College Football Rankings Week 4: Now We Know Who These Teams Are
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After a little over three weeks, we have a general sense of just how good most of the 138 college football teams are. We can see a pattern with some (UCLA, Mississippi State, and Alabama), while others (Ohio State, LSU, Louisville) might have a loss, but whatever – we’ve got it.
And then there’s Indiana. Of course we’ll give the defending national champs the benefit of several doubts, but Alabama roasted the Kentucky team that just beat Texas A&M. Indiana has beaten North Texas, Howard, and Western Kentucky.
Everyone fell all over themselves to love Miami after beating Stanford and Florida A&M, and what happened when it faced Wake Forest? It had to work.
So for now, a quarter of the way into the season, here’s our always-fluid call on who the 25 best teams in college football are.
CFN Week 4 Top 25 Teams: Who Has Actually Proven It?
25. UCLA Bruins
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 24
Week 3: UCLA 52, Purdue 38
Up Next: at Maryland
The defense has two tons of work to do, but that’s head coach Bob Chesney’s forte – that will get tweaked. For now, this Bruin bunch is running the ball as well as anyone in America.
24. Texas A&M Aggies
Record: (2-1)
Last Week Rank: 10
Week 3: Kentucky 31, Texas A&M 21
Up Next: at LSU
This is a great team that did a wonderful job rolling Arizona State two weeks ago, so we’ll give a little bit of leeway for the rough day against Kentucky. No big deal, Aggies, just win at LSU next week to prove you’re top 25-worthy.
23. Washington Huskies
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 29
Week 3: Washington 48, Eastern Washington 16
Up Next: Minnesota
This is about the kindest ranking we have in the top 25. This is a super-talented team that has yet to find its groove. It’s coming, but beating Minnesota handily at home next week would make us feel better.
22. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 25
Week 3: Texas Tech 28, Houston 26
Up Next: Sam Houston
The win over Houston was more plucky than sensational, and that’s not necessarily a knock. This isn’t last year’s team, but it has a whole lot of heart, toughness, and a super-light Big 12 schedule. This will be one of the nation’s toughest teams to evaluate the rest of the way.
21. Oklahoma Sooners
Record: (2-1)
Last Week Rank: 17
Week 3: Oklahoma 14, New Mexico 6
Up Next: at Georgia
Do not get into a twist over only beating New Mexico 14-6. Have a problem with all the turnovers and the offense that can’t seem to find its way, but that’s a landmine of a Lobo team the Sooners just sidestepped.
20. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 22
Week 3: Mississippi State 41, South Carolina 34
Up Next: Missouri
Not only do we have to reevaluate just how good Mississippi State is after its fantastic win at South Carolina, but we might also need to give more credit to Minnesota after what appeared at the time to be a horrendous home clunker to the Bulldogs.
19. Michigan Wolverines
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 16
Week 3: Michigan 52, UTEP 17
Up Next: Iowa
Yeah, yeah, yeah, so the Western Michigan replay protocol problem has the college football world shaking their collective fists at clouds, but the Wolverines really do have a perception problem. Stack a win over Iowa next week on top of the victory over Oklahoma, and the resume will look undeniably strong.
18. BYU Cougars
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 15
Week 3: BYU 41, Colorado State 23
Up Next: OPEN DATE
Very, very, very quietly, BYU just beat Arizona and sidestepped a hornet’s nest of a road game at Colorado State over the last two weeks. Be prepared that if and when it beats TCU in two weeks and takes out Iowa State, this (possible) 5-0 team will be playing for a top three spot when Notre Dame comes to town.
17. Penn State Nittany Lions
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 18
Week 3: Penn State 54, Buffalo 10
Up Next: Wisconsin
The talent is there, and the Nittany Lions are doing what they’re supposed to against the Temples and Buffalos of the world; now look great against Wisconsin, and then at Northwestern.
16. Kansas State Wildcats
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 11
Week 3: Kansas State 31, Tulane 20
Up Next: at Cincinnati
Okay, so we got spooked a wee bit by a mediocre day against a blah Tulane team, but it was still a win, and the team appears to be working out the kinks. We’re not jumping off any bandwagons yet.
15. Kentucky Wildcats
Record: (2-1)
Last Week Rank: 36
Week 3: Kentucky 31, Texas A&M 21
Up Next: South Alabama
That loss at Alabama suddenly comes across as the cost of doing business this SEC season. The way the Wildcats rolled over Texas A&M in College Station totally made up for it. It would be a plus, though to crush South Alabama.
14. Florida Gators
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 19
Week 3: Florida 44, Auburn 39
Up Next: Ole Miss
The Florida Atlantic win is looking stronger and stronger by the week, and despite the 44-39 final score, that was one dominant performance on the road against a jacked-up Auburn team. There’s still plenty of work to do, but 162 points in three weeks is a lot, no matter what.
13. Louisville Cardinals
Record: (2-1)
Last Week Rank: 21
Week 3: Louisville 41, SMU 31
Up Next: Wake Forest
Don’t memory dump just how good and fun that opening weekend firefight was with Ole Miss. This appears to be Jeff Brohm’s best Cardinal team yet, doing a wonderful job of pushing past a good SMU.
12. Tennessee Volunteers
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 12
Week 3: Tennessee 42, Kennesaw State 9
Up Next: Texas
Beating Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State is hardly worthy of any sprinkles, but Tennessee is playing like it’s supposed to. The defense is good, and true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon is a burgeoning superstar who’ll only get better.
11. Utah Utes
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 14
Week 3: Utah 33, Utah State 0
Up Next: at Iowa State
The Utes are playing with a serious attitude. They know they’re good, but they were good last year, and that didn’t get them a lick of respect with the College Football Playoff committee. For all of Notre Dame’s “Leave No Doubt” stuff, that’s what Utah seems to be doing. It hasn’t been flawless so far, but it hasn’t been far off.
10. USC Trojans
Record: (4-0)
Last Week Rank: 7
Week 3: USC 42, Rutgers 35
Up Next: Oregon
Okay, so the defense is way-shaky, but it was the first road trip of the season, it was on the other side of the country, and a desperate Rutgers team threw everything, including the kitchen sink, at the Trojans. Whatever … Oregon is coming to town next week.
9. Miami Hurricanes
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 8
Week 3: Miami 33, Wake Forest 20
Up Next: Central Michigan
Wake Forest is good, it was a road trip, and not to get mystical or anything, but Friday night games tend to be strange – it’s like teams are thrown off their rhythm. It’ll be all about focus through a quirky-tough ACC run after this week’s layup against Central Michigan.
8. Indiana Hoosiers
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 5
Week 3: Indiana 38, Western Kentucky 0
Up Next: Northwestern
We all get the drill. Indiana plays someone obnoxiously mediocre, Curt Cignetti says something quirky about how his team will unapologetically beat the holy stuffing out of them, and then we move on. Northwestern, at Rutgers, at Nebraska – lather, rinse, repeat until Ohio State comes to town.
7. Alabama Crimson Tide
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 9
Week 3: Alabama 50, Florida State 36
Up Next: South Carolina
There’s a serious case to be made that this is the best team in college football right now, and to be totally honest, we should probably be going harder to the rim than we are with this ranking. It’s still a young team that’s just figuring it out, but when it puts its foot on the gas, it’s breathtaking. We’ll be able to see how fast this thing can go over a brutal next six games.
6. LSU Tigers
Record: (2-1)
Last Week Rank: 3
Week 3: Ole Miss 32, LSU 24
Up Next: Texas A&M
You think we’re jumping off the Lane Train now? Hardly. Ole Miss needed everything in the bag in an all-time grievance game to pull that off. It would be nice if quarterback Sam Leavitt were far, far sharper, but this has the look of a team that needs a bit more tuning, and then – uh oh. The Texas A&M game will be fascinating.
5. Ole Miss Rebels
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 13
Week 3: Ole Miss 32, LSU 24
Up Next: at Florida
The Rebels beat a great-looking Louisville and took down an LSU that might still win the national title if it gets its stuff together a bit faster. There are issues – the leaky secondary is going to be a problem – but if Trinidad Chambliss can pull off a win at Florida next week in what should be one of the season’s wildest shootouts, few will be able to match this team’s body of work.
4. Georgia Bulldogs
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 6
Week 3: Georgia 45, Arkansas 17
Up Next: Oklahoma
The Bulldogs have yet to play anyone with the faintest of pulses, but they look like a team about to rip through the season. Oklahoma had better find its offense on the ride to the stadium next week.
3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 4
Week 3: Notre Dame 27, Michigan State 10
Up Next: at Purdue
That was a nice win over Michigan State. The conditions were awful, Pat Fitzgerald’s bunch got physical, and just like it did against Wisconsin, the offensive line took over. It was a professional-caliber win by a phenomenally talented team.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
Record: (2-1)
Last Week Rank: 2
Week 3: Ohio State 59, Kent State 3
Up Next: Illinois
There you go, Ohio State. You got the Texas game out of your system. Now keep that offensive focus and explosion going week after week, and there will be confetti waiting to fall on you in Las Vegas in late January.
1. Texas Longhorns
Record: (3-0)
Last Week Rank: 1
Week 3: Texas 30, UTSA 6
Up Next: at Tennessee
Arch Manning needs to be more consistently accurate, but Cam Coleman is playing like the superstar receiver he is, the defense held up fine against a good UTSA team, and the Ohio State win will only look better and better as the year goes on.
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