There is plenty of shuffling in Sunday morning's AP Top 25 update, with teams changing spots in every single position outside of the top four. Two Big Ten programs -- No. 12 Michigan and No. 19 Illinois -- made the biggest gains after their wins over ranked USC and Nebraska teams, respectively.
Two new teams join the top 25. BYU vaulted from the bottom of the "also receiving votes" category after a 38-9 beatdown of Kansas State, one of the favorites in the Big 12. Boise State handled business against Portland State, and moved into the No. 25 spot.
Kansas State dropped 10 spots, all the way to No. 24, after a rough showing in Provo. Saturday was a tough one for the Sooner State, with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State each falling six spots. The Sooners did their best to limit Tennessee on offense, but couldn't get anything going on the other side of the ball, ultimately benching quarterback Jackson Arnold during the game. The Cowboys couldn't topple Utah at home, even with the Utes playing without starting quarterback Cam Rising for the game.
No. 11 Missouri TigersLast WeekHighest PositionLowest PositionWeek 4Week 5
No. 7
No. 5 (one voter)
No. 12 (four voters)
W vs. Vanderbilt (30-27 in OT)
Bye
Missouri is 4-0 on the season, as many expected entering the 2024 campaign. The Tigers began the season viewed as legitimate College Football Playoff contenders after returning many of the core players from last year's breakout 11-2 squad. While its record is unblemished, Missouri has yet to put together a great top-to-bottom performance, while many of the other teams atop the SEC, like Ole Miss and Tennessee, have looked the part.
Mizzou handled business against overmatched Murray State and Buffalo teams to start the year, but had to grind out wins against Boston College and Vanderbilt over the last two weeks. BC has spent time in the Top 25 and Vanderbilt appears to be much improved in 2024, but the Commodores were still 18-point underdogs after dropping a game against Georgia State a week ago.
Quarterback Brady Cook has not yet performed like he did a year ago. He has 946 yards, four touchdowns and one interception on the season, with a 71.4 QBR (down from 77.2 in '23) and a pedestrian 136.3 traditional passer rating (down from 157.2).
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz outlined individual issues that plagued his Tigers from play-to-play on Saturday, stressing that the team can't look ahead to its game against Texas A&M in Week 6.
"We've got to figure out why we're not executing in the third downs, in the red area; why we're not kicking field goals; why we're missing tackles; why we're busting assignments," he said, per the Columbia Daily Tribune.
There's no better opportunity to work on those issue than a bye week coming off of a fourth consecutive win to open the season, but most SEC teams won't afford the same amount of leeway as Vanderbilt. Voters are understandably reticent to move 4-0 Missouri down much further than No. 11, but it is a difficult team to trust at the moment.
No. 13 USC TrojansLast WeekHighest PositionLowest PositionWeek 4Week 5
No. 11
No. 13 (19 voters)
No. 20 (one voter)
L at No. 18 Michigan (27-24)
vs. Wisconsin
Michigan entered Saturday's game against USC with serious question marks about its quarterback situation, ultimately opting to start Alex Orji -- a quarterback that is not a major threat with his arm -- and quadruple down on its running game. Most teams flirting with the top 10 like USC would welcome a team intentionally making itself one-dimensional. For Michigan, it proved to be the perfect call against the Trojans.
Orji accounted for just 75 yards with 12 pass attempts and 13 carries, but Michigan's running back tandem of Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards feasted against an overmatched USC front seven. Each running back had carries go for more than 40 yards, and Michigan pounded the rock 46 times for 290 yards and three touchdowns.
USC's even bigger concern may come along the offensive line. Michigan got pressure on Miller Moss a remarkable 43.6% of the time per Pro Football Focus. The Wolverines recorded four sacks, three of which came without blitzing. Michigan has taken a step back from last year's national championship defense, but it is still one of the best units in college football. USC aspires to compete for the College Football Playoff on the back of Lincoln Riley's high-flying offense and an improved defense under coordinator D'Anton Lynn. That formula seemed to be clicking to start the year, but the Wolverines exposed major weaknesses on both sides of the ball for the Trojans.
No. 16 Notre Dame Fighting IrishLast WeekHighest PositionLowest PositionWeek 4Week 5
No. 17
No. 12 (four voters)
NR (seven voters)
W vs. Miami (Ohio) (28-3)
vs. No. 15 Louisville
Notre Dame would wind up winning comfortably against Miami (Ohio), but for the second time this season things looked very shaky early on against a MAC foe. The RedHawks led the Fighting Irish 3-0 in the second quarter, as Riley Leonard struggled to get anything going early on in the passing game. Even Miami coach Chuck Martin remarked that Notre Dame seemed to be "sleepwalking" early on. The first quarter-plus was such a struggle on offense that Fighting Irish faithful in South Bend began booing the team, something head coach Marcus Freeman had to answer for after the game.
"That's part of the game, right? If you don't do your job, people are going to boo you," he said, per the AP. "But if you let that affect the way you go out and execute the next play, then, man, you're not the right person for this job, or to be our quarterback at Notre Dame. So, I hope [Leonard] handled it the exact way that I would expect him to. What do you need to do to refocus, to go out the next play and get your job done?"
Leonard would go on to dominate the game with his legs, posting 143 rushing yards and two touchdowns including a 50-yard score. That effort helps deflect from another subpar passing effort for the former Duke transfer. His touchdown pass against Miami was his first of the season, while he has two interceptions (both against NIU). Leonard's 163 passing yards in the loss to Northern Illinois remains his highest output of the season through the air. His passer rating of 110.3 puts him one spot below benched Michigan quarterback Davis Warren, and three spots below embattled Florida State starter DJ Uiagalelei among FBS quarterbacks. More athletic defenses will limit him on the ground, and it is unclear whether Notre Dame has answers when Leonard is bottled up on offense. Notre Dame's next opponent, No. 15 Louisville, held Georgia's Tech mobile quarterback Haynes King to 58 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, and the Yellow Jackets offense as a whole to just 2.6 yards per carry.
The struggles go beyond the offense. While the defense played a strong game against the RedHawks, special teams were a bit of a mess for the Fighting Irish, as Jordan Faison muffed a punt return and a bad snap foiled a field goal attempt for Mitch Jeter.
Focusing on transitive wins and losses is not advisable in a sport as unpredictable as college football can be week-to-week, but NIU's loss to Buffalo, which was picked to finish 10th in the MAC in the preseason poll, can't feel great for Notre Dame either.
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