Missouri surged 13 places after routing Florida, Ohio State rose to No. 2 and the unbeaten field narrowed to 15 teams.
Florida’s time at the top of the CBS Sports rankings lasted only a week. After the Gators routed No. 4 Ole Miss the previous Saturday, Missouri beat Florida 45–17. The column described the SEC’s autumn pattern as volatile: a team can win big one week and lose heavily the next.
The number of unbeaten teams fell to 15 through Week 5, the fewest at that stage since 2018. Missouri jumped 13 places after its win, while Florida dropped 12. Mississippi State fell 13 spots after losing by 33 points at home to Alabama. Arizona and Houston joined the rankings after strong wins.
Ohio State moved to No. 2, behind Texas, the only team to beat the Buckeyes. Ohio State won 31–14 at Iowa. Jeremiah Smith rose to the top of CBS Sports’ Heisman ballot after his second consecutive 200-yard performance.
Pittsburgh survived Virginia Tech after John Love missed a 36-yard field goal as time expired, though Pitt lost quarterback Mason Heintschel to a torn ACL. Northwestern reopened Ryan Field with 413 rushing yards against Penn State, a difficult outing for first-year coach Matt Campbell and the two dozen transfers he brought from Iowa State.
Week 6 will further test the unbeaten teams. Georgia travels to Alabama, Indiana takes a 21-game winning streak to Nebraska, and Texas meets Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl. Undefeated UCLA, led by first-year coach Bob Chesney, visits Oregon, with the winner taking a stronger grip on its playoff prospects. CBS Sports called the weekend a potential “reality check” across college football.