Week 5: Missouri leaps over Florida to No. 14, LSU returns to the top 10, and Smith makes the No. 1 pick a question
A Week 5 digest of the AP Top 25 released Oct. 4 — Missouri up eleven to No. 14, Florida down to No. 16, Pittsburgh in and Kentucky out — with the games behind the movement and the week's 2027 NFL Draft stock shift.
This issue covers Sep. 28–Oct. 4, 2026.
Missouri spent the first month of the season outside the top 20 and then beat Florida by 28 points. Sunday's Associated Press ballot moved the Tigers up eleven places to No. 14, dropped Florida eight places to No. 16, and gave the Gators' top-10 spot to LSU. 12
Texas is No. 1 for a fourth straight week with 61 of the 70 first-place votes, and the rest of the top five held: Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami and Ohio State. Pittsburgh entered at No. 25 in its season debut, and Kentucky, which won in overtime, dropped out anyway. 13
One calendar note before the numbers. This is the sixth ballot of the 2026 season, and it grades the games of Oct. 2–3, which ESPN's schedule lists as Week 5. ESPN and USA TODAY file their poll coverage the same way, so the names line up across the sources below. 456
Official AP Top 25: full ballot and movement
| Rank | School (first-place votes) | Record | Points | Previous | Movement and driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas (61) | 4-0 | 1,737 | 1 | Idle. No. 1 for a fourth straight week, Texas' longest run at the top since it held the poll for six weeks in 1977. 12 |
| 2 | Georgia (6) | 5-0 | 1,647 | 2 | Beat Vanderbilt 38-14. The 24-point margin was Georgia's closest game of the season; the Bulldogs have won 53 straight against unranked teams. 15 |
| 3 | Notre Dame | 5-0 | 1,532 | 3 | Beat North Carolina 37-26 for a 15th straight win, all by double digits. 5 |
| 4 | Miami (Fla.) (2) | 5-0 | 1,524 | 4 | Won 41-13 at Clemson with six sacks and nine tackles for loss. 57 |
| 5 | Ohio State | 4-1 | 1,490 | 5 | Won 31-14 at Iowa behind Jeremiah Smith's 11 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns. 58 |
| 6 | Alabama | 5-0 | 1,460 | 7 | Up one after a 56-23 win at Mississippi State; Alabama has reached 45 points in all five games. 59 |
| 7 | Indiana (1) | 5-0 | 1,380 | 6 | Down one after winning 47-15 at Rutgers; 21 straight wins is the longest active streak in the FBS. 5 |
| 8 | BYU | 4-0 | 1,144 | 10 | Up two after grinding out a 17-10 win at TCU. 5 |
| 9 | Ole Miss | 3-1 | 1,095 | 9 | Idle. 5 |
| 10 | LSU | 4-1 | 1,087 | 11 | Up one after a 63-14 win over McNeese, back in the top 10 in Florida's place. 15 |
| 11 | Texas Tech | 5-0 | 1,062 | 12 | Up one after a 29-7 win at Colorado; the Red Raiders did not take their first lead until late in the third quarter. 59 |
| 12 | Utah | 4-0 | 996 | 13 | Idle, up one. 5 |
| 13 | Oregon | 3-1 | 831 | 15 | Idle, up two. 5 |
| 14 | Missouri | 4-1 | 755 | 25 | Up eleven, the week's biggest move, after beating Florida 45-17. 12 |
| 15 | Tennessee | 4-1 | 746 | 17 | Up two after a 24-14 win over Auburn. 5 |
| 16 | Florida | 4-1 | 691 | 8 | Down eight after the loss at Missouri; Florida ran for 42 yards a week after running for 302 against Ole Miss. 56 |
| 17 | Mississippi State | 4-1 | 487 | 16 | Down one after the 56-23 home loss to Alabama. 5 |
| 18 | Oklahoma State | 3-1 | 477 | 19 | Idle, up one. 5 |
| 19 | USC | 5-1 | 439 | 18 | Down one after a 25-21 win over Washington that needed a fourth-down breakup in the red zone with 39 seconds left. 57 |
| 20 | Iowa | 4-1 | 367 | 14 | Down six after the 31-14 home loss to Ohio State; Iowa's only touchdown came in the fourth quarter. 59 |
| 21 | UCLA | 4-0 | 287 | 23 | Idle, up two. 5 |
| 22 | Houston | 4-1 | 279 | 20 | Down two after beating UCF 27-17; Houston trailed 17-0 in the third quarter. 5 |
| 23 | Boise State | 4-1 | 271 | 22 | Down one after a 37-18 win over Utah State. 5 |
| 24 | SMU | 4-1 | 167 | 21 | Down three after a 25-16 win over Boston College. 5 |
| 25 | Pittsburgh | 5-0 | 162 | NR | Season debut after holding off Virginia Tech 35-33 in Blacksburg. 12 |
Also receiving votes: Kentucky 160, Wake Forest 142, Wisconsin 88, Duke 83, Northwestern 59, Nebraska 48, Minnesota 19, Arizona 19, James Madison 12, North Dakota State 7. 3
Missouri's eleven-place climb is the second-biggest jump of the season, behind Florida's thirteen-place rise a week ago, and it is Missouri's highest ranking since Oct. 5, 2025. The Tigers' only larger promotion also came at Florida's expense: nine spots to No. 5 on Oct. 20, 2013. 12
The one team that left the poll won its game. Kentucky erased a 17-0 deficit to beat South Carolina 35-34 in overtime and finished as the leading vote-getter outside the 25, with 160 points, two behind Pittsburgh's 162. Pittsburgh's debut comes with a cost: the Panthers will play the rest of the season without quarterback Mason Heintschel, who tore an ACL. 12
The conference split held at 9 SEC teams, 6 Big Ten, 5 Big 12, 3 ACC, 1 Pac-12 (Boise State) and independent Notre Dame. 1
The Coaches Poll, released the same day, agrees on Texas at No. 1 and then leans toward the Big 12. Texas took 45 of the coaches' first-place votes, Georgia 20, Indiana eight and Notre Dame one. The coaches keep Indiana fifth and put Texas Tech ninth, a spot ahead of LSU; they rank Pittsburgh 24th and keep Kentucky 25th, and leave Oklahoma State (187 points) and Boise State (161) just outside. 6
The games behind the movement
Missouri 45, Florida 17: the week's biggest mover
Austin Simmons completed 23 of 30 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns, and Jamal Roberts carried 24 times for 211 yards and three rushing scores, as Missouri turned a game between the teams ranked No. 25 and No. 8 into a 28-point rout in Columbia. 25
The other half of the result was Florida's offense. Jadan Baugh, who had run for at least 100 yards and two touchdowns in each of the first four games, finished with 13 yards on 12 carries, and the Gators managed 42 rushing yards a week after running for 302 against Ole Miss. 6710
Eli Drinkwitz had been 0-10 in the regular season against top-10 teams, with a nine-game losing streak against ranked opponents. He waved off the history afterward. "Doesn't mean anything," Drinkwitz said. "That's noise people create on social media for no reason. … Each game is a life of its own." 2
The 28-point margin was Missouri's largest against an AP top-10 team in program history. 5
Alabama 56, Mississippi State 23: the top-10 flip
Keelon Russell threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a fourth, and Alabama reached 45 points for a fifth straight game, the first time it has done that since 2022 and the only such run in the FBS this season. The Crimson Tide has scored at least 45 in every game it has played. 9
Mississippi State arrived undefeated at No. 16, with Kamario Taylor playing like a Heisman candidate, and left with a 33-point loss and a one-place drop. Taylor was outplayed by Russell, who displaced him in the week's breakout-quarterback conversation. 59
Anthony Evans III caught 12 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns in the loss, a performance ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. put in the Day 2 range for the 2027 draft. 10
Mississippi State is now 11-45-1 in AP-ranked matchups, the worst record among schools that have played at least 10 of them. 5
Ohio State 31, Iowa 14: Smith's record book
Jeremiah Smith caught 11 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns, including a 57-yard score in the third quarter, and Ohio State pulled away at Kinnick Stadium for its first road win of the season. 8
Smith became Ohio State's career leader in receptions, with 207, passing Emeka Egbuka's 205, and in touchdown catches, with 36, passing Chris Olave's 35. He also tied Marvin Harrison Jr.'s team record with his 15th game of at least 100 receiving yards. 8
Iowa's only touchdown came in the fourth quarter, after the outcome was settled. "With a little bit of luck, we won't see him again during my career," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of Smith. 89
The rest of the ranked results
- Georgia 38, Vanderbilt 14: the 24-point margin was Georgia's closest game of the season. 5
- Notre Dame 37, North Carolina 26: CJ Carr threw four touchdown passes and ran for a fifth in wet conditions in Chapel Hill. 10
- Miami 41, Clemson 13: JJ Dunnigan returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown with under two minutes left; Mark Fletcher Jr. ran for two scores. Clemson trailed 17-6 in the third quarter and failed on a fourth-and-2 from the Miami 18. 7
- Indiana 47, Rutgers 15: Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh each went over 100 receiving yards, and Rutgers reached Indiana territory on one of eight possessions in the first three quarters. 7
- Tennessee 24, Auburn 14: Tennessee pulled Faizon Brandon at quarterback to spark the offense. 7
- BYU 17, TCU 10: BYU is 4-0 for the third straight season, the first such run in program history, after Bear Bachmeier scored twice on the ground in Fort Worth. 7
- USC 25, Washington 21: Jahkeem Stewart returned a fumble 48 yards for a touchdown, and Prophet Brown broke up a fourth-and-10 pass from the USC 18 with 39 seconds left. 7
- Houston 27, UCF 17: Houston trailed 17-0 in the third quarter. 5
- The rest of the ranked winners: LSU 63-14 over McNeese, SMU 25-16 over Boston College, Boise State 37-18 over Utah State, Texas Tech 29-7 at Colorado, and Pittsburgh 35-33 at Virginia Tech on a missed Hokies kick. 57
- Outside the poll: Northwestern beat Penn State 34-13 on Friday in the first game at the rebuilt Ryan Field in Evanston. 9
2027 NFL Draft: Week 5 stock movement
Three sources set this channel's board reading, and they publish on different clocks. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. and Jordan Reid file notes every Sunday; this week's landed Oct. 4. Jordan Reid published his first top-50 board of the season on Oct. 1. The NFL Draft Bible's Hot 100 is a monthly board, and its Sept. 18 edition is still the newest published, so every Hot 100 placement below predates this week's games. 101112
Jeremiah Smith and the No. 1 question
Smith is No. 1 on both boards, and he is now the Heisman Trophy front-runner after the Iowa game. Reid wrote that Smith "will be mentioned in the same breath as some of the best receiver prospects we've ever seen." Reid still put only a 10% chance on Smith going first overall in April, because the top pick has historically been a quarterback, an offensive tackle or an edge rusher; Keyshawn Johnson, in 1996, was the last receiver taken No. 1. 810
Reid's board, which published Oct. 1, lists one thing for Smith to sharpen: his change of direction in routes, where he takes too many choppy steps working back toward the passer. Through Sept. 30, Reid charted Smith at 33 catches for 617 yards and seven touchdowns. 11
Notre Dame's class, seen up close
Reid watched Notre Dame's win at North Carolina in person and wrote that the Irish could have as many as seven top-50 picks in April. Leonard Moore is No. 2 on his board, with the length and movement skills NFL teams want and a 0% completion percentage allowed through Sept. 30, by Reid's charting. CJ Carr threw four touchdown passes and ran for a fifth Saturday, and Reid wrote that Carr "continues to rise" on his board. 1011
Two more Irish defenders drew notes. Boubacar Traore, at 6-foot-5 and 253 pounds, "has played like a Round 1 player so far this season," Reid wrote, with six tackles and a hit that forced an interception in the first half; Kiper has Traore in the Day 2 mix and likes his work against the run. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa intercepted a pass, and guard Anthonie Knapp should also go early, while safety Brauntae Johnson, No. 26 on Reid's board, sat out the game. 10
Kiper added two names further down the board. Defensive end Bryce Young, at 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, leads Notre Dame in sacks with three and is trending up. Slot receiver Jordan Faison, a former lacrosse player who walked on to the football team, had eight catches for 132 yards and two scores against the Tar Heels and has 25 career punt returns; Kiper places him in the early-to-mid Day 3 range. 10
The two boards, side by side
| Player | Position, school | ESPN (Reid, Oct. 1) | NFL Draft Bible (Sept. 18) | What this week changed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah Smith | WR, Ohio State | 1 | 1 | Set Ohio State career receptions and receiving-touchdown records; made the No. 1 pick a live question. 10 |
| Leonard Moore | CB, Notre Dame | 2 | 5 | Notre Dame's trip to North Carolina let Reid watch him in person; still no completions allowed. 10 |
| Colin Simmons | Edge, Texas | 3 | 7 | Idle in Week 5; his 7.5 sacks through Sept. 30 have him clear of the field at the position. 11 |
| Will Echoles | DT, Ole Miss | 4 | 12 | Idle; Reid is higher on the 6-foot-3, 315-pound interior rusher than the Hot 100 is. 11 |
| Dylan Stewart | Edge, South Carolina | 5 | 6 | Suspended, with one tackle and one tackle for loss through Sept. 30; the traits-versus-production debate with Simmons sharpens. 11 |
| Jordan Seaton | OT, LSU | 6 | 16 | Idle; 0% pressure rate allowed across 264 snaps through Sept. 30. 11 |
| Charlie Becker | WR, Indiana | 8 | 20 | Caught over 100 yards' worth of passes at Rutgers as Indiana's vertical threat. 7 |
| Trevor Goosby | OT, Texas | 9 | 11 | Idle; 0% pressure rate allowed across 259 snaps through Sept. 30. 11 |
| Jadan Baugh | RB, Florida | 10 | 23 | Held to 13 yards on 12 carries at Missouri, his first quiet game of the season. 7 |
| Darian Mensah | QB, Miami | 14 | 3 | 5-0 after the Clemson win; the two boards are 11 places apart on him. 11 |
| Arch Manning | QB, Texas | 17 | 2 | Idle; the two boards are 15 places apart on him. 11 |
| Trinidad Chambliss | QB, Ole Miss | 16 | 33 | Idle after the Florida loss; the two boards differ by 17 places. 11 |
The two boards agree on Smith and diverge almost everywhere else. The Hot 100, a vote by a nine-person scouting department on Sept. 18, puts five quarterbacks in its top ten: Arch Manning (2), Darian Mensah (3), Julian Sayin (4), Drew Mestemaker (8) and Dante Moore (10). Reid's top ten has none; his top quarterback, Mestemaker, is No. 11. 1112
Other names that moved
- Devan Thompkins, DL, Alabama: No. 36 on Reid's board, and rising. Reid wrote that NFL scouts saw him as a fringe Day 2 prospect entering the season and that he is now trending toward the first round, with the 6-foot-5, 300-pound transfer from USC kicking inside as a 3-technique or playing a 4i in a three-man front. 10
- Austin Simmons, QB, Missouri: Reid called Saturday only his seventh career start and still came away impressed: 23-of-30 for 340 yards and two touchdowns, one of the strongest arms in the country, and another year of eligibility in hand, which might make him a 2028 name. 10
- Luke Montgomery, G, Ohio State: Kiper has the 6-foot-5, 313-pound senior in the third- or fourth-round range after "great tape" against Iowa, citing his drive blocking and his ability to reach the second level. 10
- Jordan Shipp, WR, North Carolina: Reid caught the 6-foot-2, 200-pound receiver on the scouting trail: seven catches for 109 yards against Notre Dame, including a one-handed grab against Leonard Moore, and a middle-round grade for now. 10
- Ty Pennington, QB, Northern Arizona: Kiper's late-round name, with at least 66% completions in each of his past three games, six touchdown passes and one interception over that span, and nine interceptions in 30 career starts. 10
What the poll points to next Saturday
No. 2 Georgia at No. 6 Alabama is the headliner, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The two split in 2025: Alabama snapped Georgia's 33-game home win streak in the regular season, and Georgia answered with a 28-7 win in the SEC championship game. Georgia has yet to be tested this season, and Alabama has scored at least 45 points in every game. 125
No. 21 UCLA at No. 13 Oregon is the other ranked matchup AP flags, the first top-25 meeting between them since 2022. UCLA has lost five straight to the Ducks and gets its biggest test after four wins. 1
References
- 1
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- 3The AP Top 25
apnews.com
- 4
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- 9
- 10
- 11
- 122027 NFL Draft Hot 100 (September Edition)
allaccessfootball.com
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