AP top 25 poll: Seven most underrated teams in Week 4

Have we seen enough of the college football season now to truly start debating the national rankings in earnest? Maybe, maybe not, but we're going to do it anyway.

There are still 39 undefeated teams in college football, many still on the fringe of the top 25 and 10 of those not even receiving votes yet in the AP poll. So, clearly, there is still a lot to sort out and in the coming weeks, with conference play heating up.

10 of the 39 remaining undefeated teams are not only unranked, they didn’t receive a single vote in this week’s #APTop25. 🥲 pic.twitter.com/Xd14DKwntL
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) September 14, 2025

But several slighted teams caught our eye this week as the new polls came out Sunday.

Texas A&M (3-0, No. 10 AP, No. 10 Coaches)

While in-state rival Texas (2-1, No. 8/7) continues to maintain its higher ranking based on blind faith and perceived potential despite an unimpressive win over UTEP and mounting questions about whether quarterback Arch Manning is actually capable of leading a top-10 team, all Texas A&M has done is deliver week after week.

The Aggies scored one of the biggest wins of the weekend with their dramatic 41-40 victory over then-No. 8 Notre Dame -- this after lopsided wins over UTSA and Utah State.

More to the point, Texas A&M has a legit star at quarterback in Marcel Reed (869 passing yards, 9 TDs, 1 INT; 142 rushing yards and 1 TD), who led the game-winning drive in the final minutes Saturday and tossed the decisive touchdown pass on fourth down to cap a night in which he passed for 360 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT.

So why is Texas A&M two spots behind Texas in the AP poll?

Oregon (3-0, No. 6 AP, No. 5 Coaches)

There is a chance that Oregon is the best team in college football this year, and yet the Ducks dropped two spots in the AP poll this week despite a dominant 34-14 win over Northwestern in which they scored the game's first 34 points before the Wildcats tacked on two garbage-time scores.

Oregon has straight-up dismantled its opponents so far with a 59-13 win over 2024 FCS national runner-up Montana State and a 69-3 thumping of Oklahoma State before this latest display of all-around dominance. The Ducks also have lost just once since the start of last season -- to eventual national champion Ohio State after earlier beating the Buckeyes.

And they're sliding in the poll? All respect to Miami and Georgia for their ranked wins, but this seems short-sighted by the voters.

Vanderbilt (3-0, No. 20 AP, No. 23 Coaches)

This is purely a product of the stigma of what Vanderbilt football has been for most of its history. If this were almost any other SEC school coming off a 31-7 road win at ranked South Carolina to move to 3-0 after three one-sided victories, that team would be given a little more respect in the polls.

Sure, the Commodores' other wins came against FCS Charleston Southern and winless Virginia Tech, but they more than proved their mettle Saturday in Columbia.

This program took a five-win leap forward last year to 7-6 and looks to be ready to build upon that. Vanderbilt's resume is really no different than that of Georgia Tech, which is No. 18/19 in the polls, while No. 19/17 Indiana hasn't played anyone yet, and No. 17/16 Texas Tech has just beaten up on bad teams so far.

USC (3-0, No. 25 AP, unranked Coaches)

The voters remain largely unmoved by an undefeated USC team that ranks second nationally in scoring (55 points per game), first in total offense (604 yards per game) and cruised to a 33-17 win over Purdue after one-sided wins over Missouri State and Georgia Southern.

Give it time and there's a good chance the Trojans end up in the thick of things in the Big Ten and much higher in the rankings. Lincoln Riley definitely has a lot to prove this year, but he has a dynamic dual-threat quarterback who looks improved from last year and a defense that also looks to be taking another leap forward in 2025 while leading the country with 14 sacks so far.

TCU (2-0, unranked in both polls)

We're not saying TCU needs to be ranked just yet, but the fact that the Horned Frogs aren't even particularly close to cracking the top 25 -- fifth in the "also receiving votes" category in the AP poll and seventh after the cut in the coaches poll -- says that the voters are definitely sleeping on this team.

The 48-14 win over North Carolina was seemingly taken as more of a failure by the Tar Heels than a reflection of the Horned Frogs, and the 42-21 win over Abilene Christian this past weekend won't move the needle, but it was equally dominant as TCU led 28-0 at halftime to put the game out of reach early.

With one of the most accomplished veteran QBs in the country in Josh Hoover and a talented supporting cast, TCU will get a chance to sway opinions the next two weeks vs. SMU and Arizona State.

Tulane (3-0, unranked in both polls)

Again, Tulane doesn't need to be ranked yet, but it should be more on the radar than it is after a solid 3-0 start with two wins over Power 4 opponents -- 23-3 over Northwestern and 34-27 over Duke this past weekend.

Remember, Tulane won 12, 11 and 9 games the last three years, so this isn't a sleepy Group of Five program. And then the Green Wave added high-profile QB transfer Jake Retzlaff from BYU this season.

There's a great chance Tulane is one of the top Group of Five programs in the country in 2025. As for the polls, the Green Wave were seventh in the "also receiving votes" part of the AP poll and fifth there in the coaches poll.

Cal (3-0, unranked in both polls)

Cal received no votes in the AP poll and just one vote in the coaches poll despite a sterling 3-0 start that was punctuated with a 27-14 win over Minnesota on Saturday. The Bears also have wins over Oregon State (34-15) and Texas Southern (35-3).

Cal hasn't been nationally relevant in so long it's understandable they haven't been on voters' radar, but that may change at some point as the Bears have a favorable schedule and very viable path to a big season without a ranked opponent presently on the rest of the schedule (San Diego State, Boston College, Duke, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Louisville, Stanford and SMU).

With the way true freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (780 passing yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT) is playing, voters may need to tune in to Cal football sooner than later.