College Football Polls 2013: Analyzing Week 4 AP and Coaches Polls

Week 3 of the 2013 college football is officially in the books, and with its end comes the fourth edition of the Associated Press and the USA Today Coaches Polls.

Many of the nation's top teams have now faced at least one quality opponent, making it easier to formulate judgement on their strengths and weaknesses. Voters now have a bona fide sample size, of most teams, from which to draw conclusions.

This past week was highlighted by a shootout in College Station, where Alabama and Texas A&M both flashed their offensive muscle and looked every bit as powerful as voters expected. But how would the outcome affect each one's poll position?

And who else would move and shake between both rankings?

Nos. 25-21

	25	24	23	22	21
AP Poll	Texas Tech	Wisconsin	Arizona St.	Notre Dame	Ole Miss
Coaches Poll	Fresno St.	Michigan St.	Arizona St.	Ole Miss	Notre Dame

Just like the refs late Saturday evening, voters weren't entirely sure what to do with Wisconsin.

Arizona State placed No. 23 in both polls, but the Badgers only appeared on the AP ranking. Even if a botched call cost them a win, they didn't look particularly good, so it was surprising to see them ranked even once.

Fresno State and Michigan State both snuck in on the Coaches ballot, which seems a bit surprising in the latter case. Sparty might have one of America's best defenses, but the offense has been anemic enough to make them a punchline. They looked pretty good in Week 3, but that was against FCS Youngstown State.

Also making its first appearance, at least in the AP is Texas Tech, who upset now-unranked TCU on Thursday night in Lubbock. The Red Raiders proved they could win with defense, instead of just their traditional firepower, which seems to have impressed media pollsters.

If they can combine those two facets for one full game, especially in the wide-open Big 12, why shouldn't Kliff Kingsbury and Co. be a BCS dark horse?

Also of note: Notre Dame is ranked ahead of Ole Miss in the Coaches poll. The Rebels are undefeated, the Irish aren't, and the former looked much better than the latter on Saturday. Are the coaches just that low on Texas?

Nos. 20-16

	20	19	18	17	16
AP Poll	Baylor	Florida	Northwestern	Washington	Miami
Coaches Poll	Washington	Baylor	Florida	Miami	Northwestern

Florida and Miami took the week off after last week's head-to-head tilt, but the rest of the teams ranked between 20 and 16 enjoyed varying degrees of Week 3 success.

Washington took its show on the road and proved, against an Illinois team that might actually be decent, that it was capable of winning away from Seattle. That will serve it well in Pac-12 play, but the level of competition will obviously be better.

Still, the AP remains convinced that the Huskies are for real, while the Coaches continue to be reticent. The latter still prefers Northwestern, who started sluggish before steamrolling Western Michigan in Week 3.

Baylor continues its slow ascent in the rankings as well.

Nos. 15-11

	15	14	13	12	11
AP Poll	Michigan	Oklahoma	UCLA	South Carolina	Oklahoma St.
Coaches Poll	UCLA	Michigan	South Carolina	Oklahoma	Oklahoma St.

UCLA takes a three-spot leap in the AP poll, benefiting from a quality road win over Nebraska. Even though the 'Huskers are now officially unranked, winning in Lincoln—especially by a double-digit margin—is no small task. 

At least as far as the media is concerned.

UCLA steamrolled Nebraska in Lincoln, scoring 38 consecutive points to embarrass the Huskers and earn its first signature victory of the year. But curiously enough, the coaches opted to move the Bruins up two less spots than the AP.

Last week, though, the AP had Nebraska at No. 23 and the coaches had it at No. 15. So why do they value a win in Lincoln less than the media? Why did they give less of a reward for beating a team they thought was better? Where is the logic in that?

Elsewhere, Michigan didn't take the dip some expected after a close win over Akron, still placing Top 15 in both rankings. But if they continue to struggle, the Wolverines won't be able to hold off Northwestern, Washington and Miami for very long.

Nos. 10-6

	10	9	8	7	6
AP Poll	Texas A&M	Georgia	Florida State	Louisville	LSU
Coaches Poll	Georgia	Texas A&M	Florida State	LSU	Louisville

Texas A&M took a slight dip after losing the Game of the Year against Alabama, but voters in both polls recognized its effort by keeping it in the Top 10.

Even if the defense showed, for a third consecutive week, some fundamental issues, Johnny Football and the offense are too good to ignore. The same might be said for Jameis Winston and Florida State, who overcame a slow first quarter to decimate Nevada, and now sit up at No. 8 in the AP rankings.

Interestingly enough, Louisville got hopped by only LSU in the AP and ranks No. 6 in the Coaches, despite struggling to separate itself from Kentucky in the first half on Saturday. Teddy Bridgewater and the Cardinals put it together in the second half, but for a while, they looked noticeably sluggish.

Would they honestly be favored over Florida State, Georgia or Texas A&M on a neutral field? And isn't that question, technically, what these rankings should be based on?

Nos. 5-1

	5	4	3	2	1
AP Poll	Stanford	Ohio State	Clemson	Oregon (1)	Alabama (59)
Coaches Poll	Stanford	Clemson	Ohio State	Oregon (1)	Alabama (61)

It's rare for a No. 2-ranked team to play a traditional SEC powerhouse, casually score 59 points, hand it one of the worst losses in program history and not gain any first-place votes.

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2013 Oregon Ducks.

Because of Alabama's impressive win in College Station, the Tide lost little separation between themselves and Oregon in both polls. The Ducks are still a (heavy) consensus at No. 2, but unless Alabama loses, they'll have to be content with that ranking.

Behind them, the rest of the Top Five remains consistent, though both polls still disagree on the order. Clemson still tops Ohio State in the AP and the reverse still holds true in the Coaches.

As good as Kenny Guiton has looked in relief, the Buckeyes need Braxton Miller back on the field—and they need it as soon as possible.