Updated College Football Rankings: Week 4 AP Poll Reactions

The AP poll made some decent course corrections this week by bumping Miami up to the number two spot and beginning to respect Oklahoma and Indiana. They still have some pretty massive issues (I’m looking at you, LSU). Here’s how I’d vote based on the start of the year preseason rankings.

#1 Ohio State

The Buckeyes had a bye this week, so no movement for them at the moment. They’ve got a massive game at Washington this week, so I think we’re going to start to learn more about the defending champs this week.

#2 Miami

I’m still keeping Miami at number two in my rankings, but they’re making it hard not to take over that top spot. They handled Florida, have a few other solid wins, and might have the most complete roster in the country.

Miami will be on a bye next week, but if OSU struggles or they dominate in their next matchup against Florida State, they could be in contention for the number one ranking.

#3 Georgia

After a massive come-from-behind win last week, an early bye week is precisely what Georgia needed. The schedule stays hot for them this week, with Alabama coming to town. I’m still high on Ty Simpson and the Bama receivers, so watch out for an upset here.

#4 Penn State

The following two teams in the rankings go head-to-head this week, so this position is up for grabs. Penn State was a consensus top-two team to start the season, but Drew Allar is the missing piece of this puzzle. He looks average, and Penn State can only go as far as he takes them.

Their defense will need to have a massive game if they want to take down the Ducks in Happy Valley.

#5 Oregon

At this point, the blowout win over Oklahoma State doesn’t really mean anything anymore. Good news, Oregon has looked great against the other easier teams on its schedule. Dante Moore continues to be one of the top quarterbacks in the Big 10, and their defense has continued to impress week over week.

I will not be shocked if the Ducks go into Penn State and begin to pave a path towards appearing in the conference championship. If Oregon can win back-to-back games against Penn State and Indiana, they might end up as the number one team in the country.

#6 Oklahoma

Not many teams have better wins on their resume than Michigan and Auburn. This defense is absolutely legit. I’m still not convinced about this offense. I just need to see more out of this offensive line, especially against stronger defenses.

The Red River Rivalry is three weeks away, and that will be the best defensive front they’ll see in the regular season. If the defense can carry them past Texas, I’ll begin to look past any concerns I have for a run game whose leading rusher against Auburn was 29 yards from John Mateer.

#7 Florida State

Congrats, you blew out Kent State, a team that has not beaten an FBS football team in three seasons.

Florida State is excellent, though, and Tommy Castellanos is one of the more fun guys to watch this year. Next week is a great litmus test for this Seminoles team—a Friday night clash with an underrated Virginia team, with Miami looming ahead on the schedule. They’re only 6.5-point favorites on the road, and if they can win this by two scores, I will be very impressed with where Florida State is at early in the season.

#8 LSU

With the win over Clemson aging like eggs, and Florida sitting at 1-3, I’m willing to take a shot that this LSU will not be a playoff team. I’m not entirely out on them because their defense is second only to Oklahoma in the SEC.

Also, it’s a good thing I’m not a reporter in front of Brian Kelly, but how is LSU going to generate any momentum in the run game, and how can they keep Garrett Nussmeier from making the worst turnovers of all time? They’re fair questions that Kelly will need to answer against a red-hot Ole Miss team.

#9 Texas A&M

There aren’t many teams that get as favorable an SEC schedule as Texas A&M this year. No Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Vandy, or Tennessee. This is your best offense in years; you have to take advantage of a situation like this.

The schedule stays light for the next few weeks, so we might find ourselves with an undefeated top-five Texas A&M team here soon.

#10 Indiana

Welcome to the top ten, Indiana!

I was high on Illinois, so I’m doing a clean swap between these two teams and putting full respect on the Hoosiers. Their defensive front is impressive, and they have a Heisman candidate at quarterback. This isn’t the Hoosiers of last year; they are a real-deal playoff contender this year.

Honorable Mentions: Texas Tech and Ole Miss

I only put two teams in my honorable mentions this week, as everyone else feels a step behind these two teams, resume-wise. Texas Tech was the second biggest winner of the weekend, where they handled a good Utah team on the road.

Ole Miss also notched a nice win to stay undefeated against a good Tulane team. They’re starting to rise above some of the middle-of-the-road teams in the SEC.