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College Football Rankings 2022: Projected AP Top 25 for Week 5

By Connor Muldowney

Clemson safety Sherrod Covil Jr (12), left, and cornerback Nate Wiggins (20) react after beating Wake Forest 51-45, at Truist Field in Winston-Salem, North Carolina Saturday, September 24, 2022.Ncaa Football Clemson At Wake Forest
Clemson safety Sherrod Covil Jr (12), left, and cornerback Nate Wiggins (20) react after beating Wake Forest 51-45, at Truist Field in Winston-Salem, North Carolina Saturday, September 24, 2022.Ncaa Football Clemson At Wake Forest /
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Sep 24, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Ainias Smith (0) makes a catch during the third quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 24, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Ainias Smith (0) makes a catch during the third quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-USA TODAY Sports /

Arkansas will drop out of the top 10 after a tough loss to Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, but it was a valiant effort. You don’t get credit for “valiant efforts” in college football, so you’ll see voters rank the Razorbacks accordingly but I don’t think anyone watched Arkansas and thought “that team is not top-10 worthy.” This is probably still a top-15 team.

Penn State raced out to a big lead over Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon and it felt like it was going to be more of what we saw against Auburn the previous week. The Chippewas chipped away at a quick 14-0 lead and pulled within seven at halftime. Penn State pulled away in the second half but this was a sleepy win. Still a top-15 team right now, however.

Will we see AP voters completely overreact to Texas A&M’s win over No. 10 Arkansas just one week after beating No. 13 Miami? Yeah, probably. The Aggies didn’t panic while down 14-0 early and they scored the next 23 points and held on as Arkansas missed a field goal in wild fashion (off the top of the upright) with 1:30 left in the game. A second ranked win for Texas A&M is a heck of a way to follow up a loss to App State.

Utah went on the road to face a newly Herm Edwards-less Arizona State team and the Utes had no problem with the Sun Devils. Was this win good enough to shoot them back into the top 10 after a season-opening loss at Florida? Probably not yet, but the Utes are knocking on that door.

NC State was the latest team to use UConn as a punching bag and Devin Leary and the Wolfpack did just that. The Wolfpack move to 4-0 on the season and are the highest-ranked ACC team outside of Clemson and after watching the Tigers head to overtime with Wake Forest, NC State has to feel like it has a real shot to win the conference title.

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