- Penn State dropped to No. 45 following a 42-37 loss to previously winless UCLA.
- Texas is now ranked No. 33, and Florida State sits at No. 35 after their respective defeats.
- Virginia and Cincinnati made notable jumps in the rankings after significant wins.
You’ll have to keep scrolling down the USA TODAY Sports NCAA Re-Rank 1-136, past the top 10, the top 25, even the top 30, before bumping into preseason favorites Texas, Florida State and Penn State.
The former contenders turned two-loss disappointments are well off the pace set by the top teams in the Bowl Subdivision. The Longhorns and Nittany Lions in particular are miles away from lofty preseason expectations of returning to the College Football Playoff and winning the national championship.
Texas is down to No. 33 after losing 29-21 to Florida. The Longhorns managed just 52 rushing yards and were stung by two Arch Manning interceptions. Florida State drops to No. 35 after losing 28-22 to Miami.
Penn State plummets to No. 45 after falling behind 27-7 at halftime to previously winless UCLA and eventually losing 42-37. The Nittany Lions allowed 280 rushing yards and had no answer for Nico Iamaleava, who had one of the best games of his career with 294 yards of total offense and five total touchdowns.
Looking at the team’s overall résumé, Penn State has a competitive loss to Oregon, the horrendous loss to the Bruins and three totally meaningless wins against Nevada, Villanova and Florida International. And the Nittany Lions didn’t play well in those wins, either, making the No. 45 ranking an accurate reflection of what they’ve achieved and how they’ve looked through five games.
Penn State now comes in behind nine other Big Ten teams: No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 7 Indiana, No. 14 Illinois, No. 20 Michigan, No. 26 Southern California, No. 28 Washington, No. 31 Nebraska and No. 40 Iowa.
In more positive news, No. 19 Virginia imrpoved16 spots after beating Louisville in overtime and No. 24 Cincinnati went up 18 spots after handing Iowa State its first loss. The 4-1 Bearcats are looking like one of the best teams in the Big 12.