Overview

• USA TODAY’s 1–136 keeps Georgia, Miami, Penn State and Ohio State in the top four, elevates Indiana 12 spots to No. 8 after a 63–10 win over Illinois, and tabs Memphis as the leading Group of Five CFP candidate.
• Week 5 features matchups widely viewed as resume shapers, including Oregon at Penn State, LSU at Ole Miss and Alabama at Georgia, with Ohio State also visiting Washington.
• Betting markets and power ratings reflect tight margins: Penn State is about a 3.5-point home favorite over Oregon, Georgia is -3 versus Alabama, and Ole Miss is a slight favorite over LSU despite differing analyst lean.
• Texas Tech entered Bleacher Report’s projected CFP field after a road win at Utah, while Oklahoma continued climbing evaluation tiers following victories over Michigan and Auburn.
• Volatility cut both ways in Week 4 as Clemson and Florida each fell 16 places in the re-rank, and an SEC roundup noted every league team that played won on its home field.