The AP poll has Alabama at No. 10 and Tennessee at No. 16. Both teams are 6-2. Tennessee beat Alabama 26-10. Make it make sense.
So we are changing how we do the Five and a Fade Top 10. From now on it is résumé over reputation, the way Clay Travis does it: who you beat matters more than where you started.
The rules
- Best wins count most. Beat somebody good and you move up, even in September. Then you play your way down.
- Preseason hype has expired. It is late October. No good wins, no top 10.
- Same record? Head-to-head decides it.
- Bad losses cost more than close losses to good teams.
The new Five and a Fade Top 10
10. Florida (5-2). Beat Texas and Ole Miss, two ranked teams. The 45-17 loss at the hands of Missouri is why they are 10th and not higher.
9. Tennessee (6-2). Beat Alabama 26-10. Same record as Alabama. Head-to-head puts the Vols ahead. The losses: by 3 to Texas, and to South Carolina.
8. UCLA (7-0). Unbeaten, with wins over Wisconsin and Oregon.
7. Utah (7-0). Unbeaten, with a win over No. 18 Houston. Want to climb? Beat somebody else good.
6. Indiana (7-1). Beat No. 20 Northwestern. The only loss was 19-15 to Ohio State.
5. Georgia (6-1). Beat Alabama 20-17. The loss to 4-3 Auburn keeps the Dawgs out of the top 3.
4. Texas (5-2). Two losses, but the best wins in the country: Ohio State, Ole Miss and Tennessee.
3. BYU (6-1). Two ranked wins: No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 22 Arizona.
2. Ohio State (6-1). Beat No. 4 Indiana. The only loss was 24-23 to Texas.
1. Miami (7-0). Unbeaten, with a win over No. 14 Wake Forest. Nobody has beaten them yet.
Left out
Notre Dame (6-1), AP No. 5. The best win is Wisconsin, and the Irish lost to BYU. Who have they beaten?
Alabama (6-2), AP No. 10. Same record as Tennessee, and lost to Tennessee by 16. That settles it.
Kentucky (7-1), AP No. 9. Lost to Alabama 45-17. The best win is LSU, by one point.
Faders, who’s too high? Tell us on X @fiveandafade or on Instagram.
Records and AP rankings: ESPN, through games of Oct. 25.
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Jeremy Durham is a sports columnist for TriStar Daily and the founder of Five and a Fade.
