Week 6 college football rankings: Ole Miss and Georgia sink, Alabama, Penn State and Notre Dame rise

A week after sophomore quarterback Alonzo Barnett III took the college football world by storm in an upset win over North Carolina, he came through once again on Saturday. The James Madison Dukes quarterback scored 3 first-half touchdowns, totaling over 200 total yards of offense on just 14 completions and 7 carries. Barnett is on a tear right now, responsible for 13 total touchdowns in the last two games, and is the biggest reason why James Madison is 4-0 on the year.

Just a few years ago, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights were one of the worst teams in college football. From 2018-’19 under Chris Ash, Rutgers combined for a 3-16 record. Schiano took over in 2020 and the program won just 12 combined games in his first three seasons. Now, Rutgers is coming off its first seven-win season since 2012 and the Scarlet Knights have carried that over into a 4-0 start. The last two wins – at Virginian Tech and vs Washington – have been nail-biters, but Rutgers came out on top both times. Heading into October, the Scarlet Knights are 4-0 for the first time since 2012, per ESPN, when the team finished 9-4.

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It can sometimes take years to determine if a head-coaching change was the right decision. Just a month into the season and the Indiana Hoosiers’ choice to fire Tom Allen and replace him with Curt Cignetti looks brilliant. Following a Week 5 victory against the Maryland Terrapins, Indiana’s football team is 5-o for the first time since 1967. Cignetti is proving his success at James Madison (52-9) was no fluke and the Hoosiers’ historic start could continue next week against Northwestern.

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It took until our Week 6 college football rankings for the Texas A&M Aggies to sneak back into the top 25, but they are finally here. Texas A&M faced a little adversity early trailing 14-7 approaching the midway point of the second quarter. After allowing two first-quarter touchdowns, this Aggies defense didn’t let Arkansas score again until a go-ahead field goal with 13:24 left in the fourth quarter. Then, the Aggies’ rushing attack worked perfectly with freshman quarterback Marcel Reed on a 75-yard drive for the go-ahead touchdown. After that, Mike Elko’s defense came up big again and pushed A&M to a 4-1 record.

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Ashton Jeanty does it again. The best running back in college football put on a one-man showcase late Saturday night, running through the Washington State Cougars defense. Jeanty, the leading rusher in college football, erupted for 258 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns in a 45-24 win over Washington State. With the victory, Boise State’s only loss this season came on the road in a 37-34 defeat to Oregon. With Utah State and Hawai’i up next, Jeanty and the Broncos should be able to keep this going through early October.

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This is the version of quarterback Avery Johnson that the fan base and coaching staff hoped to see. Johnson set season-highs in passing touchdowns (three), passing yards (25) and rushing touchdowns (two) on Saturday afternoon against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. With Joohnson looking better as a passer, running back DJ Giddens found open running lanes to the tune of 187 yards on 15 carries. Just a very nice rebound performance after that blowout loss (38-9) to BYU.

Bret Bielema and the Illinois Fighting Illini defense came to play on Saturday night. Unfortunately for Illinois, they were just not as good as the Penn State Nittany Lions defense. It was a night for missed field goals and great defense, but Illinois’ offense just ran into more trouble getting anything going. A tough loss for Bielema’s team, but a 4-1 record with a close defeat on the road against Penn State is far better than anyone expected from Illinois.

Have a night Caden Durham. It’s not often that Garrett Nussmeier’s efficiency through the air gets overshadowed, but Durham did something special on Saturday night. The freshman running back blew past 200 scrimmage yards on his first 9 touches with 5 minutes still remaining in the second quarter, making a pair of 70-plus yard plays. Sure it came against South Alabama, but this level of dominance is what we’ve been waiting for from the LSU Tigers.

This might feel like an overreaction to a single loss, but the Ole Miss Rebels had the benefit of the doubt for weeks after beating up on bad teams. Saturday arrived and the Rebels’ first SEC competition – Kentucky – held the Ole Miss offense to 17 points with a 10% third-down conversion rate (ESPN). Kentucky dominated time of possession (40 minutes to 20) and didn’t commit a turnover, all while nearly matching the Rebels’ yardage total. If Ole Miss wants people to believe it’s a playoff contender, it would probably be smart to face legitimate competition and actually beat them.

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The BYU Cougars popped into the college football rankings last week after blowing the doors of Kansas State in a 29-point win. In Week 5, the undefeated Cougars kept the good times rolling on the road by taking out Baylor. It’s one thing to be 5-0, it’s another when you can deliver two signature wins against quality opponents. All of that is more than enough to push QB Jake Retflazz and this outstanding Cougars defense into the top 20.

Just another year for the Utah Utes where Cam Rising’s durability issues came back to bite them. Rising missed his third consecutive game on Saturday night with a hand injury, one that has seemingly lingered much longer than anyone expected. Rising’s replacement, freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson, was the problem in Week 5. He completed just 50 percent of his 40 pass attempts, throwing a pair of interceptions and he couldn’t lead the Utes on a touchdown drive until the fourth quarter. Utah made it work for a while, beating Oklahoma State and Utah State with a freshman starter, but Rising’s lack of durability has bitten this team now in consecutive years.

The Stanford Cardinal kept things a little interesting on Saturday night, but the far superior football team won. It was an up-and-down performance from Cade Klubnik through the air, but the Tigers’ ground game and defense stepped up at home. While Clemson’s loss to Georgia looks a bit worse after what happened tonight in Tuscaloosa, what matters for Clemson right now is the three-game winning streak. Best of all, the Tigers get a chance to beat up on a down-on-their-luck Florida State Seminoles program next weekend.

We were skeptical of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Week 5, picking Louisville outright to come out with the win. Instead, Riley Leonard delivered a season-best performance and this Notre Dame defense got stops when it needed. Leonard has looked better as a passer lately and played well enough to overcome Notre Dame committing 2 turnovers and posting a 20% third-down success rate. It’s a nice step forward for the Irish, catapulting them up the Week 6 college football rankings.

Defense and running backs were all the Iowa State Cyclones needed in Week 5. Abu Sama III (101 rushing yards, 9.2 yards per carry) and Jaylon Jackson (96 yards, 6.9 ypc) combined for 200 yards on the ground, taking the game off Rocco Becht’s shoulders. With the clock controlled by the Cyclones’ offense, it kept the defense fresh all night. In the end, Iowa State improved to 4-0 with the help of a shutout of this defense, holding the Houston Cougars to just 241 total yards with more turnovers (three) than third-down conversions (1-for-10).

For the second consecutive week, the USC Trojans trailed at halftime against a Big Ten opponent. Once again, halftime adjustments made by Lincoln Riley led to quarterback Miller Moss taking off in the second half. After falling behind 21-10 at the half, the Trojans offense responded with 28 unanswered points. Moss and receiver Ja’Kobi Lane (105 yards and 2 touchdowns) deserve a ton of credit, but we also have to highlight USC’s defense for nabbing a pick-six and neutralizing the Wisconsin Badgers’ offense in the second half.

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The Michigan Wolverines survived and moved up a spot in the Week 6 college football rankings, but there are some concerns coming out of that game. The Wolverines defense allowed 21 fourth-quarter points to the Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-3) and Michigan quarterback Alex Orju completed just 10-of-18 attempts for 8 yards with a 1-1 TD-INT line. That can be just enough to beat Minnesota at home, but this quarterback situation could potentially cost the Wolverines three more games against Illinois (Oct. 19), Oregon (Nov. 2) and Ohio State (Nov. 30).

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It appears some of the best college football teams are going to have scares or just be outright upset early in the season. With Ole Miss losing in Week 5, the Missouri Tigers surviving against Vanderbilt doesn’t look as bad in hindsight. Missouri still has a lot of improvements it needs to make – 74th in second-half scoring (11.3 points) – but its defense is still playing well this year. Coming back from the bye, Mizzou is traveling to Texas A&M for a great Saturday battle against the Aggies.

The Oregon Ducks jumped out to a hot start on Saturday night in Southern California, taking a 28-3 lead with 2:25 remaining in the first half. Then, Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel had an interception taken back 96 yards for a housecall to send it to halftime. Oregon still had the game on ice, winning 34-13, but a sluggish second half shows more room for the Ducks to improve in a season where they haven’t looked anything close to being one of the 5 best college football teams.

A controversial replay reversal and 14 fourth-quarter points saved the Miami Hurricanes from a brutal loss to unranked Virginia Tech (2-3) on Friday night. Cam Ward certainly had his moments, scoring 5 total touchdowns, but 2 interceptions and a strip-sack fumble lost also turned into 14 points for the Hokies. This proved to be one of those games where a top team gets to learn from its many mistakes and still maintain its perfect record. However, this win and the remainder of the Hurricanes schedule will raise questions about just how legitimate Miami is compared to the top six teams.

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James Franklin entered Friday with a 12-26 record against ranked teams. With how well Illinois has played this year, the Penn State Nittany Lions were in danger on Saturday night at Beaver Stadium. Illinois defense did a great job slowing down Drew Allar and this Nittany Lions offense. Fortunately for Franklin, Penn State’s defense dominated and the rushing duo of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen put this unit on their back and carried them to victory. This was a statement win for Penn State.

An incredible second-half comeback for the Georgia Bulldogs, but Carson Beck’s turnovers and an absent Bulldogs defense were too much to overcome. We will give Kirby Smart and Co. credit for responding to a 30-7 deficit with a 27-3 run. Unfortunately for the Dawgs, they couldn’t get that last defensive stop with the game on the line. This is a setback for the Bulldogs, but that second-half rally provides something to feel good about.

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The Tennessee Volunteers rode the confidence of a program that believes it is one of the best college football teams right now into its bye week. Even with quarterback Nico Iamaleava still settling into playing the position at the college level, the Vols look unstoppable. Tennessee’s offense ranks second in scoring (54 PPG), largely because of a ground game that is averaging 290 rushing yards per contest (6th in FBS). What separates this year’s team from previous versions is a stellar Volunteers defense that is holding opponents to just 5 PPG.

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Just another night at the office for freshman Jeremiah Smith, who continues to look like one of the best wide receivers in college football. Smith played a huge part in the Ohio State Buckeyes’ 21-point second quarter, which really helped put the Michigan State Spartans away early. While we’re still not super high on Buckeyes QB Will Howard, he just needs to protect the football and make smart decisions. As long as that happens, the rest of this loaded Buckeyes roster will do what’s needed to keep winning games.

Led by quarterback Arch Manning, the Texas Longhorns were slow out of the gate in Week 5. In their first SEC game of the season, this Longhorns offense didn’t score its second touchdown against Mississippi State until there were 29 seconds left in the first half. It also struggled to score in the third quarter. Still, Texas was in control of this one from start to finish and Manning did have a good day through the air. What matters now is Texas is 5-0 and while he’s played quite well, Manning hasn’t done anything to prevent Quinn Ewers from taking this job back once he’s healthy.

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The Alabama Crimson Tide are the best team in college football. Jalen Milroe dominated the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs, putting the Tide up 30-7 at halftime. Credit to Georgia for fighting its way back, even taking a late fourth-quarter lead. Then, with the game on the line, the Heisman front-runner went to his true freshman receiver for the game-winning play. It wasn’t a pretty second half for the Crimson Tide, but Alabama is now the No. 1 team in the nation.