What’s the best conference in college football after four weeks? The same as it’s been all year.
Saturday’s college football action around the country was nothing short of entertaining, but brought few changes to the projected playoff picture after a number of underdogs fell just short.
The week’s best game took place at an electric Kinnick Stadium, where Penn State survived a trap game against Iowa with a Juwan Johnson touchdown on the final play. Fellow playoff contender Michigan also remained undefeated with a strong second half against a game Purdue squad and may be able to jumpstart its offense behind backup quarterback John O’Korn.
While it’s certainly no longer the best conference in the land, the SEC now has a pair of elite-tier teams after Georgia demolished Mississippi State in Athens. Alabama left little doubt about its No. 1 ranking with about as dominating of a performance as possible against a Vanderbilt team that had a lot of hope coming into the weekend.
One of the few major upsets in week four was TCU’s emphatic road win over Oklahoma State, a result that will shake up both the Big 12 race and national playoff picture. Florida State also fell victim to an upset at the hands of NC State, although it was only a matter of time until the Seminoles tumbled down the rankings with Deondre Francois out due to injury.
Each Power Five member has a representative in the top five of the AP Poll and at least two undefeated teams in the top 12, so the elite tiers aren’t separated by much. All the action in week four brought no changes in the power rankings, other than extending the Big Ten’s lead over the bunched-up other four conferences.