2024 college football rankings: Joel Klatt's top 10 teams after Week 5

What a weekend it was in college football.

There were thrilling finishes on both Friday and Saturday. Colorado made a major statement in its win over UCF, possibly throwing a wrench in the Big 12 race. Some things are starting to shake out with the Big Ten race as well. We have a better sense of who Michigan is and its slim margin for error, while USC picked up an impressive win over Wisconsin. You can catch all my thoughts on those things in the latest episode of my podcast, "The Joel Klatt Show."

But the Georgia-Alabama game was spectacular. That game, along with the rest of the exciting slate, has me so amped up that I had to wear my Rose Bowl hat while recording my podcast for the first time this season. 

Before we get into my top 10, I just want to hit on why that Georgia-Alabama game was so awesome. There were so many emotions and storylines behind it, with an incredible atmosphere at Bryant-Denny Stadium serving as the backdrop. The game also wasn't being lost as much as it was being won. We gravitate toward the games where the plays are being made as opposed to the ones where plays aren't being made. We saw what each team was made of because of that. 

The stars in that game really rose to the occasion. That's one of the big elements of a great game, and we got that on Saturday. We also saw two teams that could win a national title but could also lose on any Saturday — within reason.

Even with great teams in college football, you have high highs and low lows. We saw both of those from each team in the same game. We don't see that happen often. But we saw that each team could either win out or lose multiple games for the remainder of the season, and that's great for the sport. 

That said, let's get to my top 10. 

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