AP College Football Poll 2025 Week 4 Rankings Released with Top Risers and Fallers

The Palmetto State was a big loser from Week 3 of the 2025 college football season with both South Carolina and Clemson going down to unranked foes on Saturday.

The Gamecocks and Tigers were 11th and 12th, respectively, in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, and they're now out of the ranking entirely after voters had their say Sunday.

Texas A&M, meanwhile, jumped six spots to No. 10 after upsetting eighth-ranked Notre Dame. Georgia Tech (No. 18) and Vanderbilt (No. 20) climbed into the Top 25 for the first time this year.

Week 4 AP Top 25

1. Ohio State

2. Penn State

3. LSU

4. Miami

5. Georgia

6. Oregon

7. Florida State

8. Texas

9. Illinois

10. Texas A&M

11. Oklahoma

12. Iowa State

13. Ole Miss

14. Alabama

15. Tennessee

16. Utah

17. Texas Tech

18. Georgia Tech

19. Indiana

20. Vanderbilt

21. Michigan

22. Auburn

23. Missouri

24. Notre Dame

25. USC

Only three games in, the SEC title race might be coming into focus a bit.

Georgia went on the road and earned a hard-fought victory over Tennessee in overtime. The Bulldogs fell behind by 14 points in the first quarter and needed to complete a two-point conversion with 2:32 left in the game to tie the score at 38-all.

Max Gilbert nailed a 42-yard field goal for the Vols in overtime before Josh McCray punched it in on a one-yard run to lift Georgia over the top.

The SEC's other two representatives in the Top 10 weren't quite as convincing.

LSU took down Florida 20-10, but the performance of the Tigers offense prompted a spiky press conference from head coach Brian Kelly. The Gators out-gained LSU 366-322, and the Tigers' final tally was a little skewed by Caden Durham's 51-yard run inside the final two minutes.

Texas, meanwhile, cruised past UTEP 27-10, yet Arch Manning's lackluster showing grabbed the headlines. The third-year quarterback went went 11-of-25 for 114 yards, one touchdown and an interception. During one stretch of the first half, he threw 10 straight incompletions.

The Longhorns need more from their starting quarterback if they're going to make another deep run in the College Football Playoff.

The QB position is an area of concern for South Carolina fans after LaNorris Sellers exited in the second quarter of Saturday's game against Vanderbilt. Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer was unable to provide an update once the event concluded.

Without Sellers on the field, South Carolina went scoreless in the second half. Jordan Kaye of The State argued the offense's issues weren't tied solely to his absence.

"Its offensive line still has enough miscues, enough miscommunication each game to jolt any sense of offensive rhythm," Kaye wrote. "And then there are the turnovers. Both Sellers and Doty threw interceptions. The Gamecocks had a pair of fumbles. It missed a field goal. There were countless pre-snap penalties."

There are similar questions across the state after a 55-yard field goal by Georgia Tech's Aidan Birr dropped Clemson to 1-2 on the season.

What's particularly vexing about this is that the Tigers didn't have some sort of roster upheaval that would help explain their unconvincing performances. In fact, it should be the exact opposite since you'd think Clemson's continuity would give the team an early edge as fellow CFP contenders are finding their footing.

A penny for the thoughts of "Tyler in Spartanburg" right now.

Conference play is beginning in earnest in Week 4.

South Carolina will try to rebound against Missouri and avoid an 0-2 start in the SEC. Auburn heads to Norman to lay Oklahoma in the conference opener for both schools. Illinois and Indiana face off to determine who might be the stiffest challengers to Penn State and Ohio State. Utah hosts Texas Tech, which could be the opening salvo in a wide-open Big 12 title race.