College football Week 5 power ratings: Oklahoma moves up a tier, Texas Tech enters top 20 after Week 4 wins

We learned a lot in Week 4. Clemson is cooked. Indiana and Texas Tech are really good. The preseason hype around Florida and South Carolina was misguided. You better block Oklahoma's front seven, or it will be a long day. 

We had some movement in the power rankings with Texas Tech, Indiana and Missouri all moving up the board. We also say goodbye to Clemson, Illinois and Utah. We will have an even bigger shakeup next week with one of the most important Saturdays of the college football season coming up. 

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 5 power ratings 

Tier 1

1. Ohio State Buckeyes
2. Penn State Nittany Lions
3. Georgia Bulldogs
4. Texas Longhorns

Still no change with the top four teams, although that won't be the case next week. Penn State hosts Oregon in one of the biggest games of the season. The Nittany Lions are -3.5 at home, and I think that line is pretty tight. I made Penn State -4. I think the Nittany Lions win the game, but if I'm wrong, the Ducks jump up into the top two. 

You know it's a huge Saturday when Alabama-Georgia isn't the marquee game. I still have question marks about both teams. I'm concerned about a Georgia defense that has been declining for two years and got lit up by Tennessee. Alabama hammered two bad teams but got rolled by Florida State. Georgia is -3 at home. I think that line is a little low. However, I also think Alabama wins the game, so I'm going to stay away. 

Ohio State plays a sneaky tough road game against a good Washington team. I actually played the Huskies on the opening line at +10.5. The Buckeyes are loaded, although this will be their first road test of the season. We've seen the line drop from 10.5 to 8.5, so a lot of early money is on Washington keeping the game competitive. 

If Ohio State and Penn State both win on Saturday, look for my top two teams to both be undefeated when they clash in Columbus on Nov. 1. 

Tier 2 (+2 from Tier 1)

5. Oregon Ducks
6. Miami Hurricanes
7. LSU Tigers

I moved Miami up a tier after the Hurricanes' impressive win over Florida. Whatever you think of the Gators and Notre Dame, those are two quality opponents that Miami dominated physically. Right now, I would make Oregon -1 over Miami on a neutral field, although both teams could find themselves in Tier 1 soon. 

I dropped LSU one spot only because the Tigers' win at Clemson isn't as impressive as we thought at the time. I am still high on LSU, and the Tigers have a chance to earn a quality win at Ole Miss on Saturday. The Rebels are -1.5 in that game. I make LSU a small favorite, so there is some value backing the Tigers. 

Tier 3 (+4 from Tier 1)

8. Alabama Crimson Tide
9. Oklahoma Sooners

Alabama and Oklahoma are two teams that are right on the cusp of Tier 2, and both could get there soon. Alabama obviously moves up with a win at Georgia on Saturday. 

Meanwhile, OU has been the biggest riser in my rankings the last couple of weeks after wins over Michigan and Auburn. The Sooners have a date with Texas on Oct. 11 in a matchup between two of the country's top defenses. I make the Longhorns -4 in that game, although I won't be surprised if Oklahoma pulls the upset. 

Tier 4 (+8 from Tier 1)

10. Texas A&M Aggies
11. Florida State Seminoles

Texas A&M passed its first test of the season with a wild win at Notre Dame. The Aggies now face Auburn as a touchdown favorite at home. Florida State plays an under-the-radar tough game at Virginia. These are two quality teams, although right now I would make them a touchdown underdog on a neutral field against any of the top four or five teams on the list. 

Tier 5 (+9 from Tier 1)

12. Ole Miss Rebels
13. Michigan Wolverines
14. Texas Tech Red Raiders
15. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
16. Tennessee Volunteers 

Texas Tech makes its debut after beating up Utah. I was extremely impressed with the Red Raiders on Saturday. It's one thing to spend a lot of money retooling the defense, but it doesn't always work out. I wanted to see Texas Tech play a real opponent, and the Red Raiders didn't just beat Utah; they beat them at their own game by dominating both lines of scrimmage. 

The Red Raiders not only look like a serious playoff contender, but they also look like a team that can do some damage if they get into the field. I think there is some value backing Texas Tech in the futures market. 

Michigan won a tough road game at Nebraska. Watch out for the Wolverines. I mentioned last week they could go on a run if they beat Nebraska. Michigan's schedule is favorable the rest of the way until they host Ohio State in the season finale. The Wolverines are currently +390 to make the College Football Playoff at FanDuel Sportsbook. I think Michigan is worth a shot at that number. 

Tier 6 (+12 from Tier 1)

17. Indiana Hoosiers
18. Auburn Tigers
19. Missouri Tigers
20. USC Trojans

Entering the season, I had a "hold" on Indiana until they faced a quality opponent. On Saturday, they faced a quality opponent in Illinois and won by 50. I guess they passed the test. Curt Cignetti is one of the top coaches in the country, and the Hoosiers aren't going anywhere while he is in Bloomington. 

Some people might think I have Indiana too low, but remember these are betting power rankings. The top four teams would be big favorites over the Hoosiers on a neutral field. I would also make Indiana a dog versus all the teams in Tier 5. That's why they are at 17 right now. Indiana's next two games are at Iowa and Oregon, so they could keep moving up over the next couple of weeks. 

USC looks phenomenal so far with beating inferior teams. The reason they are down this far is because the Trojans still haven't faced a quality opponent. That will change with games against Illinois, Michigan, Notre Dame and Nebraska on deck. We could see USC move up the list, although I make the Trojans underdogs versus Notre Dame and Michigan. I have USC as a slight favorite at Nebraska. 

Missouri is this far down because their four wins have all come at home. That won't change for a while because the Tigers don't play a road game until Oct. 18 at Auburn. That's a heck of a schedule if you can get it. The bottom line is I can't make Missouri a favorite over the teams listed ahead of them until I see them play a quality opponent away from home.

Next five: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Washington Huskies, TCU Horned Frogs, Vanderbilt Commodores, Iowa State Cyclones