College football’s top 25 résumé ranking entering Week 6

We have a new No. 1 atop this ranking following a wildly entertaining Week 5. You can find last week’s ranking here. It was the first edition of the SDS résumé ranking, which provides an alternative to a flawed AP Top 25 poll.

Ranking the Top 25 résumés in college football

So, what’s the objective here?

This is not a subjective power ranking of the best teams in college football. This is not a subjective ranking of how I think these teams will look at the end of the season or a prediction of who will make the College Football Playoff. This is a ranking that seeks to compare what teams have actually done on the field. Who you beat matters. Where you beat them matters. How you beat them matters. And losses matter.

I have no 2-loss teams in my ranking. And while the AP Poll has 3 teams with at least 1 loss inside its top 10, I have just 1.

Let’s get to it.

Dropped from the ranking: 21 TCU, 18 Penn State

25. Virginia (4-1, 2-0 ACC)

BEST WIN: 46-38 vs. Florida State
LAST WEEK: NR

The Hoos join the fray after a 46-38 victory over Florida State. Yes, it came in double overtime. Yes, it included a highly questionable review of a touchdown catch for Florida State near the end. But Virginia is also one of the hottest offenses in the country, averaging 45.6 points a game.

24. USC (4-1, 2-1 Big Ten)

BEST WIN: 45-31 vs. Michigan State
LAST WEEK: 15th

USC lost its first game of the season by 2 points on the road to a good Illinois team, so they drop, but not yet out of the top 25. The Trojans get credit for already playing 3 conference games in the opening month of the season, 2 of which were on the other side of the country.

23. BYU (4-0, 1-0 Big 12)

BEST WIN: 34-13 at East Carolina
LAST WEEK: 25th

The Cougars came back to defeat Colorado on the road in Week 5. After losing its starting quarterback in the summer, BYU has won 2 road games against SP+ top-65 teams in the opening month of the season.

22. Illinois (4-1, 1-1 B1G)

BEST WIN: 34-32 vs. USC
LAST WEEK: NR

The Illini crack the ranking after a big win over USC at home to steady a ship that was violently jolted the week prior. Solid win, and solid start, but I’m not over the pantsing that took place in Indiana.

21. Mississippi State (4-1, 0-1 SEC)

BEST WIN: 24-20 vs. Arizona State
LAST WEEK: 17th

Mississippi State hangs on in this ranking, with help from Arizona State, which beat TCU in Week 5. While the Bulldogs have yet to leave the state of Mississippi this season, they’re 4-1 with the only loss coming in overtime to an upper-tier SEC team. And it should be noted that MSU had a better success rate in the game than Tennessee, per Game on Paper.

20. Michigan (3-1, 1-0 B1G)

BEST WIN: 30-27 at Nebraska
LAST WEEK: 24th

Michigan was on a bye week. The Wolverines moved up because teams around them lost.

19. South Florida (3-1)

BEST WIN: 18-16 at Florida
LAST WEEK: 22nd

South Florida was on a bye week. The Bulls moved up because teams around them lost.

18. Memphis (5-0, 1-0 AAC)

BEST WIN: 32-31 vs. Arkansas
LAST WEEK: 20th

The win at Arkansas doesn’t look as good after the Razorbacks got embarrassed at home by Notre Dame, but Memphis helped itself by handling FAU to move to 5-0. Memphis had a +8% net success rate in the win. The Tigers look like a legit CFP threat.

17. LSU (4-1, 1-1 SEC)

BEST WIN: 17-10 at Clemson
LAST WEEK: 12th

The offense sucks. The quarterback looks hurt. And the 2 marquee wins look worse with each passing week. LSU is fading fast in my book, even though the defense appears to be pretty good.

16. Georgia Tech (5-0, 2-0 ACC)

BEST WIN: 24-21 vs. Clemson
LAST WEEK: 16th

If you’re wondering why Georgia Tech is above LSU when they both have the same “best win” and LSU’s is away from home, check the record. Georgia Tech had to survive against Wake Forest, but winning means you never have to apologize. The Yellow Jackets are unbeaten. The Tigers aren’t.

15. Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC)

BEST WIN: 41-34 at Mississippi State
LAST WEEK: 19th

The Vols got outplayed in Starkville, but they won in overtime. Road wins in the SEC all matter in my book, regardless of the perception of the opponent. And good teams win when they don’t have their best stuff. Tennessee did that.

14. Iowa State (5-0, 2-0 Big 12)

BEST WIN: 39-14 vs. Arizona
LAST WEEK: 14th

The Cyclones had not been pretty until Week 5, when they thrashed a previously unbeaten Arizona team that looked pretty good in some of the predictive models. Iowa State played in Dublin in Week 0, played a traditional FCS power in Week 1, played Iowa in Week 2, and then went to Arkansas in Week 3. The Week 4 bye week was much-needed. Iowa State came out of it looking refreshed, and Arizona suffered as a result. The offensive performance still had some warts, but the defense stuffed Arizona all day. This has been a rugged start for ISU, and the ‘Clones have navigated it without stumbling.

13. Texas Tech (4-0, 1-0 Big 12)

BEST WIN: 34-10 at Utah
LAST WEEK: 13th

The Red Raiders were on a bye.

12. Florida State (3-1, 0-1 ACC)

BEST WIN: 31-17 vs. Alabama
LAST WEEK: 4th

Virginia announced itself as a team to be taken seriously by beating Florida State in Charlottesville. So, Florida State drops because of the defeat, but it doesn’t flop the way it did in the AP Poll because the win over Alabama got better.

11. Georgia (3-1, 1-1 SEC)

BEST WIN: 44-41 at Tennessee
LAST WEEK: 2nd

The Bulldogs lost at home to Alabama. The same logic used on Florida State applies here. The win over Tennessee got better. The loss carries weight, but not enough to send Georgia tumbling down the board.

10. Mizzou (5-0, 1-0 SEC)

BEST WIN: 42-31 vs. Kansas
LAST WEEK: 10th

Mizzou handled UMass, though not quite as thoroughly as I thought it would. I kept Mizzou at 10 and jumped Indiana over it for reasons I’ll explain below.

9. Indiana (5-0, 2-0 B1G)

BEST WIN: 63-10 vs. Illinois
LAST WEEK: 11th

Though Indiana’s “best win” didn’t change, the Hoosiers now have something the Tigers don’t: a road win. Throughout his career, Kirk Ferentz has been deadly as an underdog at Iowa and the Hawkeyes have been pesky as a home dog. Winning in Iowa City is always going to be tough.

8. Alabama (3-1, 1-0 SEC)

BEST WIN: 24-21 at Georgia
LAST WEEK: 23rd

I don’t think the loss to Florida State looks “worse” because Florida State lost. Virginia is a quality opponent. (I hate the terminology I’m using to describe the Cavaliers as much as you do.) Winning in Athens is darn near impossible. A 24-21 win over Georgia between the hedges gave Alabama the first win by a visitor at Sanford Stadium in 6 years. Give credit where credit is due.

7. Vanderbilt (5-0, 1-0 SEC)

BEST WIN: 31-7 at South Carolina
LAST WEEK: 9th

Folks, Vanderbilt is legitimately good. Might even be great. A 5-0 Vandy team ranking 16th in the AP Poll, while a 1-loss Penn State team ranks seventh, is the perfect example of brand bias and priors influencing perception. Vandy is 11th in SP+. Per Game on Paper’s adjusted net EPA-per-play metric, Vandy is the fourth-best team in college football. (Penn State ranks 17th, by the way.) Vandy has 2 road wins over power conference opponents and it has obliterated the 3 other out-of-conference teams it has played.

6. Texas A&M (4-0, 1-0 SEC)

BEST WIN: 41-40 at Notre Dame
LAST WEEK: 7th

The win over Notre Dame got better. The 16-10 win over Auburn featured a strong defensive showing. A&M currently has the best “strength of record,” according to ESPN’s FPI. I know FPI has its (many) problems, but it’s a tool. And, in this case, it is in agreement with a power rating model I actually like. Texas A&M is No. 1 in Kelley Ford’s “most deserving” rating as well.

5. Ohio State (4-0, 1-0 B1G)

BEST WIN: 14-7 vs. Texas
LAST WEEK: 6th

The Buckeyes went on the road and completely shut down Washington’s offense, which has been led this season by a dynamic quarterback many like. The Buckeyes have yet to give up more than 9 points in a game this season.

4. Oklahoma (4-0, 1-0 SEC)

BEST WIN: 24-13 vs. Michigan
LAST WEEK: 5th

Oklahoma was on a bye week in Week 5. We’ll see how the Sooners look without John Mateer against Kent State.

3. Ole Miss (5-0, 3-0 SEC)

BEST WIN: 24-19 vs. LSU
LAST WEEK: 8th

Even though I’m an LSU skeptic, Ole Miss soars up the board for me because of the totality of its record. The Rebels have already played 3 SEC games, 1 of them on the road. They mauled an overmatched Georgia State team in Week 1 and obliterated a pretty decent Tulane team in Week 4. The win over LSU is the cherry on top of a hearty sundae to open the season.

2. Miami (4-0)

BEST WIN: 27-24 vs. Notre Dame
LAST WEEK: 1st

Miami was on a bye week, but the Hurricanes get bumped out of the top spot. I’ll explain why below.

1. Oregon (5-0, 2-0 B1G)

BEST WIN: 30-24 at Penn State
LAST WEEK: 3rd

I don’t think any other résumé compares right now. Oregon has a comprehensive dismantling of another power conference opponent, and now it has a road win in one of the most difficult environments in all of college football. Penn State isn’t ranked here, but that doesn’t diminish the win in my book because of the location, the hype, and the stakes. That victory, in combination with the win over Oklahoma State, is more impressive to me than home wins over Notre Dame and South Florida. The Ducks are up to No. 1 in SP+, and they’re No. 2 in adjusted net EPA per play.