The Couch Power 10, Week 5
- Daniel Woodiwiss
- Sep 30
- 6 min read
This past Saturday held the juiciest slate of college football we've had in 2025 since Week 1 of the season, and considering nobody really has much to prove yet in the first game of the season, there's an argument to be made that this was the most momentous weekend of the year in college football thus far. And boy, did it not disappoint.
The chaos began even before Saturday began, as two ranked opponents lost to unranked foes in Friday night thrillers. First, Florida State's red-hot dream start to the season came to a thud in Charlottesville, as their defense had no answer for the shocking underdog Virginia Cavaliers. Just a couple hours later, TCU's perfect season also met its demise in the desert, as reigning Big 12 champs Arizona State got back on track and pulled out a thrilling 17-point comeback.
Those two may have been the only ranked teams to fall to unranked opponents all weekend, but a few others came awfully close: Tennessee, Georgia Tech and BYU all managed to escape Starkville, Winston-Salem and Boulder intact but not without first getting taken to overtime. And such was the Saturday slate that many other ranked teams fell out of necessity, in instant classic showdowns with ranked foes. # 21 USC gave a valiant effort for a game that kicked off at 9 AM local time, but were bested by Illinois's game-winning 46-yard field goal. In the afternoon, a gutsy and perfectly executed 4th down call by Lane Kiffin iced a huge win for Ole Miss over # 4 LSU. And then at the tail-end of an already unbelievable day: a nightcap simultaneous kickoff between # 5 Georgia and Alabama (won by the latter with an opportunistic defense and a 4th-quarter shutout) and Oregon and # 3 Penn State (ended with a game-winning interception by the former in double overtime). College football chaos is in full swing, baby!!! Let's go!!
Just a refresher, in case you forgot: this is not a definitive ranking on how good the teams are, or on who I think will be/deserves to be in the playoff at the end of the year. Rather, it's more of a "What if preseason rankings and bigwig bias didn't predetermine the top teams" kind of thing, an ideal ranking of the country's teams based on what they've actually proved on the field to date. Don't be mad cuz I'm doin' me better than you doin' you:
1. Ohio State
Are Ohio State actually the best team in the country again? Who knows. They're not the most fun team to watch, that's for sure. But in their toughest test since their Week 1 win over Texas, the Buckeyes remained unbeaten with a road win at a Washington team defending a 22-game home winning streak. They're the kings until someone proves otherwise.
2. Oregon
Going into Saturday night's massive clash with Penn State, a rematch of last year's Big Ten Championship, the main question was "which team is for real?" Both the Ducks and the Nittany Lions had looked terrific to start the season, blowing out all comers, but admittedly against clearly inferior competition. Given that the game ended in a double OT thriller, it's not inaccurate to say "well, both teams are for real." But the more accurate answer is that Oregon in particular showed they have title contender credentials. Had Penn State completed the comeback and won the game, it would have been an enormous testament to their grit and desire to win, but it also would have felt like the better team didn't win: the Ducks dominated just about every statistic, and looked a class above all night, and would not have found themselves in overtime at all were it not for a few untimely (and uncharacteristic) bloopers, and perhaps a mild case of "taking the foot off the gas too soon." It's early yet, but I think there's a decent chance we're headed for an Oregon-Ohio State collision course again this postseason.
3. Miami
Miami's bye week took the attention off them for a handful of reasons: not only were they not playing, they were resting on a week when so many big games were taking place, giving other teams opportunities to claim bigger wins than the multiple ones Miami's claimed this season. And on top of that, next week's opponents Florida State fell for the trap game at Virginia, somewhat maiming both the benefits of a potential win next week and the defense against a potential loss. None of that changes that the Hurricanes have had as impressive a start to the season as just about anyone, though, and a win in primetime in the highest-stakes rivalry showdown in sometime would put them right back in the center of national attention.
4. Ole Miss
Ole Miss didn’t command nearly as many headlines after last Saturday as either of the prime time winners did, but their victory over SEC West rivals and fellow unbeatens LSU was one of the biggest results of the season. Much like Oregon and Penn State, Lane Kiffin’s squad had made good on the preseason hype by looking the part to date, but were yet to come up against a real high-quality opponent. It was an old-school slugfest against the Tigers in the Grove, but they came up with the big plays at the right time and now only Washington State stands between them and a pivotal three week stretch of @ Georgia, Oklahoma, and @ South Carolina.
5. Indiana
Indiana followed up their biggest win of the season with an immediate road trip to Iowa, an exact scenario that’s tripped up many a big name in years past. Yet the Hoosiers, while pushed to the end, made it out of Iowa City with a gritty win, even stifling the newfound Iowa offense to the tune of 13 points. A bye week awaits them now before a massive road trip to Oregon, one of two road games against reigning Big Ten Championship contenders this season.
6. Oklahoma
Oklahoma’s brutal expected month without Heisman candidate QB John Mateer kicked off with a bye week, and continues this weekend against mighty Kent State. Prayers up! Okay, in all seriousness, considering how impressive the Sooners’ start to the season has been, it’s nice they get a little respite and a chance to break in the backup before a murderers’ row.
7. Texas A&M
The Aggies faced a stern test from Auburn but pulled out a defensive struggle to remain unbeaten. ESPN actually has A&M ranked #1 in the country on strength of record- that probably has as much to do with how impressive the win in South Bend was as anything else, but there’s no doubt Mike Elko and co. are off to a very impressive start this season.
8. Vanderbilt
Clark Lea won’t be thrilled about his team giving up 35 points to Utah State, but at the end of the day his Vanderbilt Commodores are 5-0, ranked in the Top 15, and headed along with College Gameday to a high-stakes showdown in Tuscaloosa against Alabama this weekend. Whodathunk.
9. Iowa State
Welcome back to the Power 10, Iowa State! The Cyclones exited after the first few editions once it became clear that Kansas State (their season-opening marquee win) was not in fact any good, but have earned their way back behind a 5-0 record that really was only in serious jeopardy in a tough rivalry match with Iowa. As two very winnable games and a bye week await, there’s a chance they might duck back out of the Power 10 once my self-imposed arbitrary moratorium on including teams with losses ends, but a big stretch starting at the end of the month (BYU, Arizona State, TCU) will present them with ample opportunity to come right back.
10. Texas Tech
And a first-time welcome to the Power 10 to Iowa State’s Big 12 peers, Texas Tech! The Red Raiders are the second of three undefeated teams in the conference, and boast a blowout of then-ranked Utah in their pedigree, along with 3 other wins by an average of 47 points. With a win over the third undefeated Big 12 team this weekend, Houston, Tech will be partying like it’s 2008 again.
Just missed: Georgia Tech, BYU, Missouri, Memphis, Houston, bye weeks for struggling teams
The Playoff Picture according to The Couch:
(5) Indiana v (12) Memphis
(6) Oklahoma v (11) Georgia Tech
(7) Texas A&M v (10) Texas Tech
(8) Vanderbilt v (9) Iowa State
ROSE BOWL: (1) Ohio State v VAN/ISU winner
COTTON BOWL: (2) Oregon v A&M/TT winner
ORANGE BOWL: (3) Miami v OU/GT winner
SUGAR BOWL: (4) Ole Miss v IU/MEM winner
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