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We had several entertaining games in Week 4. Some teams set themselves apart. Some teams struggled when they shouldn't have *ahem...Missouri* Others got embarrassed by Group of Five teams. This caused a bit of a shakeup in the rankings.
These rankings will vary greatly from the AP ones early in the season because I don't go off speculation. I go by what happened on the field only. They will stabilize as the season goes on, but it might take a bit to get there.
I understand that teams can only beat who is scheduled. These are going to look a little strange through September, but I hope it serves to highlight wins that others may not have noticed.
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(25) Central Florida (3-0) (NR)
Last week: Bye
A win in Fort Worth lands the undefeated Knights in the rankings for the time being.
(24) Oklahoma (3-1) ⇓4
Last week: L 15-25 vs. (12) Tennessee
One-loss teams with their loss to a high-ranked team are back in the rankings. Maybe this is just optimism over Michael Hawkins Jr. Maybe it's just gas. Who knows?
(23) Rutgers (3-0) (NR)
Last week: W 26-23 at Virginia Tech
Is the Virginia Tech a good win? It's looking less and less like it was. However, I reserve my right to rank Rutgers because Kyle Monangai is special.
Kyle Monangai is going to be a problem for defenses this fall. Rutgers has something here. pic.twitter.com/uiopNSsLpt
— Ryan Gaydos (@Gaydos_) September 7, 2024
(22) Louisville (3-0) (NR)
Last week: W 31-19 vs. Georgia Tech
Hey, remember when Georgia Tech was good because they beat Florida State in Dublin? Those were some good times... Louisville is undefeated, which is still saying a little.
(21) Ohio State (3-0) ⇑4
Last week: W 49-14 vs. Marshall
I wasn't going to move the Buckeyes up, but everyone else lost. Their schedule isn't 2004 Auburn bad, but it's close.
(20) Indiana (4-0) ⇑4
Last week: W 52-14 vs. Charlotte
If you aren't having fun watching this Indiana offense, you aren't a fan of the sport. There are playmakers all over this offense.
(19) Clemson (3-1) (NR)
Last week: W 59-35 vs. North Carolina State
Clemson's offense is destroying everyone after getting handled by Georgia in the opener. I have questions about how good Appalachian State and North Carolina State really are, but it is an encouraging sign that the Clemson offense is showing explosiveness. That's not a trait that they usually have.
(18) Washington State (4-0) ⇓2
Last week: W 54-52 (2OT) vs. San Jose State
The Spartans are better than many -- myself included -- expected them to be. On the surface, this doesn't look like a quality win right now. We'll see how it looks once the Mountain West starts getting crazy. We all know that it will.
(17) James Madison (4-0) (NR)
Last week: W 70-50 at (21) North Carolina
JMU put up 53 on North Carolina in the first half at Chapel Hill ?? pic.twitter.com/zSgUCymLim
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 21, 2024
The Tar Heels scored 50 points...and still lost by 20. JMU set a school record for points in a half (53) and a game (70). It looks like another solid North Carolina offense is going to be wasted by a terrible defense.
(16) Michigan (3-1) (NR)
Last week: W 27-24 vs. (7) USC
Michigan becomes the first one-loss team back in my rankings. They beat a strong USC team and their only loss was to the consensus number-one team (Texas). When my rankings align with the AP Polls, you know it must be true!
(15) Oregon (3-0) ⇔
Last week: Bye
Lots of teams in front of the Ducks lost. It is also worth noting that the Boise State win might end up being a high-quality win.
(14) Penn State (3-0) ⇑4
Last week: W 56-0 vs. Kent State
Kent is the worst FBS team right now and it's really not close. However, Penn State did set a school record for total offense, so there's that. I may have to re-evaluate my opinion of this offense if they put up numbers against a team with a pulse...
Penn State broke its 98-years old school record for most total offense in a game (718 yards). The Nittany Lions held Kent State to just 18 yards passing.
— BiggerTen (@BiggerTen) September 23, 2024
At least James Franklin has a perspective on this achievement. Yeah, Kent is terrible. Something can still be said about 718 yards of offense for Penn State after the last couple of seasons.
Penn State broke the school’s single game yardage record Saturday, which had been set against 1926 against Susquehanna.
James Franklin: “If I scheduled Susquehanna, I could only imagine the questions I’d be getting.”
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) September 23, 2024
(13) Mississippi (4-0) ⇑6
Last week: W 52-13 vs. Georgia Southern
Hey, their SOS is still higher than that of Ohio State or Penn State. Ole Miss only looks boring because they are destroying everything in their path. Much like a Hurricane.
(12) Pittsburgh (4-0) ⇓2
Last week: W 73-0 vs. Youngstown State
A road win against Cincinnati when they were down big, then a rivalry game win when they were down big. I respect that.
Pitt QB Kenny Pickett through three games in 2021 (a season in which he finished as a Heisman finalist):
• 939 passing yards, 10 TDs, 1 INT
• 115 rushing yardsPitt QB Eli Holstein through three games so far this season:
• 939 passing yards, 9 TDs, 2 INT
• 96 rushing yards pic.twitter.com/2ieuL81SgS— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) September 15, 2024
(11) UNLV (3-0) ⇓2
Last week: Bye
That's two road wins in the Big 12 (14). Tell me that UNLV couldn't compete in this conference or the newfangled Pac-12. Let's hope the Rebels reconsider their commitment to the Mountain West this week.
(10) Missouri (4-0) ⇓3
Last week: W 30-27 (2OT) vs. Vanderbilt
The Tigers were very lucky to escape Vanderbilt. A missed chip-shot field goal attempt in the second overtime let Missouri hang on, but this was a game Missouri could have lost. I didn't punish them much because Vandy has a couple of decent wins, but it's hard to consider Missouri a top-10 team right now.
(9) Alabama (3-0) ⇓5
Last week: Bye
Right now, the win in Madison is the only thing the Tide can hang their hats on. That changes this week, for better or for worse.
JALEN MILROE WENT TO CAMP RANDALL AND BALLED OUT!
Milroe is now tied for the most TDs by any SEC player in his team's first 3 games over the last 20 seasons ?@AlabamaFTBL pic.twitter.com/qB1LeXcSDO
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 14, 2024
(8) Miami (FL) (4-0) ⇑5
Last week: W 50-15 at South Florida
Miami jumps Bama because of the win in the Swamp and they beat the Bulls in Tampa. Alabama's win in Madison might end up being better in the long run, but as of now, we'll still respect the Swamp a little bit.
(7) Illinois (4-0) ⇑7
Last week: W 31-24 (OT) at (22) Nebraska
Winning in Lincoln is a little more impressive than winning in Madison...at least for now. That said, Illinois had several chances to lose this game. The defense came up with the big plays in overtime to make Dylan Raiola look like the freshman he is.
The play that sealed Illinois upset win on the road in Nebraska. This was Nebraska’s 25th straight loss against ranked teams. Dating all the way back to 2016, almost 3,000 days ago. Will Nebraska will ANY conference games this season?
— Streameast News Network (@StreameastNews) September 21, 2024
This is a bit of a troll post on Nebraska, but I wanted to highlight Nebraska's recent run of mediocre football. There is light at the end of this tunnel, but it's a long road out of the Scott Frost/Mickey Joseph debacle.
(6) Iowa State (3-0) ⇔
Last week: W 52-7 vs. Arkansas State
Watching Iowa thump the Gophers in the Floyd game moves the Cyclones up the list a touch.
(5) BYU (4-0) (NR)
Last week: W 38-9 vs. (8) Kansas State
No one on earth is having more fun than the BYU football is right now. pic.twitter.com/DLfYsY4xcG
— Zach Bollinger (@zachbollinger18) September 22, 2024
The Cougars took this game over in the span of two minutes at the end of the first half. It was total domination by the offense, defense, and special teams in that magical 120 seconds.
(4) Georgia (4-0) ⇓1
Last week: Bye
That win over Clemson is looking better and better...
(3) Utah (4-0) (NR)
Last week: W 22-19 at (11) Oklahoma State
Stop me if you've heard this one before: Utah gets a big road win, once again without star quarterback Cameron Rising... Oklahoma State's inability to stop Micah Bernard and Utah's defense swallowing Ollie Gordon II alive led Utah to a win.
(2) Tennessee (4-0) ⇑10
Last week: W 25-15 at (20) Oklahoma
Oklahoma fought back with a freshman backup quarterback to make this score closer than the game really was. Tennessee's defense dominated. Oklahoma's defense played well enough, but the offense couldn't do anything at all. Some of that is the poor decision-making of Jackson Arnold and a patchwork offensive line. Most of it was the pressure that Tennessee's defense put on Oklahoma for the entire game.
Josh Heupel had a hard time holding back his emotions as he walked around the Oklahoma field following the win.
A special moment for the Tennessee coach pic.twitter.com/xkqWygff0d
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) September 22, 2024
You can read this knowing I'm an Oklahoma fan, but I do my best to be an impartial one. I've seen a lot of things on social media about Tennessee's offense being stymied in the second half. It was more their doing than the Oklahoma defense. There are a variety of reasons why Tennessee went vanilla. First and foremost, they knew their defense was controlling the Oklahoma offense. Tennessee had nothing to fear by slowing it down a little.
Second, it works to keep your quarterback healthy. Tennessee realizes that they have their best shot at a national title this century. The defense was dominating the game. Yes, they slowed it down on purpose. It's arrogant of some Oklahoma fans to think otherwise. We all watched the game.
Maybe Josh Heupel did it out of respect for the university that helped get him to where he is. That's a question only he can answer. I tend to think it was more to keep everyone healthy and not reveal any more of the playbook with Alabama and Georgia still on the schedule.
(1) Texas (4-0) ⇔
Last week: 51-3 vs. Louisiana-Monroe
I guess you're entitled to a couple of cupcakes after smacking Michigan in the Big House. That's the only thing keeping Texas at the top right now. It was the dominance of the win over Michigan. Tennessee didn't quite dominate the way that Texas did.
The burning question is what Texas will do with their newfound quarterback controversy. Quinn Ewers did practice this week. Texas won't need him to beat Mississippi State, so there's a really good chance that they err on the side of caution for at least one more week.
Others Receiving Votes
- Liberty
- Navy
- Arkansas
- LSU
- USC
- Boise State
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