Paul Finebaum ranks Top 4 teams following Week 5 action

It’s a two-league race right now.

That’s the case if you ask SEC Network host Paul Finebaum. Every Sunday, he provides the college football world with his Top 4 teams, giving us a preliminary look at what the College Football Playoff field might look like if the season ended today.

Right now, Finebaum has two teams from the SEC and two from the B1G in the 4-team picture. Alabama and Georgia are currently sitting at the top while Iowa and Penn State are in the next two spots.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide: “Guess who? Alabama. The score is deceiving. This was a 42-7 game, and nobody saw that coming. Everyone thought this would be 61-58. Alabama’s defense really showed up, and so did their offense.”
2. Georgia Bulldogs: “At No. 2 — and you can quibble all you want, but Georgia remains No. 2. They were fantastic against Arkansas. They out-physical-ed one of the most physical teams I’ve seen all year, but the Dawgs remain No. 2, and they’re knocking at the door of Alabama.”
3. Iowa Hawkeyes: “Iowa was fantastic Friday night. They absolutely shut down an ascending Maryland team. Next week will take care of one of those (against Penn State) at least for a while.”
4. Penn State Nittany Lions: “I start with Penn State. They did what they had to do last night. Now, they have a big one coming up in just 7 days against Iowa. Penn State is ready for that game. They’ve beaten Auburn, and they are ready to head to Iowa.”

Finebaum also included Cincinnati as a team to “file away” following an impressive road win against Notre Dame. The Bearcats would be the first Group of 5 team to crack the 4-team field.

“It’s the team that everyone will be talking about this week. That’s Cincinnati,” Finebaum said. “They’ve been fantastic. Indiana a couple weeks ago; They went to Notre Dame. And if you’re an old-time football fan, this looks really great. They were up 17-0 at halftime. They shut down the Irish. But that was yesterday.”

We’ll see how much this changes following Week 6.