When the AP Top 25 poll was released for the first time in the 2026 season, the preseason rankings were notable for how low the voters ranked Alabama coming into the season. The Crimson Tide checked in at No. 11 back in August, which was the lowest preseason AP poll appearance for the program since 2008. Now with five weeks of regular-season football in the books, the narrative has flipped, with Alabama now looking very much the part of a national title contender.
Kalen DeBoer will always be judged by how his program performs compared to his predecessor, and that preseason ranking (which was not only low at No. 11 but behind multiple conference rivals) was not the kind of status associated with the Crimson Tide. Well, after another offensive onslaught, this time against a tough Mississippi State team on the road in front of the cowbells, Alabama is poised to continue its climb through the rankings, and we are projecting the win vaults the Tide into the top five. That's not unusual territory for DeBoer's Alabama teams, which, for example, peaked at No. 4 last season, but it does represent a change in attitudes for whether this group is closer to the top or middle of the SEC pecking order.
With a highly anticipated showdown against Georgia on deck, Alabama will have a chance to truly make its argument on the field as the best team in the country in Week 6. Speaking of changing attitudes, Missouri was not even ranked by more than half of the AP Top 25 poll voters last week after a loss to Mississippi State. But after a blowout win against top-10 Florida, the Tigers are sure to be getting more respect from the voters and surging in the rankings.
They have a complicated resume with a loss to Mississippi State and a win against a Florida team that just beat Ole Miss, so look for those head-to-head edges to get washed out in the minds of some voters. The SEC's overpopulating the AP poll was a popular storyline with a target pointed at the likes of Missouri and Kentucky, but both teams just logged wins in Week 5 and will be tough to displace from the rankings. Here's how we think the new AP Top 25 poll will look on Sunday after the scores and results of Week 5 in college football: 1.
Texas (Last week — 1): The Longhorns were off in Week 5 and will be back in action against rival Oklahoma next Saturday. 2. Georgia (2): Though their ranking is not expected to change, the anticipation for next week's meeting with Alabama was only heightened after another dominant defensive performance in a 38-14 win against Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs are allowing just 14.7 points per game in SEC play through three games after bottling up Blaze Berlowitz, but the challenge changes when staring down Keelon Russell and the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa next weekend. 3.
Notre Dame (3): Rainy conditions in Chapel Hill forced the Fighting Irish to lean on their ground game in the second half, and the results were a continuation of the encouraging signs we've seen from the offense in recent weeks. Notre Dame rolled up a season-high 241 rushing yards on 45 attempts (5.4 per rush) while holding North Carolina to just 77 net rushing yards on the ground. This is the fifth straight game that Notre Dame has run for more yards than it did in the week prior, and suddenly the loss of two first-round running backs seems like less of an issue. 4.
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