2024 college football rankings: Alabama moves to No. 1 following win over Georgia

This sport loves a monarch. This sport loves a despot. This sport craves a conqueror.

Georgia is 49-3 since Nov. 7, 2020, with all three of those losses coming against Alabama. But since the Bulldogs beat the Crimson Tide in the 2022 national title game, UGA has felt more and more like Zeus who defeated Cronus, took the crown and declared itself king in this here Olympia.

With respect to Ohio State and Texas, this game — Alabama vs. Georgia — is about who carries the standard. There’s nothing hot about that take, though there is heat here for Kirby Smart.

If Smart won this game, we would’ve decided he had a Nick Saban problem. But he lost. And now Georgia has an Alabama problem — like Zeus had with Prometheus. The path to the pantheon starts with this fire, and Jalen Milroe was an orange forge.

With that, here is a look at my top 25 rankings following Week 5 of the college football season:

1. Alabama (4-0)

Week 5 result: Defeated Georgia, 41-34

In an instant classic, Alabama QB Jalen Milroe passed for 374 yards, rushed for 117 yards and was responsible for four touchdowns, while 17-year-old Ryan Williams caught six passes for 177 yards, including the game-winning 75-yard catch-and-run that would prove to be the winning score.

Alabama is the only program to defeat Georgia since Nov. 7, 2020. And Kalen DeBoer is 1-0 against Kirby Smart.

2. Texas (5-0)

Week 5 result: Defeated Mississippi State, 35-13

McDonald’s has the Golden Arches. But like McDowell’s has the Golden Arcs, Texas has the Golden Arch. 

Arch Manning completed 26 of 31 passes for 324 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions in Texas’ win over Mississippi State. DeAndre Moore Jr. accounted for four catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns.

3. Ohio State (4-0)

Week 5 result: Defeated Michigan State, 38-7

The Buckeyes looked dominant in their Big Ten Conference opener with Jeremiah Smith continuing to play at a Biletnikoff Award-level as a true freshman. He caught five passes for 83 yards, including an incredible one-handed 17-yard touchdown catch.

4. Tennessee (4-0)

Week 5 result: Idle

5. Georgia (3-1)

Week 5 result: Lost to Alabama, 41-34

The Bulldogs have lost just three times since Nov. 7, 2020 — all three are to Alabama. It appears Kirby Smart doesn’t have a Nick Saban problem. He has an Alabama problem, and for a few minutes late in the fourth quarter on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, it looked like Smart was going to prevail. But then, Jalen Milroe and freshman phenom Ryan Williams struck. Carson Beck did his best in the second half, but in the end, the Tide were too much for this Georgia team.

6. Penn State (4-0)

Week 5 result: Defeated Illinois, 21-7

The Nittany Lions walked into Beaver Stadium with a top 10 rushing attack thanks to a punishing offensive line and tailbacks Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Those two dominant backs combined for 196 rushing yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns in Penn State’s win over Illinois.

7. Oregon (4-0)

Week 5 result: Defeated UCLA, 34-13

The Ducks entered this game as 25.5-point favorites and left with a 21-point victory over the lowly Bruins. Dillon Gabriel threw three touchdown passes – two of which went to Tez Johnson – and continued to move up in the NCAA record books as the Ducks notched their first Big Ten win.

8. Miami (Fla.) (5-0)

Week 5 result: Defeated Virginia Tech, 38-34

Look, Da’Quan Felton caught it. Then the ACC overturned the Hail Mary touchdown — that would’ve led to the Hokies upsetting the Canes — to an incomplete pass.

But before that mess, Cam Ward put the Canes on his back like Beatrix Kiddo did two buckets of water up Pai Mei’s steps, throwing for 343 passing yards and four touchdowns, while adding 57 yards and a rushing score in the win.

9. Missouri (4-0)

Week 5 result: Idle

10. Clemson (3-1)

Week 5 result: Defeated Stanford, 40-14

The Tigers are back to looking like one of the best teams in the ACC with their third win in a row, scoring at least 40 points in each.

11. Michigan (4-1)

Week 5 result: Defeated Minnesota, 27-24

The was Michigan’s 27th-straight win against a Big Ten opponent. The 27-24 victory came despite another anemic passing performance from quarterback Alex Orji, who finished 10-of-18 for 86 yards.

Despite playing lights-out football early on, the Wolverines couldn’t close with authority. Minnesota scored 21 points in the fourth quarter.

12. Iowa State (4-0)

Week 5 result: Defeated Houston, 20-0

The Cyclones sit atop the Big 12 standings and are off to their first 4-0 start since 2000. 

Quarterback Rocco Becht is the real deal, and Iowa State’s defense has been great, holding opponents to an average of 7.3 points per game.

13. USC (3-1)

Week 5 result: Defeated Wisconsin, 38-21

Despite being booed off the field at halftime, the Trojans scored 28 unanswered points in the second half at the Coliseum to improve to 3-1 with Miller Moss passing for 308 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

14. Oklahoma (4-1)

Week 5 result: Defeated Auburn, 27-21

Linebacker Kip Lewis came up with a pick-six with just over four minutes left to play to give Oklahoma its first SEC win. True freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. became the first Oklahoma quarterback to win his first start on the road in school history.

15. BYU (5-0)

Week 5 result: Defeated Byalor, 34-28

Coming off last weekend’s dominant showing against Kansas State, this could have been a spot for the Cougars to slip up. But instead, Kalani Sitake’s team took care of business against a Baylor team that fell to 2-3 following the loss.

16. LSU (4-1)

Week 5 result: Defeated South Alabama, 42-10

Garrett Nussmeier continues to look like a legitimate SEC quarterback, throwing for a career-high 409 yards in LSU’s 42-10 win over South Alabama. Caden Durham totaled 217 yards from scrimmage as Brian Kelly’s team put up 667 yards of total offense in the victory.

17. Ole Miss (4-1)

Week 5 result: Lost to Kentucky, 20-17

Lane Kiffin might have a good football team, but you can’t go 1-for-10 on third down while losing to Kentucky and expect to stay in the top 15 of these rankings.

18. Notre Dame (4-1)

Week 5 result: Defeated Louisville, 31-24

Riley Leonard only had one passing touchdown heading into Notre Dame’s matchup against Louisville. The senior QB doubled that total on Saturday, throwing for 163 yards and a pair of scores, as well as rushing for 52 yards and a touchdown in the win.

19. Boise State (3-1)

Week 5 result: Defeated Washington State, 45-24

Ashton Jeanty is playing like the best running back in the country, and it’s not even close. The do-it-all back carried the ball 26 times for 259 yards and four touchdowns in the win. This was Jeanty’s fourth 200-yard game, tying the school record.

20. UNLV (4-0)

Week 5 result: Defeated Fresno State, 59-14

UNLV kicked off conference play without starting QB Matthew Sluka, who announced through his agent earlier this week that he would sit out the remainder of the season over a $100,000 NIL payment he alleges was promised to him prior to transferring to UNLV, but was never paid.

Hajj-Malik Williams filled in, and the Rebels didn’t miss a beat. Williams threw for 182 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 119 yards and a score on the ground in a dominant win over Fresno State.

21. Kansas State (4-1)

Week 5 result: Defeated Oklahoma State, 42-20

Taylen Green proved a dual-threat QB can light up Oklahoma State when he went for 416 passing yards and 61 rushing yards against that defense. Then, Utah tailback Micah Benard ran through the Cowboys’ defense for 183 yards. On Saturday, DJ Giddens ran through it for 187 yards on 15 rushes.

22. Illinois (4-1)

Week 5 result: Lost to Penn State, 21-7

Illinois and Tennessee were the only programs in the country with two top 25 wins heading into Week 5. Brett Bielema’s team was looking for another one on Saturday, but they came up short in a 21-7 loss to Penn State. The Illini gave up 239 yards on the ground and only produced 219 yards of total offense in the loss.

23. Texas A&M (4-1)

Week 5 result: Defeated Arkansas, 21-17

Marcel Reed threw for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead 5-yard score to Tre Watson with nine minutes remaining in the game to secure the win for the Aggies.

24. Utah (4-1)

Week 5 result: Lost to Arizona, 23-10

The Utes were able to survive last weekend without Cam Rising, but that wasn’t the case again Saturday night against Arizona. Kyle Whittingham’s team struggled mightily on offense as QB Isaac Wilson completed only 50% of his passes and threw two interceptions in the loss.

25. Indiana (5-0)

It’s time to show some well-deserved respect to the Hoosiers, who are off to their first 5-0 start since 1967. First-year head coach Curt Cignetti, who came from James Madison, promised Hoosier fans he would put his stamp on the program, and that’s exactly what he has done through five games.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” Follow him at @RJ_Young and subscribe to “The RJ Young Show” on YouTube.

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