College football rankings: Predicting the AP top 25 poll for Week 4
As the dust settles around the latest slate of games on Saturday, let's look ahead to the next AP top 25 college football rankings
Note: this isn't our ranking of the best teams, but our prediction for how top 25 voters will slot them in the official poll on Sunday
Predicting the AP top 25 rankings
25. Missouri. Brady Cook went over 350 yards passing and Luther Burden caught 2 TD passes off 7 catches for 114 yards and Mizzou knocked off K-State on an SEC-record 61-yard field goal as time expired.
24. Iowa. The Hawkeyes finally got over 25 points in a win, but the passing game is a work in progress, as Cade McNamara posted 5.4 yards per throw while completing 9 passes with 2 turnovers.
23. UCLA. Dante Moore helped engineer a 35-0 first quarter lead over NC Central en route to a 59-7 rout with a trip to Utah up next.
22. Tennessee. That roster turnover on offense caught up with the Vols, who started slow the last two games, too, and failed to generate any real rhythm in an upset loss at Florida in the SEC opener.
21. Washington State. Cameron Ward hit over 300 yards with 4 TD passes in a 64-21 win over Northern Colo. and sit at 3-0 with the Beavers coming in next week.
20. Miami. The Canes ran for 240 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Bethune-Cookman on Thursday that was a shut-out until very late.
19. Duke. Riley Leonard ran for 2 scores while the Blue Devils rolled up 200 yards both on the ground and in the air, and are playing some great second-half football this year.
18. North Carolina. Another multi-INT game for Drake Maye, but the Heels QB also posted a career-high 414 passing yards, with 15 of his 40 throws going to Nate McCollum, who had 165 yards receiving in a win over Minnesota.
17. Oklahoma. OU has gone over 60 points in 2 of 3 games so far, including a 66-17 win at Tulsa as the offense had 10 plays of 20 or more yards, including 9 passes.
16. Colorado. The Buffaloes overcame a two-possession deficit against rival Colorado State, storming back on a statement 98-yard drive to force overtime and won the game on a daring 2-point conversion to stay perfect heading to Oregon next week.
15. Ole Miss. Despite struggles running the ball and Tre Harris' new injury, the Rebels have scored 100 second-half points, pulling away from Ga. Tech late and looking ahead to a date at Alabama next week.
14. Oregon State. DJ Uiagalelei had touchdowns with his arm and his legs, but also had two turnovers as the Beavers relied on defense to get past the Aztecs leading into a date with unbeaten Washington State.
13. Oregon. Bo Nix played turnover-free football and the Ducks ran for 210 yards in a 55-10 beatdown over Hawai'i, scoring 174 points in 3 games, and hosting Colorado next weekend.
12. Utah. An expected romp over Weber State for the Utes, who are 3-0 without Cameron Rising, but with two big tests coming up against UCLA and Oregon State.
11. Alabama. This isn't the Crimson Tide we know, after a sloppy 17-3 win over lowly USF, still searching for a competent quarterback who can generate anything downfield and a huge line that, despite the hype, so far cannot keep a clean pocket, whoever is back there.
10. LSU. Jayden Daniels hit 88.2% of his throws, a record, and Malik Nabers had 239 receiving yards in a thrashing at Mississippi State that silenced the cowbells in a statement win for the defending SEC West champs.
9. Notre Dame. A solid effort against CMU as Sam Hartman hit 330 yards passing with 3 TD passes and Audric Estime ran for 176 yards and a touchdown. Ohio State comes to visit Touchdown Jesus next week in a rematch of last year's opener.
8. Washington. As expected, Michael Penix and his receivers did a number on the Spartans' secondary, up 35-0 at the half and they never looked back.
7. Penn State. Drew Allar was under 50% passing on the day, but the Nittany Lions created five turnovers and ran for 164 yards at Illinois, the team's 10th straight game scoring 30 points, the longest active streak in FBS.
6. Ohio State. Some close play early against Western Kentucky, but the Buckeyes churned out over 500 yards and 49 unanswered points at home with the trip to Notre Dame next Saturday.
5. USC. Idle this week, the Trojans go to Arizona State next week and then to Colorado after that hoping their defensive improvements will stay intact.
4. Texas. Wyoming played the Longhorns close early — this was a 10-10 game in the third quarter — but the home side rattled off 21 unanswered points in the final frame when Quinn Ewers hit 2 TD passes and the defense scored a pick-six. Texas goes to Baylor next.
3. Florida State. Despite playing BC way too close early, and late, allowing 19 unanswered points, the Seminoles weathered an injury scare from Jordan Travis and did just enough to stay undefeated with an epic trip to Clemson next weekend.
2. Michigan. A little sloppy with the turnovers, including a personal-worst 3 INTs from J.J. McCarthy, who missed some open receivers, but Blake Corum ran over 100 yards and Jim Harbaugh will be back for a date with Rutgers in the Big Ten opener.
1. Georgia. After another slow start and trailing the Gamecocks 14-3 early, Carson Beck and a powerful rushing attack helped lead the comeback to stay perfect.
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