, Rob Long, Robert Gagliardi, Steve Layman, Steve Virgen, Tom Murphy, and Tony Parks.
The Associated Press began its college football poll on Oct. 19, 1936, and it is now the longest-running poll of those that award national titles at the end of the season. The preseason poll was started in 1950. A panel of 62 sports writers and broadcasters from around the country votes on the poll weekly.
