Who's trending up and trending down ahead of CFB Week 5

Florida State

What a turnaround for the No. 8 Seminoles (3-0). An opening-season win over then-No. 8 Alabama wasn't a mirage. Quarterback Tommy Castellanos and FSU's offense has been explosive. The Seminoles rank first in the nation at 628.7 yards per game, and second overall in yards per play at 8.9.

With Clemson and Florida floundering, the Oct. 4 showdown against No. 2 Miami is Florida State's last game against a currently-ranked team.

Vanderbilt

The No. 18 Commodores (4-0) keep ascending under head coach Clark Lea. It's at the point where we now question Vandy if it doesn't win by enough or looks sluggish. How things change.

The Commodores make it pretty simple: they score a lot (47.5 per game — eighth in NCAA) and don't give up much (12.8 points allowed per game — 19th in NCAA). How high can they go? It's going to be telling Oct. 4-Nov. 1 when Vandy faces four ranked teams in a row.

Trending down

South Carolina

LaNorris Sellers is a gem, but not much else has gone right for South Carolina (2-2). The rushing defense is awful, allowing 152 yards per game (80th in NCAA), and the Gamecocks are 0-2 in the SEC before reaching the truly difficult stretch of their schedule. Things could turn around, but right now it's looking like a potential disaster in the making.

Florida

Hope abounded for the Gators (1-3) after a solid finish to 2024. It's gone now. It's a matter if when, not if, Billy Napier is fired. The loss to South Florida was a microcosm of the Napier era — sloppy play and silly mistakes. 

Leading by one with 2:52 remaining, the Gators went three-and-out in just 27 seconds. After a punt pinned the Bulls at their 11-yard line, Florida picked up pass interference and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties to help USF set up a game-winning field goal. Losses to in-state rivals Miami or Florida State? Bad news. A loss to South Florida? Catastrophic. The schedule is difficult and another season seems lost in Gainesville.

Wisconsin

Things are not good in Madison. The Badgers (2-2) were smoked by Alabama and handled by Maryland. Even a 17-0 season-opening win over Miami (OH) was listless.

Luke Fickell seemed like a slam dunk hire after his success at Cincinnati, but he is firmly on the hot seat at this point. For years, the running game was Wisconsin's calling card, but the Badgers rank 109th in the nation (117.8 yards per game). It's led to a stagnant offense that also ranks 109th in the nation at just 20.8 points per game.