College football rankings: ESPN updates FPI top 25 poll for Week 4

This week saw a shakeup in the polls after an eventful Saturday of football that saw two ranked teams go down and other highly-touted marquee names struggling against conference opponents — Florida State at BC and Georgia at home against South Carolina — while Alabama's dynasty looks to be in retreat after a sloppy win against lowly USF. Now it's time to get a look at the updated ESPN top 25 college football rankings heading into an action-packed Week 4.
- The Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings and computer prediction model are a measure of team strength that predicts a team's future performance
- Rankings and predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team's season, using a combination of analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, and a team's schedule
- Teams are ranked not strictly in order of talent, but by a projected point margin against an average team on a neutral field
ESPN top 25 college football rankings
25. Florida
Rankings change: Up 4
Florida predictions: 6.9 wins, 5.2 losses
What's next: vs. Charlotte
24. Tennessee
Rankings change: Down 2
Tennessee predictions: 7.5 wins, 4.5 losses
What's next: vs. UTSA
23. North Carolina
Rankings change: Up 3
North Carolina predictions: 9.0 wins, 3.2 losses
What's next: at Pittsburgh
22. Kansas State
Rankings change: Down 1
Kansas State predictions: 8.0 wins, 4.2 losses
What's next: vs. UCF
21. UCF
Rankings change: Up 2
UCF predictions: 8.8 wins, 3.3 losses
What's next: at Kansas State
20. Oregon State
Rankings change: Down 3
Oregon State predictions: 8.5 wins, 3.6 losses
What's next: at Washington State
19. Utah
Rankings change: Down 3
Utah predictions: 8.4 wins, 3.8 losses
What's next: vs. UCLA
18. Texas A&M
Rankings change: Up 1
Texas A&M predictions: 7.3 wins, 4.7 losses
What's next: vs. Auburn
17. Clemson
Rankings change: Up 3
Clemson predictions: 7.5 wins, 4.6 losses
What's next: vs. Florida State
16. Syracuse
Rankings change: Up 2
Syracuse predictions: 9.6 wins, 2.7 losses
What's next: vs. Army
15. Miami
Rankings change: None
Miami predictions: 9.7 wins, 2.6 losses
What's next: at Temple
14. Michigan
Rankings change: Down 4
Michigan predictions: 9.5 wins, 2.6 losses
What's next: vs. Rutgers
13. Ole Miss
Rankings change: Down 1
Ole Miss predictions: 9.3 wins, 2.9 losses
What's next: at Alabama
12. Notre Dame
Rankings change: Down 3
Notre Dame predictions: 9.6 wins, 2.4 losses
What's next: vs. Ohio State
11. Washington
Rankings change: Up 3
Washington predictions: 9.8 wins, 2.6 losses
What's next: vs. Cal
10. Florida State
Rankings change: Down 5
Florida State predictions: 10.5 wins, 2.2 losses
What's next: at Clemson
9. LSU
Rankings change: Up 4
LSU predictions: 8.9 wins, 3.4 losses
What's next: vs. Arkansas
8. Oregon
Rankings change: Up 3
Oregon predictions: 10.3 wins, 2.2 losses
What's next: vs. Colorado
7. Texas
Rankings change: Down 1
Texas predictions: 10.7 wins, 1.9 losses
What's next: at Baylor
6. Penn State
Rankings change: Up 1
Penn State predictions: 10.5 wins, 1.7 losses
What's next: vs. Iowa
5. USC
Rankings change: Down 1
USC predictions: 10.3 wins, 2.4 losses
What's next: at Arizona State
4. Alabama
Rankings change: Down 4
Alabama predictions: 9.4 wins, 3.0 losses
What's next: vs. Ole Miss
3. Georgia
Rankings change: None
Georgia predictions: 11.3 wins, 1.6 losses
What's next: vs. UAB
2. Oklahoma
Rankings change: Up 6
Oklahoma predictions: 11.4 wins, 1.3 losses
What's next: at Cincinnati
1. Ohio State
Rankings change: Up 1
Ohio State predictions: 11.3 wins, 1.3 losses
What's next: at Notre Dame
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James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He has covered football for a decade, previously managing several team sites and publishing national content for 247Sports.com for five years. His work has also been published on CBSSports.com. He founded College Football HQ in 2020, and the site joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022 and the On SI network in 2024.