Roth's Power Rankings: Week 5

1. North Dakota State
Road win over a UNI team fighting for its life, and by a greater margin than YSU got over the Panthers in Ohio. Hard to find a more balanced offense, let alone another that is complemented by arguably the best defense in the country.

2. Youngstown State
The 'Guins have a bye week to prepare for a nasty game at NDSU this weekend. Will that be enough to give YSU a second-straight win in the Fargodome?

3. Illinois State
The Redbirds survived a scare in South Dakota but are still looking like a likely candidate for a playoff berth. How well the defense can give Matt Brown and company some breathing room will be the determining factor as they enter the thick part of conference play.

4. Northern Iowa
UNI gets this spot purely because I think guys like Varmah Sonie will be playing angry the rest of the season, and still plenty of talent on the Panthers despite the 1-4 record. Effectively eliminated from playoff contention, will the Panthers phone it in or play for pride and try to upset the apple cart as they emerge from a brutal first two Valley games?

5. South Dakota State
The Jacks are in over the Sycamores by virtue of the head-to-head win, but the Jacks were underwhelming against Missouri State. They desperately need Austin Sumner to start producing if they expect to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.

6. Indiana State
Convincing win over Southern Illinois in Carbondale, where the Salukis just don't lose. Another performance like that and I'll be willing to overlook the Jacks' win over ISU.

7. South Dakota
Respectable performance against Illinois State, but the defense just couldn't keep up. If the offense can continue that kind of production the 'Yotes could surprise some people.

8. Southern Illinois
Tough home loss to Indiana State and Dale Lennon has to be on the ropes at this point as a 14-6 win over Missouri State two weeks ago just isn't enough to salvage some pride. Still face the meat of their conference schedule with games at Illinois State, Youngstown State and North Dakota State yet this season.

9. Western Illinois
Six total points scored in the last three weeks (@ Iowa St., @ Illinois St., BYE) and a two-week road trip to USD and SDSU coming up. The 'Necks could be 0-3 to start conference play.

10. Missouri State
At least their stadium renovation plans look promising.

Disclaimer: Roth's Power Rankings are at his own discretion and whim and are not governed by any formulae or mathematics. Pretty much all gut feeling.