NCAA Football Rankings 2020: Week 4 College Top 25 Standings Shakeup Predictions

Miami is rising, Louisville is falling and the AP Top 25 is fast approaching its most exciting week of the 2020 college football season.

After just a couple of notable games Saturday, the next release of the poll should be mostly unchanged. Miami landed the only victory in a game featuring two Top 25 teams. Appalachian State, though, will be leaving the rankings as the SEC prepares for its first games of the season.

But the nation's best conference isn't a factor just yet.

Elsewhere in the poll, both No. 11 Oklahoma State and No. 19 Louisiana survived four-quarter struggles. Top-ranked Clemson, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 13 Cincinnati and No. 14 UCF all enjoyed blowout wins, and a 25th-ranked Pitt side-stepped an ACC foe.

The following order is the projected AP Top 25, which will be released at approximately 2 p.m. ET on Sunday.

AP Top 25 Projection

1. Clemson (2-0; W 49-0 vs. The Citadel)

2. Alabama (0-0; idle)

3. Oklahoma (1-0; idle)

4. Georgia (0-0; idle)

5. Florida (0-0; idle)

6. LSU (0-0; idle)

7. Notre Dame (2-0; W 52-0 vs. South Florida)

8. Auburn (0-0; idle)

9. Texas (1-0; idle)

10. Texas A&M (0-0; idle)

11. North Carolina (1-0; idle)

12. Oklahoma State (1-0; 16-7 vs. Tulsa)

13. Miami (2-0; W 47-34 at No. 18 Louisville)

14. UCF (1-0; W 49-21 at Georgia Tech)

15. Cincinnati (1-0; W 55-21 vs. Austin Peay)

16. Tennessee (0-0; idle)

17. Memphis (0-0; idle)

18. Louisiana (2-0; W 34-31 OT at Georgia State)

19. Virginia Tech (0-0; idle)

20. BYU (1-0; idle)

21. Army (1-0; idle)

22. Pitt (2-0; W 21-10 vs. Syracuse)

23. Kentucky (0-0; idle)

24. Baylor (0-0; idle)

25. Marshall (2-0; W 17-7 vs. No. 23 Appalachian State)

Note: Big Ten teams are not eligible until playing a game; the conference is scheduled to start Oct. 24.

Biggest Movers in Projected AP Poll

In all likelihood, the top 10 will be entirely the same or very close to it. The movement should happen in the 11-15 range.

Oklahoma State entered the weekend at No. 11, but a 16-7 escape against Tulsa may knock down the Cowboys. Only 35 voting points separated them from North Carolina, so the idle Tar Heels could leapfrog the Big 12 squad.

Since OSU had 280-plus points on both Cincinnati and UCF, a larger tumble is unlikely—though not impossible. Cincinnati smashed Austin Peay 55-20, and UCF pummeled Georgia Tech 49-21 behind Dillon Gabriel's career-best 417 yards. Both AAC programs had objectively more impressive days.

Still, that deficit is probably too much to overcome. Miami should make a serious run at OSU, however.

Last time around, several voters didn't even rank the Hurricanes. That's not a shot at those ballots; rather, it's an indication of how many points Miami will gain after winning at No. 18 Louisville.

Houston transfer D'Eriq King threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns in a 47-34 triumph. On the offense's first two plays of the second half, Cam'Ron Harris scampered 75 yards to the end zone and Jaylan Knighton caught a 75-yard score.

Appalachian State could have used some of that explosiveness.

In a 17-7 loss at Marshall, the Mountaineers managed just 5.1 yards per play. Worse yet, their longest play of the game—a 41-yard reception—ended with a fumble that effectively sealed the result. Mike Evans fumbled inside the 10-yard line, and Marshall recovered in the end zone for a touchback.

Marshall has a good chance to sneak into the Top 25, but it's possible Louisville will manage enough votes to stay ranked.

West Virginia is likely the first team out, though SMU may challenge that label following a 65-35 drubbing of North Texas.

Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.