Rankings Roundup after Week 5: AP, Coaches, SP+

Here are the numbers after week 5.

COMPARING AP, COACHES, AND SP+ (RANKINGS)

Georgia and Michigan remain the consensus #1 and #2 in the polls, with SP+ again giving Michigan the nod at the #1 position.

Florida State and Penn State remain the big outliers within the top 10. The AP and Coaches polls both have them at #5 and #6, but SP+ has them significantly lower at #18 (FSU) and #13 (PSU). Florida St. had a bye this week but still ended up dropping 3 spots, probably because their big win over LSU lost some of its shine. 

SP+ OFFENSE & DEFENSE (RANKINGS)

Focusing on the SP+ …

Connelly pointed out that Michigan is the first team to be ranked #1 for two consecutive weekends this season. Nice! The offense also moved into the top 10 (#9) while the defense remains elite (#2). Meanwhile, Georgia slipped from #2 to #4, with OSU and Texas sliding up to the #2 and #3 spots. 

That USC spread remains impressive. The #1 defense paired with the #52 defense. I mean, no one can beat that, right?

What’s that, LSU? You want me to hold your beer? What for? 

[Ole Miss scores again]

Well done, LSU. Well done.

If anyone is wondering about good matchups according to SP+ next week:

• #31 Maryland @ #2 Ohio State 
• #12 Oklahoma @ #3 Texas
• #21 Kentucky @ #4 Georgia
• #5 Alabama @ #11 TAMU
• #8 Notre Dame @ #29 Louisville
• #20 Washington State @ #17 UCLA

And in two weeks, we have #6 Oregon @ #7 Washington.

Meanwhile, in the B1G…

That’s not how the B1G works, Purdue. Don’t be getting all fancy. 

Good shit, Iowa! 

TRENDS (RAW SP+ SCORES)

Here are the weekly changes in the SP+ top 25 from the preseason through Week 5

Things are getting pretty tight. Only three points separate the #1 team from the #7 team. Compare that to the preseason, where the difference was more than 7 points between #1 and #7. 

SP+ OFFENSE AND DEFENSE (RAW SP+ SCORES)

Standard interpretation applies:

• Top-right: Good at offense and defense
• Bottom-right: Good defense, below-average offense
• Top-left: Good offense, below-average defense
• Bottom-left: Not so good at football

Has anyone heard from Iowa State lately? We seemed to have lost radio contact somewhere around ¡El Assico! 

SP+ RANKINGS BY CONFERENCE (RAW SP+ SCORES)

Horizontal lines are the average (mean) SP+ scores for each conference.

The SEC is continuing to come down to Earth. The average SP+ rating two weeks ago was 15 points, compared to about 12 points this week. 

 

Anything you find interesting?

Go Blue!