The AP Top 25 college football rankings were always going to get a major facelift in Week 4. With six matchups between ranked teams on the slate for Saturday -- not including Florida State visiting Clemson -- upsets, chaos, and one of the best days of the 2023 season was always in order.
Upsets and surprises may not have been in high order, but there was still a ton of drama. And nothing was more dramatic than No. 6 Ohio State toppling No. 9 Notre Dame at the buzzer after looking dead in the water. Take that, Lou Holtz. Then, of course, Florida State and Clemson went to overtime before the Seminoles prevailed to avoid the upset.
Of course, there wasn't drama everywhere. Deion Sanders and Colorado had their hype train thrown off the rails in Eugene by Oregon in a bloodbath. Meanwhile, Iowa looked like a joke when matched up with Penn State in Happy Valley.
But that's just a taste of the wild Saturday that's now in the books for college football. So let's see where that leaves us as we dive into our projected AP Top 25 college football rankings for the Week 5 poll.
Dropped out of Top 25 rankings: Colorado (19), UCLA (22), Iowa (24)
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 4: No. 25-21
25. Kentucky Wildcats
Point blank, I'm not entirely sure how good Kentucky is with Devin Leary now helming the offense under returning OC Liam Coen. They're 4-0 but the win at Vanderbilt in Week 4 was probably the most impressive to this point, which says a lot. Having said that, the Wildcats have double-digit victories in every game to this point, and with their SEC pedigree, that will likely put them inside the Top 25.
24. Kansas Jayhawks
Put some respect on Kansas' name! They opened Big 12 play on Saturday as they welcomed conference newcomer BYU to Lawrence. Jalon Daniels makes this Jayhawks offense so exceptionally dangerous, but the Kansas defense caused a ton of problems for Kedon Slovis and the Cougars in the 38-27 win for the Jayhawks. Now at 4-0, they're getting enough buzz to crack the rankings.
23. Missouri Tigers
After upending Kansas State last week, Missouri should've been ranked. In Week 5, there will be no excuse. The Tigers moved to 4-0 on the season with a hard-fought win over Memphis. It was a shocking test for the Mizzou defense but, more importantly, another great effort from Brady Cook and an offense that was highly questioned coming into the year. If they keep on this trajectory, they could be a spoiler in conference play.
22. Florida Gators
The hope for Florida in a likely letdown effort after last week's upset of Tennessee was that they would simply outclass and out-talent Charlotte. Ostensibly, they did, but only doing so to the tune of a 22-7 win in The Swamp isn't all that impressive. Florida actually played better than that final score would indicate, and after the emotion of last week, getting the win was the most important part and they accomplished that.
21. Tennessee Volunteers
At the end of the day, Tennessee walks out of Neyland Stadium with a 45-14 win over UTSA, albeit a shell of the Roadrunners that we've seen in recent years. Having said that, the Vols still look lesser than the team we saw in 2022. You have to believe that Joe Milton remains a part of that as the passing offense has still not looked nearly as potent as it should with him at the helm.
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 4: No. 20-16
20. Oregon State Beavers
Another loser in Week 4 that we're not going to penalize but so much. Oregon State found itself in a game script it didn't want to be and trailing 35-14 on the road going into the fourth quarter. But DJ Uiagalelei and the Beavers fought back to make it a three-point game, just running out of time in the end. Jonathan Smith's team isn't going away, though, and they'll surely cause some chaos in the Pac-12 down the line.
19. Ole Miss Rebels
Some people are probably going to call for Ole Miss to drop out of the Top 25 – I'm not even seeing them falling out of the Top 20. Yes, the Rebels got dominated in the second half against Alabama. Even with that, however, Lane Kiffin's team was still not out of reach until the final minutes. This is still a much-improved Ole Miss team that is going to cause more problems in the SEC moving forward.
18. Miami Hurricanes
Playing on the road at Temple, Miami wasn't going to be in much danger given another down year for the Owls. Having said that, the Hurricanes looked strong in the ways they should. Henry Parrish Jr. ran amok with 139 yards and two scores while Tyler Van Dyke added three touchdown throws to his season-long tally. The defense dominated as they should've and the hype continues to slowly grow for The U.
17. Duke Blue Devils
We might as well just accept that Duke isn't going to be winning games in a pretty fashion. Mike Elko probably wants it that way and, even against a clearly inferior UConn team, the Blue Devils weren't turning on the afterburners. In the end, it was a decisive 41-7 victory but Duke definitely doesn't look like a team that's going to be piling up style points any time soon for those who watch the games.
16. Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma has never been shy about running up the score on opponents, as we've already seen this season, which is why you have to be at least slightly concerned about a 20-6 win over Cincinnati on the road. The Bearcats aren't what they have been and the Sooners were far from crisp in their overall execution. A win is a win, but they stay put at No. 16 after failing to move the needle.
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 4: No. 15-11
15. North Carolina Tar Heels
Playing at Pitt has often been a problem spot for UNC, but Drake Maye and the Tar Heels made a big statement on the road to move to 4-0 on the season. Maye accounted for three touchdowns (one passing, two rushing) but the North Carolina defense really stepped up after a shaky start, forcing two turnovers and pushing UNC to a big ACC victory.
14. LSU Tigers
Through four games, if someone tells you they have a good read on this LSU team, they are absolutely lying. Playing at home against a seemingly struggling Arkansas team in Week 4, LSU found itself fighting for its life late in the game. The Tigers ultimately kicked the game-winning field goal with five seconds left for a 34-31 win, but it's anything but confidence-inspiring given what we'd seen from the Razorbacks to this point.
13. Washington State Cougars
It's time to stop underrating Washington State. They moved into the Top 25 with a pretty dominant win over Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago, but Saturday night in Pullman was even bigger. In a matchup of contrasting styles against Oregon State, Wazzu built a big lead and then was able to hold on at home for the win. Now 4-0 with two ranked wins, the Cougars should be making a big jump up in the rankings.
12. Alabama Crimson Tide
After weeks of eulogizing the Alabama Crimson Tide, it seems fitting that the boisterous Lane Kiffin would be the victim of a pseudo-get-right game. Jalen Milroe took back over as the starter and wasn't perfect. The same is true of Bama's O-line. But the Tide's defense dominated this game, especially in the second half, which made life easier for Milroe and the offense. It was a needed confidence booster for Alabama and a good ranked win.
11. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
In no world should it be a long drop in the college football rankings for Notre Dame. They had the win all but locked up until Ohio State put together an improbable two-minute drive that featured the game-winning touchdown with just one second remaining on the clock. The Irish still proved they can hang with a legitimate playoff contender, though, and this team is going to be tough against quite literally everyone on its schedule.
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 4: No. 10-9
10. Utah Utes
Everyone expected Saturday to mark the return of Cam Rising, but it was Nate Johnson at Utah's QB1 once again, this time with a surging UCLA team coming to Rice-Eccles. But it was the Utes defense that really starred in this game, stopping the early-career run of Dante Moore in its tracks.
Utah's offense managed just 14 points, but that was enough in the low-scoring affair to keep the team undefeated despite still not having a game from their starting quarterback. If that's what they're capable of without a legitimately reliable passing attack, it's going to be hard to see the Utes being overwhelmed by any team, even in a Pac-12 that looks deeper with each passing week.
9. Oregon Ducks
Considering how handily Dan Lanning laid a beating on Colorado on Saturday, there are going to be some arguments from fans that say the Ducks should move up substantially. In these projections (and perhaps in hopes that logic prevails), however, they move up just one spot to No. 9.
At the end of the day, what we witnessed was a legitimate Top 10 team in Oregon playing at home against a Colorado team that was not only overhyped because of its 3-0 start but that was also playing without its best player on both sides of the ball, Travis Hunter. When that's the case, a bloodbath is always in play.
Bo Nix made it look easy in this game against a hapless Colorado defense. That, however, was expected. What was more impressive was the Ducks defense completely stifling Shedeur Sanders and Co. in the 42-6 win. That was a concern for Oregon coming into this game and they answered the call on the big stage.
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 4: No. 8-7
8. Washington Huskies (Playing against Cal)
One of two games that is just starting as our projected college football rankings come out, Washington is welcoming the Cal Golden Bears to town in Week 4. Frankly, that doesn't sound like it's going to turn out too well for the visiting Pac-12 foes as the Huskies have been an absolute death machine to this point in the 3-0 start for Kalen DeBoer's team.
Michael Penix Jr. has already thrown for 1,332 yards with 12 touchdowns and one interception, which is made even easier for the potential first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft when he has one of the best group of pass-catchers in the country. Washington hasn't scored under 40 in a game yet and just held Michigan State to seven points in East Lansing last week. It might be time we start talking about this team as a legit College Football Playoff dark horse.
7. Penn State Nittany Lions
Of the ranked-on-ranked matchups in Week 4, perhaps the least talked-about this side of Utah-UCLA was Penn State hosting their annual White Out in Happy Valley against No. 24-ranked Iowa. A lot of that is probably due to the overwhelming (and deserved) doubts about the Hawkeyes. However, James Franklin's team went out and dominated the way a Top 10 team and CFP contender should in that type of matchup.
Iowa's offense, as it often finds itself, was in hell against this Penn State defensive front on Saturday night. Admittedly, it took Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions offense until the second half of the game to really get cooking. Once they did, however, it was completely lights out for the Hawkeyes as they couldn't do anything. Allar took a big step forward by the eye test too, which bodes well for this Penn State team moving forward.
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 4: No. 6-5
6. USC Trojans (Playing against Arizona State)
These initial Top 25 rankings are coming out before the USC game has concluded – or really before it's even started. Having said that, this shouldn't be much of an issue for the Trojans, even on the road in Tempe. Arizona State is basically letting anyone with eligibility and a pulse onto the field with their combination of injuries and roster turnover in the post-Herm era. So going up against Caleb Williams isn't something they're particularly equipped to handle.
Having said that, the questions about USC as a whole remain. We know without hesitancy that Williams and Lincoln Riley's offense are going to put a big number on the scoreboard. The question, just like last season, is always going to be if Alex Grinch's defense has improved enough to keep opponents from also putting up a big number. There have been moderate signs lately, but it's still a concern until proven otherwise against top-tier competition.
5. Ohio State Buckeyes
Full disclosure, I'd already prepared to move Ohio State to No. 10 in the rankings and talk about the Buckeyes' need to be perfect if they were going to rebound from losing to Notre Dame. Then came a questionable Irish play-call with about two minutes remaining, followed by a clutch drive from Kyle McCord and the offense to punch in the game-winning Chip Trayanum touchdown with only a second left on the clock.
Ohio State's defense was the big story for this win, though. They limited what had been a dominant Notre Dame offense throughout this game and put the pressure on Sam Hartman to make plays. Indeed, he did make some, but the Buckeyes defense undoubtedly controlled a large portion of this game.
I remain dubious of Ryan Day, McCord and Ohio State's ceiling, but this was a big-time signature road win in South Bend that will vault them ahead of USC, who still hasn't played a bonafide good team in 2023.
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 4: No. 4-3
4. Texas Longhorns
Texas moved up in the AP Top 25 last week after a 31-10 win at Wyoming, which was clearly an indication that the majority of the AP voters did not have Longhorn Network as part of their cable package. The Longhorns were tied 10-10 in that game and looked to be sleepwalking in Laramie. They turned it on in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win, but it was anything but an overall impressive effort on the heels of the win over Alabama.
So it was good to see Texas respond to that in Waco by thrashing a middling Baylor team.
It wasn't the best night overall for Quinn Ewers, though he did notch a rushing and passing score on the night, but Texas didn't need it to be. The defense was dominant and they also ran the ball well. The two turnovers on fumbles were the only blemish but ultimately didn't even come close to factoring into the outcome of the contest.
3. Florida State Seminoles
Test passed.
Outside of Texas beating Alabama, Florida State still had the best win of the 2023 season with their dominant performance in Week 1 against LSU. After last week's scare at Boston College, though, there were concerns about the Seminoles going on the road to face a rapidly improving Clemson team the program hadn't gotten a win against in almost a decade. They quelled those with a major overtime victory in Death Valley.
Let's be clear, FSU wasn't perfect on Saturday afternoon in the win. Jordan Travis missed some throws and wasn't particularly crisp for the entire 60 minutes. They also benefitted greatly from a missed field goal in the final minutes. But credit to the Noles for taking advantage of the opportunities that were presented to them. When it mattered most in overtime as well, Travis and Keon Coleman connected for a big-boy play and the defense stepped up with a huge stop to get the win and vault FSU back above Texas in the Top 25 rankings.
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 4: No. 2-1
2. Michigan Wolverines
One of these days, Michigan will have to play a game at top gear. That was never going to be against Rutgers, though, even if Saturday's game marked the return of Jim Harbaugh to the sidelines. The Scarlet Knights actually jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead on a 69-yard touchdown pass – but that was basically all the Rutgers offense could muster against this loaded Wolverines defense for the entire day in Ann Arbor.
J.J. McCarthy looked much sharper than he did last week – you know, when he inexplicably threw three picks against a bad Bowling Green team. He had just one TD pass against Rutgers but went 15-of-21 for 214 yards and no turnovers. Blake Corum continued to quietly dominate with 97 yards and two touchdowns as well, but again, the defense carried the way and Michigan never left first gear while still securing a 31-7 win in Big Ten play.
1. Georgia Bulldogs
Much like Michigan, we've seen the Georgia Bulldogs play with their food far more than you would like this season. With a relatively easy schedule for Kirby Smart's team, there's a legitimate chance that we don't see what the ceiling is for the back-to-back defending national champions is until the SEC Championship Game – or maybe against Florida and Tennessee, because who doesn't love sending a message in a rivalry game.
That was again the case against UAB. The defense gave up 14 first-half points but the outcome was never in doubt for UGA. They tightened the clamps out of halftime and scored almost at will throughout the game. Perhaps the biggest sign for optimism was Carson Beck letting it fly a bit, throwing for more than 300 yards and three scores, two of which went to Brock Bowers. UAB's defense is not good by any measure, but it was still a good sight for those who have doubted Stetson Bennett's successor.
