AP College Football Poll 2022: Week 4 Rankings Unveiled for Top 25 Teams
September 18, 2022
Georgia maintained its No. 1 position in the Associated Press Top 25 poll following Saturday's dominant 48-7 victory over South Carolina.
That was part of a wider trend as Week 3 featured multiple blowouts involving top-10 teams. Alabama and Ohio State dropped 63 and 77 points, respectively. Michigan pitched a shutout while putting 59 points on the board against Connecticut.
As a result, the voters didn't change how they view the upper tier much.
AP Poll
- Georgia
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- Clemson
- Oklahoma
- USC
- Kentucky
- Oklahoma State
- Arkansas
- Tennessee
- North Carolina State
- Utah
- Penn State
- Oregon
- Ole Miss
- Baylor
- Washington
- BYU
- Florida
- Wake Forest
- Texas
- Texas A&M
- Pittsburgh
- Miami
Penn State was perhaps the most intriguing team to watch.
The Nittany Lions were unranked to open the season and climbed to No. 14 following a 46-10 victory over Ohio. There was clearly a level of skepticism toward James Franklin's squad after it finished 7-6 in 2021.
Then Penn State traveled to Jordan–Hare Stadium and earned a comprehensive 41-12 win over Auburn. Sean Clifford was an efficient 14-of-19 for 178 yards, but Nicholas Singleton was the game's top star. The true freshman ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 carries.
Even though Auburn doesn't project to be a contender in the SEC West, this was a statement victory from the Nittany Lions. They figured to be the biggest riser in the Week 4 poll.
Similarly, Oregon has already come a long way from its Week 1 drubbing at the hands of Georgia.
The Ducks coasted past Eastern Washington in their next game and turned heads with how decisively they handled previously No. 12 BYU on Saturday. Bo Nix was 13-of-18 for 222 yards and two touchdowns, and the pair of Mar'Keise Irving and Noah Whittington ran for 163 yards.
Coming off the loss to the Bulldogs, it looked like Oregon had been ranked far too high at No. 11 in the preseason poll. The voters may not be that far off when the dust settles on the 2022 season.
For BYU, Saturday's defeat was a reality check after the Cougars upset Baylor in Week 2. They were bound to tumble down the AP poll and now find themselves in 19th.
Michigan State and Miami were in the same boat, but losing to another ranked team (Texas A&M) meant the Hurricanes wouldn't fall too far. They went from No. 13 to No. 25, with the Spartans going from 11th to unranked entirely.
Week 4 doesn't have a loaded slate of games but has some matchups that could shake up the Power Five landscape a bit.
Wake Forest hosts Clemson, and the winner will be sitting in pole position in the ACC Atlantic division. Florida will want to shake off an unimpressive win over South Florida when it hits the road to play Tennessee. Texas A&M could be staring at a 2-2 start since Arkansas already got the better of the Aggies last year.