Northwestern up one spot to No. 16 in Week 5 AP Poll

Northwestern has risen to No. 16 in the Week 5 AP Poll, equaling its highest ranking of the past decade. The Wildcats jumped one spot after grinding out a 24-19 win over Ball State on Saturday.

The last time Northwestern was ranked this high in the AP Poll was Week 5 of 2013, when they were No. 16 heading into a primetime matchup with Ohio State.

Northwestern, who was No. 17 in last week's poll, jumped ahead of both Oregon and Arizona, but was leapfrogged by Utah. The Ducks were blown out at home by the Utes 62-20, while Arizona succumbed to UCLA at home, 56-30.

If the Wildcats had risen to No. 15, the ranking would have been Northwestern's highest in the AP Poll since Week 5 of 2001, when the Wildcats were ranked 14th after beating Michigan State to go to 3-0.

Northwestern remained the third-highest ranked Big Ten team, after Ohio State and Michigan State. The Wildcats held steady ahead of Wisconsin, who also won on Saturday.

Northwestern also remained ahead of USC and Stanford.

Here is the middle portion of the poll:

The Week 5 Coaches Poll was released earlier Sunday, and Northwestern came in at No. 17.