MJ's College Football Top 30: Week Four

My top 30 returns for another bout in Week Four of the 2009 College Football season.

Last week, top-20 powerhouses such as USC, Georgia Tech, Utah and BYU were ousted from the elite class, while teams such as Washington, Florida State, and Oregon received major victories.

The ACC was the conference of the week, with their three top teams (Miami, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina) each posting important wins, while Maryland and Duke also suffered crushing blows to their hopes of conference contention.

Now, after the weekly summary, let's get on with my rankings. The list includes 31 this week, with Oregon State the special extra. Washington won't make the cut for the list for their shocking upset of USC, while Florida State did manage to move themselves into the rankings.

1. (LW-1)Florida Gators...The Gators got the win the expected against Tennessee, but the Volunteers did manage to prove that it is possible for a decent team to keep up with the mighty Gators.

2. (LW-3) Alabama Crimson Tide...Alabama switches places with Texas up to No. 2, but they're still by no means anywhere in the clear with such a tough SEC schedule ahead of them. However, they've certainly taken care of business so far.

3. (LW-2) Texas Longhorns...The Longhorns did avenge their 2008 loss to Texas Tech, but their first competitive game of the season finally gives opponents some weaknesses to work on.

4. (LW-6) Penn State Nittany Lions

5. (LW-4) California Golden Bears...California had some struggles against Minnesota, but in the end, Jahvid Best had a career day and the Bears picked up some crucial game experience.

6. (LW-7) Ole Miss Rebels...Ole Miss will get their first real test of the season on a nationally televised game this Thursday night against SEC-opponent South Carolina.

7. (LW-11) Virginia Tech Hokies...The Hokies once again prove that they are still a talented top-10 team with their vital home victory against Nebraska. This week, they'll prove if they deserve to be in the BCS once more with a huge match against Miami.

8. (LW-8) Boise State Broncos...Boise State beat up on the Bulldogs and pulled the WAC title even nearer to certainty.

9. (LW-9) Ohio State Buckeyes...After two shaky opening games, the Buckeyes turned back the doubters with a dominating rout of Toledo.

10. (LW-14) LSU Tigers...The only reason LSU was 14th last week was because of the faltering match with Washington, and...well, we got a glimpse of Washington last weekend.

11. (LW-12) Oklahoma Sooners...The BYU loss has got to make them feel even worse, but once Bradford returns they'll once again return to the top-10 and their dynasty status.

12. (LW-3) USC Trojans...Washington was a devastating loss, but Barkley was gone and the trap game simply caught the Trojans off-guard.

13. (LW-13) TCU Horned Frogs...TCU will prove if they deserve the top-15 BCS-buster status with a big road game against Clemson this Saturday.

14. (LW-24) Miami Hurricanes...Miami shot themselves up the rankings with their upset of favored Georgia Tech, but they have another game that has the possibly to determine their season with Virginia Tech Saturday night.

15. (LW-15) Houston Cougars...The Cougars ride to the C-USA championship gets easier every week, and the new focus is a BCS at-large bid for up-and-coming Houston.

16. (LW-10) Brigham Young Cougars...BYU took a shot in the neck with the home blowout to FSU, but they can still make a case for the Mountain West conference title with Max Hall at the helm.

17. (LW-18) Cincinnatti Bearcats...Cincinnati put up an impressive performance in the road win at Oregon State, but the Big East could field some other top-level competitors besides the Bearcats for them to deal with.

18. (LW-16) Oklahoma State Cowboys

19. (LW-21) Kansas Jayhawks...They beat up on a punching bag with Duke, but the Big 12 conference schedule is just starting.

20. (LW-22) Pitt Panthers...The Panthers remain my pick for "Most Underrated" with a nice win over the steady Navy Midshipmen, but Cincinnati, West Virginia, and others still remain in the conference.

21. (LW-27) North Carolina Tar Heels...After a falter in offense in Week Two at UConn, the Heels regained all the confidence back by putting up 31 points against in-state rival ECU.

22. (LW-19) Nebraska Cornhuskers...Nebraska suffered a setback in the last-minute loss to Virginia Tech, but they can record nine or 10 wins if they get a few big wins in their tough conference schedule.

23. (LW-NR) Florida State Seminoles...The BYU win was huge, but I still have lacking confidence in the Seminoles chances in the tight ACC standings.

24. (LW-23) Georgia Bulldogs...Georgia did well against Arkansas, but they remain on the verge on the top 25 rankings.

25. (LW-17) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets...The Yellow Jackets got picked over in Miami, but I still have lots of confidence in the offense.

26. (LW-NR) Oregon Ducks...Oregon was one of two teams to move into the rankings after not making the cut last week, and what a wet win it was against the Utes.

27. (LW-26) Missouri Tigers

28. (LW-20) Utah Utes

29. (LW-28) UCLA Bruins...UCLA could be a real dark horse in the race for the Pac-10 championship.

30. (LW-30) Michigan Wolverines

31. (LW-25) Oregon State Beavers...The Beavers let a big opportunity slip by in the Bearcats loss, but they could still put up eight wins this season.