We had a lot of movement in the power rankings following a huge Saturday of games. Oregon grabs the No. 2 spot with its impressive win at Penn State, while Alabama and Georgia are headed in opposite directions after the Crimson Tide’s 24-21 road victory.
The biggest fallers after Week 5 are Penn State, LSU, Florida State and Oklahoma. The Sooners dropped because of the injury to quarterback John Mateer, who was the Heisman Trophy favorite before being sidelined with a hand injury that is expected to keep him out of action for a few weeks.
Each week during the season, I’ll break down the rankings by tiers so bettors can see where I cut off each group. I’ll also move teams based on results, discuss changes in the betting market and set the hypothetical point spread from Tier 1 compared to the rest of the tiers.
Stop by the SportsLine college football Discord channel or hit me up on X at @TheTomCasale to let me know if you agree or disagree with the rankings.
College football Week 6 power ratings
Tier 1
1. Ohio State Buckeyes
2. Oregon Ducks
3. Texas Longhorns
After a few weeks of no changes to Tier 1, we got a shakeup with Georgia and Penn State dropping out and Oregon climbing to No. 2. The Ducks needed overtime to win at Penn State, although they were the more talented, well-coached team for 3.5 quarters. Oregon also moved to the second favorite to win the National Championship, behind only Ohio State.
The top three are close but I would make the Buckeyes slight favorites over Oregon and Texas on a neutral field.
Tier 2 (+2 from Tier 1)
4. Miami Hurricanes
5. Alabama Crimson Tide
6. Georgia Bulldogs
Alabama moves up and Georgia drops down to Tier 2 after the Crimson Tide’s win on Saturday. This just doesn’t look like the same Georgia team over the last year and a half. The Bulldogs are sloppy and the defense is no longer the elite unit it was when they were winning championships.
Georgia would still be favored over most teams in the country, although I’m a little concerned about the Bulldogs moving forward with games coming up against Texas, Ole Miss and Georgia Tech.
There isn’t much separating the three teams in Tier 2. Miami gets the No. 4 spot because I would make the Canes -1 over Alabama and Georgia on a neutral field. Despite the Crimson Tide’s win on the road over UGA, I still rank the two teams about even after Week 5.
Tier 3 (+5 from Tier 1)
7. Ole Miss Rebels
8. Penn State Nittany Lions
9. Texas A&M Aggies
Ole Miss moves up to No. 7 after its win over LSU on Saturday. The Rebels were a team I liked last season but I entered 2025 with a wait and see approach. It looks like Lane Kiffin found his quarterback with senior Trinidad Chambliss. The Rebels have a tough three-game stretch coming up in late October against Georgia, Oklahoma and South Carolina that will likely decide their College Football Playoff fate.
Penn State drops to eight and James Franklin’s squad is what it is at this point. The Nittany Lions will beat up on the average teams left on their schedule and lose to Ohio State on Nov. 1. The key game left for Penn State is the following week when it hosts Indiana. Right now, I make the Nittany Lions -4 in that matchup and would bet the Hoosiers. Penn State needs to win one of those games to have a shot at the College Football Playoff.
Tier 4 (+8 from Tier 1)
10. LSU Tigers
11. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
12. Texas Tech Red Raiders
13. Oklahoma Sooners
14. Indiana Hoosiers
LSU and Oklahoma both drop to Tier 4 this week. The Tigers’ win over Clemson isn’t nearly as impressive as it looked a month ago and the offense hasn’t played well all season. I liked LSU to make the playoff but it’s going to be a tough road with games against South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Alabama and Oklahoma still to come.
Oklahoma got dinged because of an injury to Mateer. It’s a massive loss for the Sooners. Mateer was the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy before getting hurt and Oklahoma will need to get him back soon to have a shot at the CFP. The Sooners have the toughest remaining schedule in the country with games against Texas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri and LSU. I have Mateer worth 3-4 points to Oklahoma. I originally made Texas -3.5 next week, but that number jumps up to 7.5 without Mateer.
Tier 5 (+9 from Tier 1)
15. Michigan Wolverines
16. Missouri Tigers
17. Tennessee Volunteers
18. Florida State Seminoles
The three teams in Tier 5 are all good enough to make the CFP, although I think that would be the ceiling for them. Michigan is probably still one year away from being a serious title contender but the Wolverines have a chance to run the table until their season-ending matchup against Ohio State. Still, all three would be close to double-digit dogs against the Tier 1 teams on a neutral field.
We still don’t know much about Missouri. The Tigers’ best win came over an average Kansas squad and they don’t play a road game until Oct. 18 at Auburn. Missouri gets a bye before hosting Alabama, so we’ll find out more about the Tigers next week.
Florida State falls eight spots after its loss at Virginia. The Seminoles get a chance to move back up the rankings with Miami coming to Tallahassee on Saturday. FSU is a 5.5-point dog at home, which makes sense because based on my tier system they would be +8 on a neutral field.
Tier 6 (+12 from Tier 1)
19. Vanderbilt Commodores
20. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Vanderbilt makes its debut at No. 19. The Commodores could make a big move up if they upset Alabama again. Vanderbilt gets the Crimson Tide right after they defeated Georgia for the second-straight year. It’s a great spot for Vanderbilt, although you can bet Alabama will be ready after losing as a 23-point favorite last year. This time, the Crimson Tide are -13.5 at home. I lean Vandy but that line is on the money according to my power rankings.
Next five: Utah Utes, Auburn Tigers, Iowa State Cyclones, Louisville Cardinals, USC Trojans
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