After a top-10 clash and another top-10 team falling to an unranked conference foe, the latest AP Top 25 Poll was bound to have a new look. Here’s what you need to know.
Week 4 AP Poll
| RANK | SCHOOL | POINTS | RECORD | PREVIOUS RANKING |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas (58) | 1,706 | 3-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Georgia (3) | 1,580 | 3-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Notre Dame | 1,517 | 3-0 | 3 |
| 4 | Ole Miss (3) | 1,488 | 3-0 | 8 |
| 5 | Indiana (4) | 1,467 | 3-0 | 4 |
| 6 | Miami (FL) (1) | 1,445 | 3-0 | 5 |
| 7 | Ohio State | 1,415 | 2-1 | 6 |
| 8 | Alabama | 1,182 | 3-0 | 10 |
| 9 | BYU | 1,090 | 3-0 | 11 |
| 10 | LSU | 1,078 | 2-1 | 7 |
| 11 | Texas Tech | 1,067 | 3-0 | 13 |
| 12 | Southern Cal | 907 | 4-0 | 12 |
| 13 | Penn State | 850 | 3-0 | 14 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 826 | 3-0 | 15 |
| 15 | Utah | 752 | 3-0 | 17 |
| 16 | Louisville | 692 | 2-1 | 23 |
| 17 | Iowa | 561 | 3-0 | 18 |
| 18 | Michigan | 432 | 3-0 | 19 |
| 19 | Missouri | 369 | 3-0 | 20 |
| 20 | Oregon | 364 | 2-1 | 21 |
| 21 | Florida | 269 | 3-0 | NR |
| 22 | SMU | 212 | 2-1 | 16 |
| 23 | Texas A&M | 202 | 2-1 | 9 |
| 24 | Mississippi State | 179 | 3-0 | NR |
| 25 | Houston | 127 | 2-1 | 22 |
Ole Miss enters the top five
The game of the week was LSU at Ole Miss in a top-10 battle. The Rebels emerged victorious and were rewarded with a four-spot rise to No. 4 in the latest AP Top 25 poll. Ole Miss has the second-best win in the country based on this week’s rankings, and is the only team in the country with wins over two currently ranked teams.
The Rebels could make a claim for the No. 1 spot based on its wins, and it showed with three voters giving them first-place votes this week.
LSU holds off Texas Tech for the final spot in the top 10
One could argue that No. 11 Texas Tech was deserving of more than a two-spot jump after defeating a ranked Houston team 28-26 last week. One also could argue that LSU didn’t deserve to drop from No. 7 to outside of the top 10 after losing to the now-No. 4 team in the country on its final possession.
Both arguments would be legitimate, but only one proved true this week as LSU ranks one spot above Texas Tech — the final spot in the top 10.
Louisville moves up the most of any team
Louisville moved up seven spots from No. 23 to No. 16 after defeating then-No. 16 SMU 41-31. The Cardinals are the third-highest ranked one-loss team, only behind No. 6 Ohio State and No. 10 LSU. Louisville’s only loss came by three points to now-No. 4 Ole Miss in their season-opener.
That’s a quality loss that’s now supported by a ranked win. It could be Louisville’s only chance for either this season as there isn’t a remaining team on the Cardinal schedule that’s ranked.
Texas A&M plummets
Texas A&M lost to an unranked Kentucky squad 31-21. The Aggies needed 14 fourth-quarter points to keep the final score within two possessions. It’s the same Kentucky team that Alabama beat 45-17 a week ago.
Texas A&M ranked one spot above Alabama before the Aggies played Kentucky. Now the loss places TAMU 15 teams behind its SEC counterpart at No. 23.
No. 22 SMU also dropped in this week’s poll, falling the second-most spots (six) from No. 16 a week ago after its loss to Louisville.
Oklahoma drops out after a win
After Week 1, we saw Michigan drop out of the AP poll after a win. After Week 2, we saw Washington drop out of the AP poll after a win. Now in Week 3, Oklahoma drops out of the AP poll after defeating New Mexico 14-6.
Oklahoma’s performance comes after losing to Michigan a week prior. Against the Lobos, the Sooners ran for just 61 yards on the ground and quarterback John Mateer threw two interceptions. It wasn’t an encouraging performance to regain voter’s trust, and it showed in this week’s rankings.
New entrants
It’s a new era in Gainesville as the Florida Gators enter the AP Top 25 Poll for the first time under head coach Jon Sumrall. Florida picked up a road win against Auburn last week and enter the AP poll at 3-0.
Mississippi State is also 3-0 after the electric quarterback Kamario Taylor threw for four touchdowns in a win over South Carolina. It’s the first time the Bulldogs are ranked since 2022. Back then, Taylor was only a sophomore — in high school.
Ranked games to watch this week
There are three ranked vs. ranked matchups on this week’s college football slate:
- 12 p.m. ET | No. 1 Texas at No. 14 Tennessee
- 3:30 p.m. ET | No. 4 Ole Miss at No. 21 Florida
- 3:30 p.m. ET | No. 17 Iowa at No. 18 Michigan
- 7:30 p.m. ET |No. 23 Texas A&M at No. 10 LSU
- 7:30 p.m. ET | No. 20 Oregon at No. 12 Southern California
- 7:45 p.m. ET | No. 19 Missouri at No. 24 Mississippi State
Other notable games involving ranked teams include:
- 3:30 p.m. ET | Oklahoma at No. 2 Georgia
Stan Becton joined NCAA.com in 2021 and has since served as a college football, FCS football, track and field, cross country and HBCU beat reporter. He has covered numerous NCAA championship events, including the FCS Championship, DI Track & Field Championships and Men’s Frozen Four. Additionally, he has covered the College Football Playoff and HBCU sporting events like the Celebration Bowl, MEAC/SWAC Challenge and Legacy Classic. Stan graduated from Carnegie Mellon University, earning a degree in Professional Writing and playing football as a five-year letterman. You can follow him on Twitter @stan_becton.
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