Last Word on College Football
Top 25 Week 4
College football never fails to disappoint. On a weekend when College GameDay saved some money and took the train to New York City, the modern soap opera of college football provided some prime time drama that even Hollywood script writers couldn’t conjure up.
Penn State needed a seven-yard touchdown pass as time expired to avoid the road upset at Iowa. A 31-year losing streak hung in the balance in Lexington as the game-winning 58-yard field goal attempt fell just feet short. Florida escapes yet again with another SEC win. And after losing to FCS Liberty and Group-of-Five UT-San Antonio in the first two weeks, Baylor recovered an onside kick and had an opportunity to tie third-ranked Oklahoma in the last minute in wacky Waco.
It wasn’t a good week for “State” teams. Oklahoma State, Florida State, and Mississippi State were Top 25 teams that suffered losses this weekend. How did that shake up our rankings?
Let’s take a look at the Last Word on College Football Top 25 for Week 4.
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LAST WORD ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 25 WEEK 4
| Rank |
Team
|
Points
|
Previous
|
|
1. |
|
445 | 1 | |
| Alabama went into Nashville this week and exerted their dominance yet again. The Tide’s dominant 59-0 win against what was the nation’s leader in scoring defense was another signature statement win.
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||||
2. |
|
434 | 2 | |
| Clemson’s offense struggled for the first three quarters. They finally kicked it into high gear in the fourth as they had 27 unanswered points to beat Boston College 34-7. Next week they are at Virginia Tech.
|
||||
3. |
|
401 | 3 | |
| The Sooners survived an upset bid by Baylor to win 49-41. Abdul Adams ran for 164 yards and Trey Sermon ran for another 148 yards in the victory. Baker Mayfield also threw three TDs to make it 13 on the season with no interceptions.
|
||||
4. |
|
392 | 4 | |
| Trace McSorley engineered a game winning drive for the Nittany Lions on the road at Iowa. The Nittany Lions outgained Iowa all night as the PSU defense was stout, holding Iowa to just a trio of offensive TDs. Indiana is next at home.
|
||||
5. |
|
363 | 5 | |
| The Trojans were in a battle with Cal until they outscored the Bears by 17 points in a four-minute stretch of the third quarter in route to a 30-20 win in Berkeley. USC has now won 13 in a row dating back to last season. The Trojans travel to Pullman to play Washington State Friday night.
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6. |
|
356 | 8 | |
| The Huskies destroyed previously undefeated Colorado in Boulder in Week 5. Next week they visit struggling Oregon State.
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||||
7. |
|
335 | 7 | |
| The Michigan defense keeps chugging along, even once the offense lost its starting quarterback against suddenly-competitive Purdue. The Wolverines are off this week before starting the Big Ten gauntlet.
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||||
8. |
|
314 | 10 | |
| The Badgers enjoyed a bye weekend before starting their conference schedule in earnest against Northwestern next week and Nebraska the following week. Iowa seems to be the only challenge in the Division right now.
|
||||
9. |
|
313 | 11 | |
| The Bulldogs dominated Mississippi State in every phase of the game winning 31-3. Jake Fromm threw for two touchdowns and Nick Chubb ran for two more. Kirby Smart‘s defense held Nick Fitzgerald to a meager 83 yards with two interceptions. Next Saturday the Bulldogs travel to Knoxville to face Tennessee.
|
||||
10. |
|
295 | 16 | |
| TCU traveled to Stillwater and upset Oklahoma State 44-31. TCU had 14 points off turn overs which ultimately sealed the deal for the Frogs. They have a bye week and will host WVU in two weeks.
|
||||
11. |
|
290 | 9 | |
| J.T. Barrett finally got going against an outmatched UNLV team. Barrett had five TD passes in limited action. The Buckeyes take their resurgent offense on the road to Rutgers next week.
|
||||
12. |
|
233 | 14 | |
| With several Hokies players from the area, this game was a little personal. With a sold out stadium, Tech shut out Old Dominion 38-0, their second shutout this season. Next weekend, College GameDay will be in Blacksburg to cover the undefeated match-up between the Hokies and Clemson.
|
||||
13. |
|
224 | 13 | |
| For their first road trip to Mizzou in program history, the visiting Tigers dominated in a 51-14 win. Offensively, it was their best performance this season, securing their first SEC win. Next up, Auburn will face Mississippi State on Saturday.
|
||||
14. |
|
213 | 15 | |
| The long layoff was apparent as the Hurricanes drizzled to a slow start. But Miami’s whirlwind second half carried them to a bruising 52-30 victory. With the ability to withstand adversity and come back in this fashion, this Hurricanes team is looking deadly as they turn their eye toward a battered Florida State.
|
||||
15. |
|
208 | 6 | |
| The Cowboys failed in their first Big XII test. Mason Rudolph throws for almost 400 yards and two TDs, however, it was Cowboys mistakes that did them in. The State defense could not stop Darius Anderson, who had 200 yards from scrimmage and ran for three TDs, including the clinching one in the 4th quarter.
|
||||
16. |
|
144 | 17 | |
| Luke Falk did Luke Falk things (478 yards and five touchdowns) against an overmatched Nevada team in Week 4. They’ve played inferior competition to date but we’ll get a quality look at the Cougars next week when they host USC.
|
||||
17. |
|
142 | 20 | |
| Louisville rebounded last week’s lost to Clemson by blowing out Kent State. The Cardinals next host Murray State in what should be an easy win.
|
||||
18. |
|
134 | 18 | |
| Florida escapes with another SEC victory after Kentucky’s last second field goal attempt falls just a few feet short. The 31-year streak continues, as does Florida’s reign atop the SEC East.
|
||||
19. |
|
125 | 19 | |
| Still undefeated at 4-0, the Bulls are essentially the second best FBS team in the state of Florida. A matchup against a winless ECU should solidify their status and give them a stranglehold on the AAC.
|
||||
20. |
|
99 | NR | |
| Rashaad Penny is leading the Aztec in their charge to be the best Group of Five team in the nation. SDSU got a quality road win against Air Force at altitude to bolster their resume. Tough games against NIU and Boise State are coming up.
|
||||
21. |
|
85 | 22 | |
| The Utes got all the help they needed from last year’s starting QB to beat Arizona 30-24 in the conference opener Friday. Starter Tyler Huntley was lost in the second quarter to a right arm injury. Troy Williams, who started every game last season, came in and threw for 149 yards to keep the Utes afloat.
|
||||
22. |
|
79 | 24 | |
| After starting the season off with a loss, WVU has bounced back, winning three straight. WVU’s offense was too much for the Jayhawks to handle in a decisive 56-34 win. Next up after the bye week is a tough TCU team on October 7th.
|
||||
23. |
|
56 | NR | |
| The noise about Brian Kelly has settled down a little bit after a nice win against Michigan State. But Notre Dame still has four undefeated teams on their schedule, and that’s not counting Stanford or N.C. State.
|
||||
24. |
|
32 | 12 | |
| The resurgent Bulldogs went into Athens and were humbled by an impressive Georgia team. Nick Fitzgerald’s rushing abilities can still compete in the SEC West, but this team will only go as far as Fitzgerald’s passing will take them.
|
||||
25. |
|
31 | NR | |
| Florida State lost to NC State for the first time since 2012 on Saturday. The 0-2 Seminoles now look to get their season back on track on the road against an unbeaten Wake Forest team.
|
||||
OKLAHOMA STATE (3-1)
SAN DIEGO STATE (4-0)
NOTRE DAME (3-1)
MISSISSIPPI STATE (3-1)
Others Receiving Votes: Stanford (29), LSU (22), Iowa (18), Duke (15), Memphis (8), Kentucky (6), Texas Tech (4), Navy (2), UCF (2), N.C. State (1).
Looking Ahead
We know each week provides drama in college football. Clemson faces its second big road test of the season at Virginia Tech next week. Georgia will try to exorcise the disappointment of a hail mary loss against Tennessee last season as they put their undefeated record on the line in Knoxville. Mississippi State travels to Auburn for their second big test in a row. And out west, USC travels to Washington State on a Friday night Pac-12 after dark game that have significant impacts on the rankings.
If we’ve learned one thing from this week, though, it’s that there are no quiet weeks in college football. It’s always high drama on Saturdays in the fall.
About the Poll: Eighteen LWOCFB writers rank the Top 25 teams across the nation weekly to determine the best teams from around the country.
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