AP Top 25 poll: Alabama leaps Indiana, sits just outside top five ahead of pivotal SEC clash with Georgia

Alabama moved up just one spot off a historic SEC win to just outside the top five ahead of a huge game against Georgia at home next weekend.

Alabama moved from No. 7 to No. 6 in the poll after beating then-No. 16 Mississippi State 56-23. It was the most points a ranked home team had given up during a regulation game in SEC history. Alabama jumped undefeated Indiana which fell to No. 7. The loss dropped the Bulldogs one spot to No. 17.

Alabama gets No. 2 Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. The Crimson Tide have won the last two regular-season games against Georgia, although it lost the SEC Championship Game to the Bulldogs last year. 

Other notable moves included Florida dropping from No. 8 to No. 16 after a 45-17 loss to Missouri. Conversely, the Tigers jumped up 11 spots to No. 14 from No. 25. Iowa dropped six spots to No. 20 after losing 31-14 to No. 6 Ohio State. 

The lone new entry to the top 25 club is Pittsburgh after a 5-0 start and a win Friday night over Virginia Tech. Despite winning in overtime over South Carolina, Kentucky fell out of the top 25. 

Week 5 AP Top 25 poll 

1. Texas
2. Georgia 
3. Notre Dame 
4. Miami
5. Ohio State
6. Alabama
7. Indiana
8. BYU
9. Ole Miss
10.  LSU
11. Texas Tech
12.  Utah
13.  Oregon
14.  Missouri 
15.  Tennessee
16.  Florida
17.  Mississippi State 
18.  Oklahoma State
19.  USC
20.  Iowa
21.  UCLA
22.  Houston
23.  Boise State 
24.  SMU
25.  Pittsburgh 

Kentucky 160, Wake Forest 142, Wisconsin 88, Duke 83, Northwestern 59, Nebraska 48, Minnesota 19, Arizona 19, James Madison 12, North Dakota State 7

Surprise Bama doesn't sneak into top 5

After dominating Mississippi State, I expected to see Alabama in the top five and had to hurriedly rewrite the lead to my story when it wasn't. It's a bit surprising that the Tide hasn't found its way into the top five yet. Texas being above Alabama makes sense. The Longhorns, after all, have two of the best wins of the season over Ohio State and Tennessee. 

But Notre Dame struggled with a not-great North Carolina team before finally pulling away. The Fighting Irish have zero top-25 wins. Why is Notre Dame automatically ranked above a fellow undefeated team with better wins? 

You can easily make arguments over Ohio State (undefeated versus one-loss) and Miami (weak schedule), too. There's admittedly not a huge difference between being No. 6 and No. 5. But given the resume, Alabama should be in the top 5.