College Football Playoff 2014: Updated Outlook After Release of Week 4 Rankings

There was a whole lot of offense in Week 3 of the 2014 college football season.

Ohio State dropped 66 points on Kent State in a shutout. Baylor notched 63 against Buffalo. Alabama torched the Southern Miss defense for 52. And those results were just the tip of the iceberg.

Ranked teams were largely successful in Week 3. Georgia, USC, Virginia Tech and Louisville were unable to beat their opponents, though the Bulldogs loss came at the hands of the South Carolina Gamecocks.

With Week 3 now in the books, it's time to look ahead to Week 4. The college football season is in full swing. While the standings will continue to shift week to week, each passing game day will bring more clarity to the playoff picture.

Below are the updated rankings after Week 3.

Amway Rank	Team	AP Rank	Team
1	Florida State	1	Florida State
2	Alabama	2	Oregon
3	Oregon	3	Alabama
4	Oklahoma	4	Oklahoma
5	Auburn	5	Auburn
6	Baylor	6	Texas A&M
7	Texas A&M	7	Baylor
8	LSU	8	LSU
9	Notre Dame	9	Notre Dame
10	UCLA	10	Mississippi
11	Michigan State	11	Michigan State
12	Ole Miss	12	UCLA
13	Arizona State	13	Georgia
14	Georgia	14	South Carolina
15	Stanford	15	Arizona State
16	South Carolina	16	Stanford
17	Wisonsin	17	USC
18	Ohio State	18	Missouri
19	Missouri	19	Wisconsin
20	Kansas State	20	Kansas State
21	USC	21	BYU
22	Nebraska	22	Clemson
23	BYU	23	Ohio State
24	Clemson	24	Nebraska
25	UNC	25	Oklahoma State

Outlook

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

The Florida State Seminoles weren't in action during Week 3, but that doesn't mean they need to be bumped from the top spot. There's plenty of reason to love this squad just as much as last year's national championship team.

Jameis Winston is a Heisman candidate, and the offense has looked solid through two games—granted, Oklahoma State and Citadel aren't exactly the cream of the crop of college football.

Another Heisman candidate, Marcus Mariota, put on an absolute show on Saturday. The Oregon Ducks signal-caller completed 19-of-23 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns against Wyoming. He also ran five times for 71 yards and another two scores.

Mariota drew rave reviews from Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl, who spoke to reporters after the game.

"I don't know if anyone in this room has a vote for the Heisman Trophy, but I encourage you to take a look at your ballot there for [this] quarterback. He's a tremendous player and I thought he played extremely well."

Oregon's fast start to this season is reminiscent of its dominant stretch to start last year. Beating up on South Dakota and Wyoming isn't all that impressive, but dropping 46 points on a stellar Michigan State defense is noteworthy.  

It's worth considering that all three of Oregon's wins have come at home. It'll be interesting to see if the Ducks can keep this blistering pace up when they hit the road in Week 4 against Washington State.

The Alabama Crimson Tide were dominant on both offense and defense against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The defense allowed just three points in each quarter, stifling Southern Miss's offense and holding it to just 263 total yards.

Their offense more than doubled that mark (547). Quarterback Blake Sims was 12-of-17 for 168 yards and two touchdowns. It was a pretty pedestrian performance, as the running game took center stage. 

Eight rushers, including Sims, combined for 333 yards. Derrick Henry led the way with 73 yards, but Kenyan Drake totaled three touchdowns on his nine carries (59 yards).

In this offense's first season without AJ McCarron, the running game has really stepped up. This will keep the Crimson Tide in contention for the playoffs and 2014 title.

Week 4 presents fans of college football with incredible matchups. Auburn and Kansas State kick off the week on Thursday night, while Clemson and Florida State square off in one of the final games on Saturday.

The rankings could see a significant shakeup following the results of Week 4.

Follow Kenny DeJohn on Twitter: @KennyDeJohn_BR