College Football Rankings 2015: Reviewing AP, Amway Polls and Week 4 Standings
It was another tumultuous week of football in the 2015 NCAA season, and it did a number on some teams in the top-25 polls.
Stanford stunned USC 41-31, sending the Trojans tumbling in the rankings. Notre Dame's defense made mincemeat out of Georgia Tech's feared triple-option offense in a 30-22 win, one that wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicates.
Ole Miss picked up a big 43-37 win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa, rolling back the Crimson Tide in the rankings while propelling themselves into the upper echelon of the rankings. The Rebels did it with style and with slapstick, most notably on this ludicrous 66-yard touchdown, per ESPN:
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
There's plenty of movement in the polls. Here are the Week 4 Amway Coaches and Associated Press polls, with team standings in parentheses.
| 1 | Ohio State (3-0) | Ohio State (3-0) |
| 2 | Michigan State (3-0) | TCU (3-0) |
| 3 | T-3, TCU (3-0) | Michigan State (3-0) |
| 4 | T-3. Ole Miss (3-0) | Baylor (2-0) |
| 5 | Baylor (2-0) | Ole Miss (3-0) |
| 6 | Notre Dame (3-0) | Georgia (3-0) |
| 7 | Georgia (3-0) | Florida State (3-0) |
| 8 | LSU (2-0) | Notre Dame (3-0) |
| 9 | UCLA (3-0) | LSU (2-0) |
| 10 | Florida State (3-0) | Clemson (3-0) |
| 11 | Clemson (3-0) | UCLA (3-0) |
| 12 | Alabama (2-1) | Alabama (2-1) |
| 13 | Oregon (2-1) | Oregon (2-1) |
| 14 | Texas A&M (3-0) | Oklahoma (3-0) |
| 15 | Oklahoma (3-0) | Texas A&M (3-0) |
| 16 | Arizona (3-0) | Arizona (3-0) |
| 17 | Northwestern (3-0) | Utah (3-0) |
| 18 | Utah (3-0) | USC (2-1) |
| 19 | USC (2-1) | Northwestern (3-0) |
| 20 | Georgia Tech (2-1) | Georgia Tech (2-1) |
| 21 | Stanford (2-1) | Wisconsin (2-1) |
| 22 | T-22, Wisconsin (2-1) | Oklahoma State (3-0) |
| 23 | T-22, Brigham Young (2-1) | Missouri (3-0) |
| 24 | Oklahoma State (3-0) | Stanford (2-1) |
| 25 | Missouri (3-0) | Auburn (2-1) |
Ohio State Still No. 1
The Buckeyes held on to the top spot in both polls, even after a Week 3 display that saw them bench starting quarterback Cardale Jones in the first half and need a second-half pick-six from linebacker Darron Lee to create the difference in a 20-13 win over unheralded Northern Illinois on Saturday.
Jones threw two picks in his first nine pass attempts, giving way to Barrett early. Barrett was hardly inspiring in his own right, finishing with 11 of 21 passes for 97 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His lone TD pass was instrumental in getting Ohio State back into the game toward the end of a disaster first half, via SportsCenter:
It was a worrying display from Ohio State's two quarterbacks, and head coach Urban Meyer acknowledged that it might be time to settle on a permanent starter, per ESPN.com's Austin Ward:
"There might be some truth to that. Not that I'm going to call some armchard [analysts] and ask then what they think, but I do believe in game reps. That's how players get better, and that's something that I'm going to spend a lot of time thinking about.
"
Of course, even if Jones was the clear-cut starter heading into the Northern Illinois game, it still wouldn't have been unreasonable to pull him for a player as talented as Barrett. The temptation is always going to be there, even if Meyer ostensibly makes a permanent decision on the matter.
CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd noted several other teams have a case to be No. 1 in the wake of a sleepy Ohio State performance:
"These might be more fashion shows than games. Ohio State will be judged snap by snap. Just don't wait for the swimsuit competition. If the Buckeyes think they've arrived, well, they have. Meyer's win was his 41st in 44 games at Ohio State.
If nothing else, there are more deserving No. 1 teams. Michigan State has beaten a top 10. Who's got a better defense than Ole Miss? TCU can't be stopped.
"
If Ohio State is going to tumble from the top spot, it could take a loss or another couple of clunky weeks of football for them to do so. The Buckeyes received 42 first-place votes in the AP poll. No. 4 Ole Miss was next with 11, while Michigan State picked up just seven.
TCU? Not a single first-place vote, despite outscoring its opponents 179-61 in the first three weeks. Pundits might still be thinking about their own shaky performance, a 23-17 win over Minnesota in Week 1.
For Some Reason, Auburn is Still Ranked
Despite three lackluster performances to start the season—although, yes, the first two were wins—Auburn has managed to hang on the No. 25 spot in the Amway Coaches poll but did fall well out of the Associated Press Top 25.
LSU crushed Auburn 45-21, behind 228 rushing yards and three scores from Leonard Fournette. As a team, the Bayou Bengals ran for 411 yards, while the Auburn Tigers could only manage 160 themselves.
Quarterback Jeremy Johnson, who enjoyed some preseason Heisman hype, has looked overwhelmed in each game he's played in this season.
| Week 1, Louisville | 11/21 | 137 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 53.4 |
| Week 2, Jacksonville State | 21/32 | 236 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 29.5 |
| Week 3, LSU | 11/19 | 100 | 2 | 1 | 41 | 1 | 56 |
AL.com's Brandon Marcello passed along head coach Gus Malzahn's comments at halftime of the LSU game:
CBS Sports' Jon Solomon believes Auburn should send Johnson to the bench:
"I'm not sure I've seen a player who was expected to be so good struggle as much as Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson. At one point Saturday, Johnson started wearing a glove on his throwing hard after bizarrely losing a fumble. According to CBS Sports sideline reporter Allie LaForce, offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee took the glove off Johnson's hand, threw it behind the bench and told him he doesn't need a glove, it's mental. If your offensive coordinator feels he must do that, it's probably time to change quarterbacks. Johnson's body language has been bad for three weeks.
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Auburn is likely still in the Amway ranking on the strength of its reputation, as well as the rep of the SEC as a whole. One could make a strong case for West Virginia to be included in its stead, or even BYU, which lost to a Top 15 team in UCLA on Saturday but showed improvements in its rushing attack and saw another solid performance from freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum.
Auburn's next game is against Mississippi State, which piled up 647 yards in a win over Northwestern State this past weekend. Quarterback Dak Prescott (799 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INT this season) could absolutely outplay Johnson and lead the Bulldogs to a win in that one.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
