College Football Rankings 2016: Latest Polls, Predictions for Week 4 Standings

After a weekend full of heavyweight matchups, the latest polls indicate that several teams appeared to work themselves squarely into the College Football Playoff picture, while others are starting to fade into the abyss. 

Louisville vaulted into the top five of both the Week 4 Associated Press and the Amway Coaches polls, following a monster 63-20 victory over Florida State, while Michigan State leads a Big Ten surge in the top 11 of both rankings. On the other hand, Mississippi, Notre Dame and Oklahoma all experienced hefty drops after their second respective losses of the season.

Take a look below at the two polls, as well as some predictions for the remainder of the season based on the Week 4 rankings. A full list of team standings can be found at ESPN.com.

The Big 12 Will Miss Out on Playoff

At this time last season, the Big 12 had four legitimate contenders to reach the College Football Playoff in Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and TCU. A year later, the conference's playoff hopes appear all but dead.

League favorite Oklahoma fell to 1-2 and dropped out of the coaches poll following a 45-24 drubbing at home to Ohio State. Texas, the other Big 12 team that entered the week hovering around the top 10 of both polls, continued its defensive struggles with a 50-43 loss to California on the road. The Longhorns' best win so far, Notre Dame, also lost some luster when the Irish dropped their second game.

As a result, the conference experienced a new low in the Week 4 polls, per ESPN:

Baylor is left as the top team in the Big 12, which is not a great sign. The Bears have undergone extreme turmoil this offseason with the departure of Art Briles, and they have not looked completely sharp so far with early-game struggles against Rice and Southern Methodist. 

This contributes to the league being wide open, per ESPN's Max Olson:

Texas has the most potential to overcome its one loss due to its explosive offense and talented roster. But the Longhorns' pitiful defense leaves much to be desired.

The team has given up an average of 50 points and 317 passing yards this season against teams not named Texas-El Paso. With the numerous high-octane passing attacks on its schedule, the odds of Texas going unblemished for the rest of the year look very slim.

With every team in the conference playing each other and the damage already done to its top teams, the Big 12 seems destined to be left out of the playoff this season.

Even if a two-loss team becomes a possibility for the final four, the conference would not get much help from its out-of-league strength. The Big 12 is 3-6 so far against other Power Five teams, including Notre Dame, this season, per Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports.

Texas A&M Is a CFB Dark Horse

Entering this season, Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin was certainly on the hot seat due to a pair of underwhelming campaigns in the years prior. But through three weeks, this team looks set to put those rumblings to rest.

While most of the buzz this season has gravitated toward teams like Louisville and Ohio State, the Aggies have quietly put together one of the best resumes in the nation, with wins at Auburn and against UCLA.

Texas A&M sits around the top 10 in both polls, but there does not appear to be much talk about the Aggies. Part of this could be that the team has stumbled down the stretch of late after strong starts. In each of the past two years, Texas A&M jumped out to a 5-0 start before finishing 8-5.

However, this Aggies team looks different. Once a program that relied on outscoring its opponents, Texas A&M is using a sensational defense to win games in 2016. 

In his second season, defensive coordinator John Chavis has transformed this unit into a force with a dominant front seven and a ball-hawking secondary that is physical at the point of attack and stout with open-field tackling.

The Aggies forced UCLA into three picks in their openers and mauled a talented Auburn offensive line to the tune of just 16 points last week. Chavis certainly has the approval of Fox Sports' Dieter Kurtenbach:

Led by a slew of All-SEC candidates in defensive ends Myles Garrett, Daeshon Hall and defensive backs Justin Evans and Armani Watts, this is one of the top defenses in the conference. Garrett already feels this unit can help change the recent history of late-season stumbles, per the Dallas Morning News.

This team still has dynamic weapons on offense, as Christian Kirk leads arguably the best receiver group in the country. At quarterback, the Aggies finally have some experience in graduate transfer Trevor Knight, and he should only improve as he gets more comfortable in the offense.

With a favorable schedule that only includes three more road games—Alabama, Mississippi State and South Carolina—the Aggies could easily navigate their SEC schedule with only one loss, which should put them in contention to earn a playoff spot. Watch out for Texas A&M moving forward.

Statistics are courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.