College Football Rankings Week 4: B/R's Official Top 25
Another crazy week of college football has made it so that we should count on two things this fall: It's going to be wild and wacky, and the rankings are going to get jumbled each and every weekend.
Two teams from last week's Top 10 plummeted because of road losses, while others that were lower in the previous poll have jumped thanks to big victories. This seems like it's going to be par for the course in 2014, where after three weeks we're already down to just 33 unbeaten teams out of 128 playing at the FBS level.
This week's Bleacher Report Top 25 is voted on by 18 members of Bleacher Report's college football team: writers Keith Arnold, Ben Axelrod, Phil Callihan, Michael Felder, Justin Ferguson, Andrew Hall, Kyle Kensing, David Kenyon, Ben Kercheval, Adam Kramer, Brian Pedersen, Barrett Sallee, Brad Shepard, Erin Sorensen, Marc Torrence and Greg Wallace, as well as editors Eric Bowman and Max Rausch.
Each voter submits his or her ballot based on observations made during the just-completed week's games. Teams receive 25 points for a first-place vote, all the way down to one point for being ranked 25th. And then the top 25 vote-getters are ranked in order of their point totals.
Check out Bleacher Report's Week 4 poll, then give us your thoughts in the comments section.
Others Receiving Votes
1 of 26
Florida's triple-overtime win over Kentucky made it 1-0 in the SEC, but it wasn't enough to keep the Gators in our rankings. They were one of two teams to drop out of the Top 25, along with Virginia Tech, which fell 28-21 at home to East Carolina.
East Carolina is knocking on the door of the rankings, as are unbeatens such as Duke, Mississippi State, Penn State and Pittsburgh.
- Mississippi State (33)
- Penn State (25)
- Florida (16)
- East Carolina (15)
- Duke (13)
- Pittsburgh (13)
- Washington (13)
- TCU (7)
- West Virginia (7)
- Cincinnati (5)
- North Carolina (5)
- Virginia Tech (5)
- Marshall (4)
- Navy (4)
- Arizona (1)
- Utah (1)
- Virginia (1)
25. Nebraska Cornhuskers
2 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 55-19 at Fresno State
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 20 vs. Miami (Fla.)
Poll points: 37
Last week's ranking: 25th (tied)
The Cornhuskers (3-0) had no trouble with a late game on the West Coast, jumping out to a 14-0 lead and never looking back.
Quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. had 325 yards of total offense, throwing for 260 yards and three touchdowns while adding another 65 yards on the ground. He was aided by Ameer Abdullah, who ran for 110 yards on 19 carries.
Nebraska didn't allow any offensive points until late in the first half, but by that time it was 27-5.
24. Oklahoma State Cowboys
3 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 43-13 vs. UTSA
Week 4 matchup: Bye
Poll points: 42
Last week's ranking: Not ranked
The Cowboys (2-1) rallied behind backup quarterback Daxx Garman, starting in place of the injured J.W. Walsh, to pace a runaway victory over the Roadrunners.
Garman, an Arizona transfer, threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-30 passing. He was helped by running back Desmond Roland, who scored twice and had 95 yards on 21 carries.
Oklahoma State also played stellar defense, holding UTSA (1-2) to 206 yards of total offense, including only 73 rushing yards on 35 carries.
23. Clemson Tigers
4 of 26
Week 3 result: Bye
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 20 at Florida State
Poll points: 65
Last week's ranking: 21st
The Tigers (1-1) will be well-rested for their biggest game of the season when they visit Florida State in a de facto ACC Atlantic Division title game.
The extended break following a blowout win over FCS South Carolina State should enable Clemson's young offense more time to get on the same page, while its defense can game-plan for how to slow down the defending champs.
Clemson was crushed 51-14 at home by FSU last season and will be looking for revenge.
22. Ohio State Buckeyes
5 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 66-0 vs. Kent State
Week 4 matchup: Bye
Poll points: 77
Last week's ranking: 20th
The Buckeyes (2-1) bounced back from last week's poor effort at home against Virginia Tech with their fourth 60-point showing in the past 14 games behind J.T. Barrett's record-tying performance.
Barrett threw six touchdowns passes, completing 23 of 30 throws for 312 yards, to tie the mark set last year by Kenny Guiton. Interestingly, the co-record-holders are both quarterbacks thrust into a starting role after Braxton Miller went down with an injury.
Barrett's game was a great recovery from his woeful performance the week before, when he was just 9-of-29 and threw three interceptions. Five of his TD passes were in the first half, when OSU built a 45-0 lead en route to 628 yards of total offense.
Curtis Samuel added 100 rushing yards and two TDs on 15 carries, while the Buckeyes held Kent State to only 126 yards and forced three turnovers.
21. BYU Cougars
6 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 33-25 vs. Houston
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 20 vs. Virginia
Poll points: 99
Last week's ranking: 25th (tied)
Behind 360 yards of total offense from quarterback Taysom Hill, the Cougars (3-0) overcame complacency and sloppy play after building a pair of big leads to hold on for a closer-than-it-should-have-been home opener against Houston.
Hoping to impress the College Football Playoff's selection committee enough to earn the at-large spot in a major bowl game, BYU instead looked shaky after impressive road wins at Connecticut and Texas.
"I was disappointed that we weren’t cleaner at critical times," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall told Jeff Call of the Deseret News.
Hill threw for 200 yards on 21-of-34 passing and added 160 rushing yards on 26 carries, scoring one touchdown on the ground and throwing for another. He was also intercepted twice, part of three turnovers BYU committed that caused leads of 23-0 and 33-15 to disappear.
Jamaal Williams added 139 rushing yards and two scores for the Cougars, who are 3-0 for the first time since 2008.
20. Wisconsin Badgers
7 of 26
Week 3 result: Bye
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 20 vs. Bowling Green
Poll points: 100
Last week's ranking: 22nd
The Badgers (1-1) got a week off after registering their first win of the season in Week 2 against Western Illinois. The time off should help running back Melvin Gordon heal up, as the junior struggled running the ball last game while still showing effects from a hip injury.
Wisconsin will face a difficult test in its next game, as Bowling Green put up 571 yards and 45 points in a win over Indiana on Saturday.
19. Kansas State Wildcats
8 of 26
Week 3 result: Bye
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 18 vs. Auburn
Poll points: 107
Last week's ranking: 18th
The Wildcats (2-0) narrowly escaped at Iowa State last week, and they now get an extended break before their huge clash with Auburn on Thursday.
The game is one of the most highly anticipated nonconference tilts on the 2014 schedule, and it could go a long way toward affecting playoff seedings and selections.
K-State is 5-16 against SEC teams that aren't Big 12 expatriates, including an 0-3 record against Auburn.
18. USC Trojans
9 of 26
Week 3 result: Lost 37-31 at Boston College
Week 4 matchup: Bye
Poll points: 116
Last week's ranking: 7th
A week after putting together a masterful defensive performance, particularly in or near the red zone, the Trojans (2-1) laid a huge egg on the East Coast and fell victim over and over again to the same running plays from Boston College.
USC allowed the Eagles to rush for 452 yards, with quarterback Tyler Murphy gaining 191 of that on 13 carries with a touchdown. Murphy, the Florida transfer, had the Trojans defenders guessing all night with whether he'd keep it himself or hand it off in Boston College's zone read attack.
While they couldn't stop the run, the Trojans also couldn't move the ball on the ground. They managed just 20 rushing yards, forcing Cody Kessler to carry the load with 317 passing yards and four touchdowns.
Javorius Allen had nine catches for 118 yards and a TD, making up for him only gaining 31 yards on 15 carries.
17. Missouri Tigers
10 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 38-10 vs. UCF
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 20 vs. Indiana
Poll points: 151
Last week's ranking: 24th
The Tigers (3-0) shook off a 10-7 deficit early in the second quarter by scoring the game's final 31 points, with quarterback Maty Mauk following up last week's five-touchdown effort with four more TD passes.
Mauk threw two TDs apiece to Jimmie Hunt and Bud Sasser, with Sasser's second score coming on a 22-yard pass early in the fourth quarter. Missouri also got a strong effort from its defense, which held UCF to 302 yards and forced four turnovers.
Two of those takeaways were noteworthy, including an interception by 335-pound nose tackle Josh Augusta and a 60-yard fumble return for a score by Duron Singleton with 13 seconds left in the game.
16. Stanford Cardinal
11 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 35-0 vs. Army
Week 4 matchup: Bye
Poll points: 179
Last week's ranking: 15th
The Cardinal (2-1) posted its second shutout victory of the season while also solving some of the red-zone woes that plagued them in last week's loss to USC.
Kevin Hogan threw four touchdown passes, three to Devon Cajuste, completing 20 of 28 passes for 216 yards. Ty Montgomery caught a TD and also ran for a score.
The result marked the first time since 2010 that Stanford, which blanked UC Davis 45-0 in its opener, has posted multiple shutouts in the same season. The Cardinal have allowed 13 points in three games and held Army to only 207 yards of total offense.
15. South Carolina Gamecocks
12 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 38-35 vs. Georgia
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 20 at Vanderbilt
Poll points: 201
Last week's ranking: 19th
An embattled team during the first two weeks of the season, South Carolina vanquished many of its early demons with the narrowest of victories over Georgia, keeping the SEC's East Division wide-open.
How close was it? South Carolina needed a 4th-and-inches keeper at midfield by quarterback Dylan Thompson with 1:22 left that was good for the first down by one link of the measurement chain.
"We were meant to win this game, and Georgia was not," Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier told reporters afterward.
The Gamecocks (2-1, 1-1 SEC) led for all but seven-plus minutes during the first quarter yet never led by more than 11 as Georgia (1-1, 0-1) kept fighting back. What enabled Carolina to hold the lead late, though, was a goal-line stand after an interception that forced Georgia to attempt a tying field goal, only to see Marshall Morgan's kick sail wide on a 28-yard try with 4:22 remaining.
Thompson threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for a score, while Brandon Wilds added 93 rushing yards and a score.
14. Arizona State Sun Devils
13 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 38-24 at Colorado
Week 4 matchup: Bye
Poll points: 213
Last week's ranking: 16th
The Sun Devils (3-0, 1-0 Pac-12) won on the road for the second straight week, jumping out to a 17-0 lead and then cruising to victory in their conference opener.
ASU was led by running back D.J. Foster, who ran for 147 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. He also caught one of quarterback Taylor Kelly's three TD passes. Kelly left the game with a right foot injury, according to Doug Haller of The Arizona Republic.
The Sun Devils were outgained 545-426 by Colorado but forced three turnovers.
13. Georgia Bulldogs
14 of 26
Week 3 result: Lost 38-35 at South Carolina
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 20 vs. Troy
Poll points: 220
Last week's ranking: 3rd
After a rousing season-opening win over Clemson, Georgia made a quick rise in the polls and was already getting early consideration for a spot in the College Football Playoff thanks to the powerful running of Heisman candidate Todd Gurley and an improved defense.
Gurley was still there for the Bulldogs (1-1, 0-1 SEC), rushing for 131 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, but the old Georgia defense reared its porous head to the tune of 447 yards allowed and an inability to stop South Carolina at any point during the game.
That included a 4th-and-inches play with under 90 seconds left at midfield, only a few minutes after Georgia's offense squandered a 1st-and-goal opportunity at the 4-yard line, down 38-35 with 5:24 left. The Bulldogs went backward, and then Marshall Morgan missed a 28-yard field goal after seeing his streak of 19 straight made kicks end earlier in the game.
Hutson Mason completed 16 of 22 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns, while Georgia ran for 217 yards as a team thanks to Gurley and others. But the inability to make big stops on defense (or capitalize on the ones they made) doomed the Bulldogs and kept them from having a commanding lead in the SEC East Division.
12. UCLA Bruins
15 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 20-17 vs. Texas (in Arlington, Texas)
Week 4 matchup: Bye
Poll points: 227
Last week's ranking: 13th
With star quarterback Brett Hundley going down early to an elbow injury, backup Jerry Neuheisel piloted the Bruins (3-0) to a comeback victory in a game played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Neuheisel threw a pair of touchdown passes, including the game-winning 33-yard scoring strike to Jordan Payton with three minutes left. The sophomore, and son of former UCLA quarterback and head coach Rick Neuheisel, finished with 178 yards on 23-of-30 passing.
"He's a coach's kid! I just have confidence in him," UCLA coach Jim Mora told reporters afterward.
UCLA also got a strong game from running back Paul Perkins, who ran for 126 yards on 24 carries.
11. Ole Miss Rebels
16 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 56-15 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
Week 4 matchup: Bye
Poll points: 233
Last week's ranking: 14th
The Rebels (3-0) made quick work of Louisiana-Lafayette in their home opener, gaining 554 yards behind a near-perfect day from quarterback Bo Wallace.
Wallace completed 23 of 28 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns along with an interception. Vince Sanders was his target on two of those catches, part of Sanders' 125 yards on eight receptions.
Ole Miss scored the game's first 28 points and didn't allow a touchdown until 1:03 left in the third quarter when the score was 49-6. The defense forced four turnovers, including three interceptions of Terrance Broadway highlighted by a 59-yard return for a score by Senquez Golson.
Golson had two interceptions on the day as Ole Miss opened 3-0 for the second straight season.
10. Michigan State Spartans
17 of 26
Week 3 result: Bye
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 20 vs. Eastern Michigan
Poll points: 268
Last week's ranking: 12th
The Spartans (1-1) have had an extra week to think about their 46-27 loss at Oregon, a game they led 27-18 before wearing down in the second half.
MSU has a few games to tweak what went wrong defensively, as well as to get its offense balanced and get more production out of the run game, before the important Big Ten games begin in October.
9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
18 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 30-14 vs. Purdue (in Indianapolis)
Week 4 matchup: Bye
Poll points: 293
Last week's ranking: 11th
The Fighting Irish (3-0) trailed 14-10 late in the second quarter before waking up and running past the Boilermakers in their annual Shamrock Series neutral-site game, this one played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Notre Dame got 259 passing yards and two touchdowns from Everett Golson, while a pair of interceptions of Purdue quarterback Danny Etling in the fourth quarter helped seal the victory. Golson also ran for a 15-yard touchdown, which put the Irish up for good at 17-14 with 13 seconds left before halftime.
8. LSU Tigers
19 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 31-0 vs. La. Monroe
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 20 vs. Mississippi State
Poll points: 304
Last week's ranking: 9th
The Tigers (3-0) posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1985.
LSU held previously unbeaten Louisiana-Monroe to just six first downs and 93 yards of total offense, including only 16 on the ground. The Tigers gained 372 of their own, with 219 from the run game. That included two rushing touchdowns from Darrel Williams and one apiece by Leonard Fournette and Kenny Hilliard.
Anthony Jennings threw for 139 yards on 11-of-18 passing, with Travin Dural catching six balls for 79 yards.
LSU last allowed a score during the third quarter of its 28-24 win over Wisconsin, a game it trailed 24-7 before rallying late.
7. Baylor Bears
20 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 63-21 at Buffalo
Week 4 matchup: Bye
Poll points: 325
Last week's ranking: 10th
The Bears (3-0) showed no ill effects from their third game in under two weeks of action, nor with the road trip to upstate New York, as they jumped all over Buffalo.
Baylor scored 21 points in less than five-and-a-half minutes midway through the first quarter and led 35-0 at halftime en route to racking up 669 yards of total offense and 27 first downs.
Quarterback Bryce Petty returned from a one-game absence due to cracked vertebrae and threw for 416 yards and four touchdowns on 23-of-34 passing. Freshman receiver KD Cannon hauled in an 89-yard TD catch as part of his 189 yards on six receptions. Jay Lee caught nine balls for 136 yards and two scores, while Shock Linwood ran for 97 yards and two TDs.
Baylor allowed its first touchdown of the season with 9:31 left in the third quarter. Before that, it had given up just two field goals. For the year, the Bears have outscored their opponents 178-27.
6. Texas A&M Aggies
21 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 38-10 vs. Rice
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 20 at SMU
Poll points: 343
Last week's ranking: 8th
Though not as offensively dominant compared to their first two games, the Aggies (3-0) still managed to beat Rice convincingly behind four touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Kenny Hill.
Hill completed 20 of 31 passes for 300 yards, connecting with Josh Reynolds on two of his scores. Texas A&M also got a rushing touchdown from Tra Carson, who ran it 11 times for 66 yards.
Rice actually outgained the Aggies 481-477, but the Owls never got closer than 14-7 (in the second quarter).
5. Auburn Tigers
22 of 26
Week 3 result: Bye
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 18 at Kansas State
Poll points: 390
Last week's ranking: 5th
The Tigers (2-0) will bring another healthy running game into their big trip to Manhattan on Thursday, but they'll face their sternest challenge yet.
Auburn's rushing has averaged 330 yards through two games but will face a Kansas State defense that has allowed only 87 yards per game on the ground.
Auburn will be making its first trip to a Big 12 school since the late 1980s and will be playing its first nonconference road game since losing 38-24 at Clemson in 2011.
4. Alabama Crimson Tide
23 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 52-12 vs. Southern Mississippi
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 20 vs. Florida
Poll points: 395
Last week's ranking: 4th
The Crimson Tide (3-0) continued to tinker with the offense, this time going almost exclusively with Blake Sims at quarterback in a walkover win against the Golden Eagles.
Sims threw two touchdown passes, completing 12 of 17 throws for 168 yards, while adding another score on the ground. He gave way to Jake Coker late in the third quarter. Both passers went heavy to Amari Cooper, who had eight catches for 135 yards and a score.
Alabama ran for 333 yards and five TDs, with Derrick Henry gaining a team-best 73 yards on 11 carries. Kenyan Drake scored three times as part of his 59 yards on nine rushes.
The Tide yielded four field goals while holding Southern Mississippi (1-2) to 263 yards.
3. Oklahoma Sooners
24 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 34-10 vs. Tennessee
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 20 at West Virginia
Poll points: 396
Last week's ranking: 6th
The Sooners (3-0) wrapped up a perfect nonconference run with a comfortable win over an SEC team, getting strong play from quarterback Trevor Knight and a big-play defense.
Knight threw for 308 yards and a touchdown and added a rushing score, while Keith Ford also had a TD on the ground. Oklahoma forced Tennessee (2-1) into three turnovers, with Julian Wilson intercepting a pass and returning it 100 yards for a TD.
It was Oklahoma's seventh straight win, with two of those coming against the SEC—including January's 14-point triumph over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
2. Oregon Ducks
25 of 26
Week 3 result: Won 48-14 vs. Wyoming
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 20 at Washington State
Poll points: 434 (seven 1st-place votes)
Last week's ranking: 2nd
The Ducks (3-0) took a little while to get going, trailing after the first quarter. But once Marcus Mariota scored on a 15-yard run on the opening play of the second, it was the start of another runaway home win.
It was the first time since 2005 that Oregon trailed after the opening period at home to a nonconference opponent, but by halftime it led 27-7. Mariota added a second rushing TD—in which he dove from about three yards out over multiple Wyoming defenders—while also throwing a scoring pass to Devon Allen and handing off to Byron Marshall for a 30-yard run.
Mariota also threw a third-quarter TD pass and finished with 292 yards of total offense, with 221 coming through the air on 19-of-23 passing. Those numbers should help continue to keep him at or near the top of Heisman rankings.
The Ducks defense was on the field for more than 37 minutes, but during that time converted two interceptions by Erick Dargan into scores and also sacked Wyoming quarterback Colby Kirkegaard six times.
1. Florida State Seminoles
26 of 26
Week 3 result: Bye
Week 4 matchup: Sept. 20 vs. Clemson
Poll points: 443 (11 1st-place votes)
Last week's ranking: 1st
The Seminoles (2-0) took an 18-game winning streak into their bye week, but that didn't mean they sat back and relaxed.
The defending national champions haven't looked particularly dominant in their first two games, yielding a lot of passing yardage to Oklahoma State and then allowing FCS team Citadel to run for 250 yards last week.
FSU won by 37 at Clemson last season, but the games in Tallahassee have been much closer. Despite winning the last three meetings at home, it has done so by only an average of 9.7 points.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
