Overview

• Texas Tech’s 34-10 win at Utah vaulted the Red Raiders into Bleacher Report’s projected 12-team CFP field as the Big 12’s automatic bid.
• Oklahoma’s 24-17 victory over Auburn and Indiana’s 63-10 rout of Illinois elevated both in polls and power ratings, while Illinois, Utah and Clemson slid.
• Week 5 spotlights LSU at Ole Miss and Alabama at Georgia, contests widely framed as pivotal to the SEC hierarchy and to strengthening CFP resumes.
• Oddsmakers opened with Ole Miss favored by 2.5 over LSU in Oxford and Georgia by 3 over Alabama in Athens, signaling expectations of tight margins.
• SEC depth shows in multiple 4-0 starts—LSU, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Missouri—as updated league power rankings shuffle the middle tier.