Pool Poll Week 5: Back End Craziness Welcomes 5 New Teams

The top ten remained nearly the exact same while 11-25 saw some big shakeups. The real question is whether or not teams like Utah State (9-1) or UAB (9-1) will get any respect from the College Football Playoff Committee? Unlikely, but that's why I'm here to help remedy that situation. Next week offers two match-ups between Pool Poll Top 25 teams when Notre Dame and Syracuse head to Yankee Stadium and Cincinnati tries to end UCF's 22-game winning streak. Before we get into the full rankings, here's a breakdown of conference appearances, using something I call Conference Power Index (Number of teams in the Top 50 - Teams Ranked 100-130).

AAC: +1
Top 50 Teams: UCF, Cincinnati, USF, Houston, Temple
Bottom Tier: ECU, Navy, Tulsa, UConn

ACC: +5
Top 50: Clemson, Syracuse, Virginia, Duke, Boston College, NCST, Pitt
Bottom Tier: Louisville, North Carolina

Big 12: +3
Top 50: Oklahoma, West Virginia, Texas, Iowa State
Bottom Tier: Kansas

Big Ten: +4
Top 50: Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, Iowa, Northwestern
Bottom Tier: Nebraska, Rutgers

CUSA: 0
Top 50: UAB, North Texas, La Tech, Middle Tennessee St, FIU, Marshall
Bottom Tier: Charlotte, Old Dominion, UTSA, WKU, UTEP, Rice

Independents: 0
Top 50: Notre Dame, Army
Bottom Tier: UMass, New Mexico State

MAC: -2
Top 50: Buffalo, Northern Illinois
Bottom Tier: Ball State, Kent State, Bowling Green, CMU

Mountain West: 0
Top 50: Utah State, Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State
Bottom Tier: Colorado State, UNLV, New Mexico, San Jose State

PAC-12: +1
Top 50: Washington State, Washington, Utah
Bottom Tier: Oregon State, UCLA

SEC: +7
Top 50: Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Auburn, Texas A&M
Bottom Tier: Arkansas

Sun Belt: 0
Top 50: Troy, Appalachian State, Georgia Southern
Bottom Tier: Texas State, Georgia State, South Alabama

Top 25:
1.)Notre Dame (10-0, 53.5 WP, 0 LP)
Best Win: Michigan
Worst Loss: None
Last Week: 42-13 over Florida State
Last Week Rank: 1
Up Next: Syracuse (8-2, No. 20)

2.)Alabama (10-0, 56.5 WP, 0 LP)
Best Win: LSU
Worst Loss: Their Soul
Last Week: 24-0 over Mississippi State
LWR: 2
Up Next: The Citadel (FCS)...seriously. Must have mistaken them for the South Carolina team below.

3.)Clemson (10-0, 62.1 WP, 0 LP)
Best Win: Syracuse
Worst Loss: None, but they did clinch their spot in ACC Championship
Last Week: 27-7 over Boston College
LWR: 3
Up Next: Duke (7-3, No. 28)

4.)UCF (9-0, 87.2 WP, 0 LP)
Best Win: Pitt
Worst Loss: 22-straight wins
Last Week: 35-24 over Navy
LWR: 4
Up Next: Cincinnati (9-1, No. 11)

5.)Georgia (9-1, 56 WP, 13 LP)
Best Win: Florida
Worst Loss: LSU
Last Week: 27-10 over Auburn
LWR: 5
Up Next: UMass (4-7, No. 101) Have I mentioned I hate the way the SEC schedules?

6.)Ohio State (9-1, 60.7 WP, 68 LP)
Best Win: Penn State
Worst Loss: Purdue
Last Week: 26-6 over Michigan State
LWR: 6
Up Next: Maryland (5-5, No.73)

7.)Oklahoma (9-1, 66.2 WP, 19 LP)
Best Win: Iowa State
Worst Loss: Texas
Last Week: 48-47 over OKST
LWR: 7
Up Next: Kansas (3-7, No. 104)

8.)Washington State (9-1, 76 WP, 95 LP)
Best Win: Oregon
Worst Loss: USC
Last Week: 31-7 over Colorado
LWR: 9
Up Next: Arizona (5-5, No. 72)

9.)Michigan (9-1, 77.2 WP, 12 LP)
Best Win: Penn State
Worst Loss: Notre Dame
Last Week: 42-7 over Rutgers
LWR: 8
Up Next: Indiana (5-5, No. 74)

10.)UAB (9-1, 89.2 WP, 99 LP)
Best Win: North Texas
Worst Loss: Coastal Carolina
Last Week: 26-23 (OT) over Southern Miss
LWR: 10
Up Next: Texas A&M (6-4, No. 49)

11.)Cincinnati (9-1, 90.6 WP, 57 LP)
Best Win: USF
Worst Loss: Temple
Last Week: 35-23 over USF
LWR: 14
Up Next: UCF (9-0, No. 4)

12.)Utah State (9-1, 97.8 WP, 11 LP)
Best Win: BYU
Worst Loss: Michigan State
Last Week: 62-24 over San Jose State
LWR: 13
Up Next: Colorado State (3-7, No. 102)

13.)Buffalo (9-1, 98.6 WP, 67 LP)
Best Win: Temple
Worst Loss: Army
Last Week: 48-14 over Kent State
LWR: 14
Up Next: Ohio (6-4, No. 61)

14.)West Virginia (8-1, 73.8 WP, 88 LP)
Best Win: Texas
Worst Loss: Iowa State
Last Week: 47-10 over TCU
LWR: 15
Up Next: Oklahoma State (5-5, No. 70)

15.)LSU (8-2, 49.4 WP, 15.5 LP)
Best Win: Georgia
Worst Loss: Florida
Last Week: 24-17 over Arkansas
LWR: 16
Up Next: Rice (1-10, No. 129)

16.)Boise State (8-2, 67.9 WP, 40.5 LP)
Best Win: Fresno State
Worst Loss: San Diego State
Last Week: 24-17 over Fresno State
LWR: 19
Up Next: New Mexico (3-7, No. 108)

17.)Army (8-2, 74.9 WP, 32 LP)
Best Win: Buffalo
Worst Loss: Duke
Last Week: 31-13 over Lafayette (FCS)
LWR: 17
Up Next: Colgate (FCS)

18.)Troy (8-2, 80.4 WP, 50.5 LP)
Best Win: Nebraska
Worst Loss: Liberty
Last Week: 35-21 over Georgia Southern
LWR: 23
Up Next: Texas State (3-7, No. 110)

19.)Fresno State (8-2, 90.5 WP, 24 LP)
Best Win: UCLA
Worst Loss: Minnesota
Last Week: 24-17 loss to Boise State
LWR: 11
Up Next: San Diego State (7-3, No. 30)

20.)Syracuse (8-2, 91.9 WP, 54.5 LP)
Best Win: NCST
Worst Loss: Pitt
Last Week: 54-23 over Louisville
LWR: 22
Up Next: Notre Dame (10-0, No. 1)

21.)Appalachian State (7-2, 89.9 WP, 14 LP)
Best Win: Arkansas State
Worst Less: Georgia Southern
Last Week: 38-7 over Texas State
LWR: 29
Up Next: Georgia State (2-8, No. 116)

22.)Texas (7-3, 57.7 WP, 54.7 LP)
Best Win: Oklahoma
Worst Loss: Maryland
Last Week: 41-34 over Texas Tech
LWR: 32
Up Next: Iowa State (6-3, No. 40)

23.)Washington (7-3, 62.4 WP, 37.3 LP)
Best Win: Utah
Worst Loss: Cal
Last Week: Bye
LWR: 30
Up Next: Oregon State (2-8, No. 114)

24.)Penn State (7-3, 67.1 WP, 26 LP)
Best Win: Iowa
Worst Loss: Michigan State
Last Week: 22-10 over Wisconsin
LWR: 34
Up Next: Rutgers (1-9, No. 126)

25.)Florida (7-3, 69.9 WP, 38.7 LP)
Best Win: LSU
Worst Loss: Missouri
Last Week: 35-31 over South Carolina
LWR: 39
Up Next: Idaho (FCS)...their second FCS game this year, although the Vandals were an FBS school up until last season.

Dropped Out: Kentucky, Boston College, San Diego State, Georgia Southern, North Texas
First Five Out: Virginia, Kentucky, Duke, Utah, San Diego State