College Football Polls 2013 Week 4: 5 Who Should Be In, 5 Who Should Be Out

It's hard to believe that many college football teams are now a third of the way through their schedules for the 2013 season, but that means we're finally starting to see a concrete line dividing the contenders and the pretenders.

By now, most fans have a pretty good idea of how the season will play out. If you're 0-3 or 1-2 and playing bad football, odds are that you've drawn the "struggling to find six wins" card. A dominant 3-0 start by your team may have you thinking about Pasadena in January.

Sometimes, it's not necessarily the record that signals an upward or downward trajectory, but how the team is playing. For example, both Michigan State and Oregon are 3-0, but the Ducks just hung 59 points on Tennessee with backups playing throughout the fourth quarter while the Spartans have struggled mightily in two of their three victories.

So which teams belong in the Top 25 and which teams do not? Now that the AP and USA Today coaches polls are out, here are five who should be in, and five who should be out.

In: Ole Miss Rebels

Last week, Ole Miss was on the other side of this list. The Rebels hadn't yet proven to be deserving of a ranking and we would certainly get a chance to see what the Rebels were made of with greater tests upcoming for them.

As it turns out, they're made up of equal parts heart and dynamic offense.

After jumping out to a quick lead over Texas, the Longhorns clawed back into the game and took a 23-17 lead into halftime. After that, the Rebels outscored Mack Brown's team, 27-0, in what was otherwise known as the Jeff Scott Show.

The Ole Miss running back tallied 164 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, as a paper-thin Texas defense was exposed for the second week in a row.

Was it wrong to have Ole Miss in the "out" portion last week? Maybe, but with two strong wins on its resume, the answer is pretty clear that Ole Miss is certainly a Top 25 football team at this point in the season.

Out: Florida Gators

It probably feels like the Florida Gators are being picked on, and they are, but for good reason.

Despite having a bye this past weekend, the fact remains that Florida does not look like a Top 25 team, at least compared with the other ranked schools in the AP poll.

A 24-6, ho-hum victory over Toledo followed by a loss at Miami means that Florida, which currently resides in the Top 25 based on its name alone, does not belong.

The Gators have an outstanding defense, which isn't up for debate. It's going to keep them in plenty of games this season. But unless the offense can find its rhythm and teach the scoreboard operators how to make the lights go higher than 25, this team isn't going to beat many, if any, of the top-tier teams in the SEC.

The Gators' deserves serious praise for their schedule because not many teams face the season-long gauntlet that Florida is staring at, but at this point, even the so-called "gimme games" appear to be question marks.

A good way for Florida to climb back into the discussion of the elite would be to notch a dominant win over Tennessee on Saturday. The Volunteers just took it in the chin in to the Ducks in Eugene, Ore., and while the Gators are unlikely to pile up 59 points, the game should give us a good indicator of where the team stands in relation to some of the nation's top teams.

In: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Seriously, why isn't this Georgia Tech team in the rankings?

You could argue about their quality-of-opponent rating because neither Elon nor Duke would qualify as a "good win." But anytime you can go on the road in conference play and win by 24 points, you're doing something right.

That's exactly what Vad Lee and the Yellow Jackets did on Saturday in a 38-14 victory at Duke. They're averaging over 350 yards per game on the ground and the defense is tops in the nation in points per game allowed.

Remember that we're looking at fringe Top 25 teams on this list. None of these schools are going to be national title contenders and none of them are without flaws. If we were looking at teams which belong in the Top Five, they would require a much stronger resume, even three weeks into the season.

But Georgia Tech has two solid victories, which is something a lot of other teams cannot say. While the Yellow Jackets belong in the Top 25 right now, a win on Saturday against North Carolina should make it official one way or another.

Out: Nebraska Cornhuskers

In the second installation of this three-part series of teams we're picking on, we find the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

There was nothing embarrassing about losing on  Saturday to UCLA, a team led by super sophomore Brett Hundley on offense and potential top-five NFL draft pick Anthony Barr on defense.

There is, however, something embarrassing about jumping out to a 21-3 lead and allowing the opponent to score 38 straight points. Imagine the series of Nebraska emotions, as fans went from envisioning a potential blowout victory to experiencing a blowout loss.

The fact is that Nebraska has a good offense that can be bottled up and an OK defense that will get terribly exposed against good offenses. In other words, this team will stay in the thick of the Big 10 conference race throughout the season. But you can't lose by 20 points at home and be considered a Top 25 team.

Nebraska officially fell from the rankings this week and that's exactly where it belongs.

In: Texas Tech Red Raiders

Wins over Stephen F. Austin and SMU aren't going to get you into the Top 25.

But a victory over TCU will, and that's exactly what the Red Raiders accomplished on Thursday. While many fans hate comparing teams by using common opponents, Texas Tech beat TCU by the same margin that LSU did to open the season.

That isn't to say that Kliff Kingsbury's squad is as good as the Tigers, but it should at least give you an idea as to the quality of the victory.

All of a sudden, Texas Tech has become a real player in the Big 12 conference. Quarterback Baker Mayfield has already thrown for almost 1,000 yards and the schedule sets up nicely, as both Oklahoma State and Baylor have to travel to Lubbock, Texas, to face the Red Raiders.

From where we stand today, Texas Tech is clearly deserving of its Top 25 ranking.

Out: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

One week after firmly believing Notre Dame was deserving of its Top 25 ranking, new information has been presented that puts the Irish on the other side of the fence.

Let's start with a 31-24 victory at Purdue. Yes, it was a decent road victory against a Big Ten team, but the Boilermakers also lost, 42-7, to Cincinnati this season.

The reasoning behind including head coach Brian Kelly's Notre Dame team last week was that it fought hard against a very good Michigan team. Well, one week later and Michigan finds itself confused as to how it let the Akron Zips hang around and nearly get a win in the Big House. While Michigan played well below its talent level, the game certainly didn't make Notre Dame's effort look much better.

The Fighting Irish face Michigan State on Saturday before a visit from Oklahoma. Following that is a pair of games against Pac-12 foes, so its upcoming four-game stretch should tell us a lot about Notre Dame.

Despite putting up an admirable effort last weekend, a sloppy victory, combined with Michigan's poor performance, lands Notre Dame on the "out" side of the list.

In: Arizona Wildcats

The Arizona Wildcats haven't beaten anybody with a pulse this season, but you can only play the games on your schedule, right?

And the way the Wildcats have beaten those teams (UNLV, Northern Arizona, UTSA) signals that they are indeed deserving of a spot in the Top 25. The combined score of those three wins has been 131-26.

If any of the teams in the Top 10 had done the same thing, they would maintain their ranking as well.

The point is that Arizona is off to a dominating 3-0 start. meaning they belong among the Top 25. In two weeks, a trip to Washington will make this stance look either really smart or extremely stupid, but for right now, the Wildcats have won big against the three teams they've played.

While a win or two against inferior teams to start the season may not be enough to earn a ranking, three in a row puts the Wildcats on the "in" side.

Out: Michigan State Spartans

We've reached the final installment of teams we're picking on and I don't expect Michigan State fans will be pleased to see their team on the "out" side once again.

Other teams in the Top 25 are 3-0, but you have to look at the way these games are playing out. People will say, "but the Spartans are 3-0, just like these other teams!" That is true, but would you feel confident taking them against any of the "in" teams on this list?

A dominating win over Youngstown State was a nice way to bounce back from unimpressive victories in the first two weeks. But those victories linger right now and no score from this past weekend could have taken away what we saw from the Spartans to start the season. The issues on offense haven't just disappeared in one week.

Maybe the Spartans are toying with us and we have it all wrong. Fortunately, the answer to that will come on Saturday when they head to South Bend to face Notre Dame. A loss would confirm that the Spartans clearly do not belong in the Top 25 while a win would serve up a huge plate of crow and require an "in" slide that gushes over head coach Mark Dantonio's team.

Guess we'll find out, huh?

In: Wisconsin Badgers

Without even getting into the bizarre ending to the Badgers' 32-30 loss at Arizona State on Saturday, Wisconsin showed enough in the loss to merit a spot in the Top 25.

Arizona State has a dynamic offense featuring multiple home-run threats while its defense is stout up front. Yet Wisconsin led throughout the game and had it not been for some, err, questionable events at the end, the Badgers would have had a chance to kick a field goal for the win.

In other words, the difference between Wisconsin leaving with a loss and a win was almost non-existant.

The Badgers' running game, led by Melvin Gordon, is outstanding while their defense, led by linebacker Chris Borland, can compete with many great offenses.

Even though the Badgers were dealt a loss, they proved that they are clearly a Top 25 team to this point.

Out: Northern Illinois Huskies

The rumblings began following Northern Illinois' 30-27 win at Iowa to open the season. They continued following a 45-35 win at Idaho on Saturday.

Does this Northern Illinois team deserve to be ranked?

The Huskies are in the "others receiving votes" portion of the coaches poll, but if they continue to win, there will soon be an actual ranking next to their name.

To take a page out of the playbook of ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, this team doesn't deserve it. A win by just three points over Iowa shouldn't impress anybody. A subsequent 10-point win at Idaho did nothing to help the Huskies' cause either.

The reason the Huskies get a lot of attention is because they made a BCS bowl last season and feature quarterback Jordan Lynch, one of the better dual-threat playmakers in the country. But we'd be absolutely tearing apart a BCS team if it had squeaked by Iowa and Idaho.

The Huskies will get a chance to prove their worth against Purdue in a couple of weeks. For now, Northern Illinois does not look like a college football team that should be ranked in the Top 25.