The AP Top 25 College Football Poll is an imperfect system fueled by good people doing their best–in many cases–but it’s become quite clear (especially this year) that a good portion of the voters simply do not watch most of the games before submitting their ballots. That yields some, let’s just call them “interesting”, results each week.

Given that fact, our team of highly dedicated college football and NFL Draft staff at A to Z Sports who do in fact watch as many games as humanly possible each week on top of covering their respective teams decided to come together and get the top 25 best teams ranked correctly. We’re calling this the “A to Z Top 25 College Football Poll”.

Each week this season we will be breaking down our top 25 teams briefly, then talking through which teams were are higher and lower on versus the AP Poll to give college football fans the best rankings in the business. Enjoy!

A to Z Top 25 College Football Poll – Week 5

1. Ohio State, 300 points (all 12 first place votes)
2. Oregon, 272
3. Miami (FL), 269
4. LSU, 263
5. Georgia, 263
6. Penn State, 248
7. Oklahoma, 217
8. Texas A&M, 210
9. Florida State, 208
10. Texas, 192
11. Indiana, 178
12. Texas Tech, 149
13. Iowa State, 145
14. Ole Miss, 144
15. Tennessee, 137
16. Missouri, 122
17. Georgia Tech, 118
18. Alabama, 110
19. Vanderbilt, 87
20. USC, 62
21. Michigan, 60
22. Notre Dame, 45
23. Mississippi State, 33
24. TCU, 29
25. Auburn, 28
    
    Also receiving votes: Illinois 27, Utah 25, USF 5, BYU 4, UNLV 3

The Ohio State Buckeyes were off last weekend, but there was no touching their consensus number one overall ranking in the country. All 12 of our college football analysts contributing rated the Buckeyes the top squad in the game. This again differs from the AP Poll, where 14 writers submitted a team besides Ohio State as the top team–although the Buckeyes were still the top ranked team via consensus.

The top two tiers of teams were quite similar once again. Both the A to Z and AP Polls had Ohio State, Oregon, Miami, LSU, Georgia, and Penn State as the top six, but the order was completely different. Our squad was far more bullish on the Oregon Ducks (ranking them 2nd overall after thrashing Oregon State) and a bit doubtful when it came to trusting in Penn State (ranking them 6th following a bye week). The next tier of Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Florida State, Texas, and Indiana were actually almost in the exact right order–our team just has a bit more confidence in the Aggies right now with a healthy Marcel Reed versus a dinged up Tommy Castellanos.

Our A to Z Poll ranked twelve SEC teams inside the top 25. After the season progresses deeper into conference play some of these teams will push each other out of the rankings, but the vast majority of the conference has absolutely dominated. Even teams like Vanderbilt and Mississippi State still remain undefeated, with impressive power conference wins on their resumes. We’ll see if the SEC’s dominances persists down the stretch, but let’s dive into all the exact teams we were higher and lower on versus the AP Poll, hearing from our own writers in detail.

Teams we were higher on than the AP Poll

Oregon Ducks

Oregon has taken care of business through the first four weeks outscoring opponents 203-37, and now their first real test awaits with Penn State. The Ducks look like they may have the best quarterback in the country in Dante Moore, and they have a run game to back him up. Going on the road against Penn State will show whether this is truly a No. 2-ranked team, but for now, they deserve to be there. Despite losing so much from last year’s College Football Playoff squad, the Ducks look legit once again. The AP Poll is likely too low on this squad. – Brandon Little, A to Z Sports Ohio State

Texas A&M Aggies

The Texas A&M Aggies head into a big conference game against the Auburn Tigers following a bye week. On offense, this team looks worlds better than a year ago. Quarterback Marcel Reed is an exciting dual threat signal caller who has a crazy amount of talent to utilize, including running back Le’Veon Moss, and wide receivers Kevin Concepcion and Mario Craver. Add in a really good offensive line, and this is the most complete offense we have seen in some time in College Station. If the Aggies improve some defensively under head coach Mike Elko, this has a chance to be a really tough out in the SEC. This is a very talented team that looks extremely confident early on in 2025. – Ryan Roberts, A to Z Sports Notre Dame

Missouri Tigers

In a college football season where we don’t have a lot of teams with high profile wins, the Missouri Tigers already have two big ones. The first of which came against bitter rival Kansas Jayhawks 42-31. Then they opened up SEC play with a win against a South Carolina team on the rise with LaNorris Sellers this past weekend 29-20. I’m higher on this team (ranking them 11th in the nation personally) because they have both done more against better competition, and have also shown plenty of things that leave me confident it will continue into SEC play. Quarterback Beau Pribula has been a solid signal caller through the first four games, but the biggest factor for this team is running back Ahmad Hardy. His 600 yards is second in the nation behind only UTSA’s Robert Henry with 624. With a dominant running game and a top 10 defense, the Tigers deserve more respect than the AP Poll ranking them 20th.. – Tyler Forness, A to Z Sports Florida

USC Trojans

The USC Trojans have pretty much done all that they have been asked to do. They’ve dominated the teams they’re supposed to, and won the conference games they’re supposed to, all while putting up a bunch of points. They now have one of those “weird” wins on their resume too, where they dominated early, struggled a bit, but ended up taking care of business late against Michigan State on Saturday. They definitely deserve to be where we have them (ranked inside the top 20), and Jayden Maiava looks like he can contend for the Heisman Trophy. As long as he has guys like Makai Lemon and Jakobi Lane to throw the ball to, the Trojans should ban almost unstoppable offense. – Justin Churchill, A to Z Sports Oklahoma

Mississippi State

At this time of the season, rankings should be heavily impacted by what teams have proven up to this point. Using too much “preseason insight” can draw an inaccurate line in the sand. For the Bulldogs, they’ve simply done exactly what was necessary to earn a spot here (ranked 23rd by A to Z Sports). They beat last year’s Big 12 champ in Arizona State, who many believe is still one of the top 30 teams in CFB. Their other non-conference matchups haven’t been close, and they’ve shown the explosive nature that Jeff Lebby likes to see from his offense on a consistent basis. The defense is notably improved as well.

The start of SEC play against Tennessee could throw on the brakes to this exciting start to the campaign, but for now, a nod inside the top 25 makes plenty of sense based on their accomplishments. – Adam Holt, A to Z Sports New Orleans Saints and LSU

Auburn Tigers

I’m the last one to give Auburn credit, but they lose a tight game against a top 10 team in the country via Oklahoma, and suddenly they aren’t worthy of a top 25 ranking? The Tigers were much more competitive than Michigan was against Oklahoma, yet the Wolverines are the ones ranked because they beat an unranked Nebraska team? I don’t see the logic there. Maybe 16 is a little high, but unranked is a lot richer. – Rob Gregson, A to Z Sports Alabama

Teams were were lower on than the AP Poll

Miami Hurricanes

Miami coming in at No. 2 in the AP Poll is representative of how the media is properly weighing their quality wins. Few teams have played consistently respectable opponents like Miami has, and they’ve been sharp in matchups that could’ve been trap games. They deserve credit for that. However, I still view this team as a slight outsider in the big picture (ranking them 7th overall). Notre Dame hasn’t beaten anyone notable yet (sorry Travis, our in-house Purdue alum, this is no disrespect to the Boilermakers), and neither USF nor Florida should’ve scared Miami. I don’t think the AP Poll is completely wrong for putting Miami so high, but I don’t see the same ceiling for them. – Ian Valentino, A to Z Sports LSU

[Editor’s Note: Travis does not forgive you for your Purdue hate, Ian]

Penn State Nittany Lions

I have Penn State at 7 simply because the six teams above them have done more this year in my opinion. I think Penn State is clearly talented and have a very good team, but we’re four weeks in and they haven’t played a team with a pulse yet. They also slogged their way through a win against FIU. By comparison, Oklahoma has already beaten Auburn and Michigan in four weeks. If Penn State starts winning against actual competition, starting this weekend against Oregon, up near the top they go. – Craig Smith, A to Z Sports Miami

Florida State Seminoles

Florida State’s Week 1 win over Alabama was shocking especially after their disaster season in 2024 where the team went 2-10, finishing dead last in the ACC. They have already passed last season’s win total as they sit at 3-0, but their win over Alabama is doing some seriously heavy lifting on their ranking. I come in a bit lower than the consensus with them 10th in my rankings. Their next two weeks will give them some big opportunities to make some big jumps with matchups vs. Virginia and Miami. Seeing them against another power conference opponent in Virginia will be a nice change of pace after their cake walks in games two and three. And Miami is one of the top teams in the country currently ranked 2nd in the AP poll. A win there would catapult them into my top five as well as the AP’s. I am skeptical that they will get that done, but I’m excited to see if they will prove me wrong. – Destin Adams, A to Z Sports Indianapolis

Michigan Wolverines

Another ranked game, another ranked loss for Nebraska. I think Michigan showed some flashes here and there, but also barely skimmed by the Huskers. I don’t think Nebraska is very good and expected more from the Wolverines.

Bryce Underwood once again showed some good things, but he’s still a true freshman with little passing success so far. The Michigan defense is not what it has been the last few years, but there are still athletes there. I just don’t think it’s playing like a Top 25 team at the moment. Underwood threw for just 122 yards and a go-to wideout has yet to emerge.

The defense is Top 25 in opponents points allowed, yards per game, points per play, and yards per play. Lean on it and keep improving in order to prove you are worthy. However, things are certainly trending in the right direction. I think if Michigan continues to lean into the strengths of Underwood and Justice Haynes takes the pressure off in the run game, this team could find itself in a nice spot down the stretch. – Zach Berry, A to Z Sports Texas

Illinois Illini

The Illini just lost 63-10 to a really good team in Indiana, so it’s tough to properly gauge where they are right now. Yes, they beat Western Illinois, Duke, and Western Michigan, but they looked completely incompetent this week. The AP Poll somehow still has them ranked 23rd, but our team at A to Z Sports has them completely off the board. The offense ranks outside the top 70 in yards per play and outside the top 100 in total yards. Plus, they’re just not creating many explosive plays either. When you add in the fact that they just lost their best defensive star Xavier Scott for much of the season we get a team that shouldn’t likely be ranked right now. – Travis May, A to Z Sports College Football & NFL Draft Managing Editor

BYU Cougars

BYU was my first team left out of the top 25. It’s simply a situation where the top 25 is a little too crowded and a team had to be left out. That said, only one ranker out of 12 had them inside the top 25–the AP Poll was much more confident in them. I have Notre Dame at No. 25, and while BYU is probably more “deserving” of being ranked due to their 3-0 record, I think the Irish are the better team. BYU hasn’t been tested against top competition. Their best win–a 27-3 victory over Stanford–wasn’t enough for me to give them the nod over Notre Dame. – Zach Ragan, A to Z Sports Tennessee

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