College Football Playoff rankings: Projected top 4 after Week 4

After four weeks of college football action, who now sits in the top four for the College Football Playoff?

College football continues to show how much of a week-to-week game it really is. Travel back to post week one, and everyone was talking about the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and their huge win at home against the Michigan Wolverines. Now, they are still in the hunt, but they had back-to-back weeks with scares against Ball State and Vanderbilt.

The Auburn Tigers were a hot pick until last week, where their playoff hopes took a big hit with a loss in the Tiger Bowl to LSU. Keeping on that, even after their big win against Miami, LSU didn’t get national attention until last week. Now, that win is forgotten and many are looking to right now for the next hot team.

However, this week proved to be more traditional when it comes to the playoff teams. Let’s take a look at the top four after week four.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide

Anything can happen in college football, but it’s hard to imagine anyone else occupying this spot this year other than the Crimson Tide. Alabama entered SEC play last week with an absolute thrashing of Mississippi, and this week they came back home to face Texas A&M. The result was very similar. Alabama finally went with one quarterback starting pretty much the entire game, and that guy was, of course, Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa continues his red-hot start to 2018, throwing for 387 yards and four touchdowns today. His young receivers continued to step up as well, with Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy leading the way.

The defense also stayed hot, holding Texas A&M to only 23 points and their quarterback to under 200 yards passing. Defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs tallied three sacks on the day, and Anfernee Jennings also notched one and a half. Mack Wilson and Patrick Surtain both picked off a pass on the day, showing the team still has enough on the back end of their defense.

The SEC will be a tough gauntlet to maneuver, but the Crimson Tide are certainly prepared for another tough season.

2. Georgia Bulldogs

The Georgia Bulldogs, like Alabama, continue to roll through their opponents in 2018. The Missouri Tigers were the next victim of the season, but it wasn’t easy for the Bulldogs to win this one. Georgia started out by capitalizing on a couple of Missouri miscues, including a fumble returned for a touchdown and a blocked punt taken in for a score. The offense finally got into gear in the second half, with Jake Fromm heating up to throw three second-half touchdowns. He finished with 260 yards passing on the day.

The running game looked solid with yet another committee day. Elijah Holyfield led the way with 90 yards on 14 carries, and DeAndre Swift added on 71 yards on 16 carries. Many analysts wondered how the Georgia defense would hold up in tougher match-ups down the stretch, but it looks like they will be okay. D’Andre Walker had two sacks and also forced two fumbles on the day. Deandre Baker also looked good in coverage today and notched five tackles.

3. Clemson Tigers

The Clemson Tigers are back in the top four after a dominating performance in week four. Clemson finally started ACC play with a road trip to Georgia Tech, and it looks like the prediction of a Clemson runaway train in the conference is going to come true. It’s only one game, but Clemson continues to show why they are the class of the conference. Freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence got the majority of snaps today, and he made the most of them. He completed 13 of 18 passes and threw for four touchdowns on the day. Travis Etienne continues to ravage opponents on the ground, averaging over 11 yards per pop and finding the end zone once.

The Clemson defense also lived in the backfield against Georgia Tech. Draft hopefuls Christian Wilkins and Austin Bryant each notched a sack on the day, and the team combined for 10 tackles for loss.

There will always be a game for every playoff team that gives them a difficult time, but it’s hard to imagine that it wasn’t already Texas A&M for the Clemson Tigers. The ACC still presents tests, but the way the offense and defensive line are playing, it’s going to be tough to beat this team before the playoff semifinal.

4. Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes round out the top four this week, and unlike the three teams above them, Ohio State didn’t play a conference opponent this week. They took on the Tulane Green Wave in Columbus this weekend, and it really wasn’t a test for this battle-tested Buckeyes team. Quarterback Dwayne Haskins threw for 304 yards, five touchdowns, and only had three incompletions on the day. It was an electric day for Parris Campbell once again, as he torched the Green Wave defense with eight catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns.

The defense put the hurt on, notching four sacks (mostly from the young guns later in the game) and 14 tackles for a loss. Missing Nick Bosa hasn’t been an issue for the Buckeyes so far, but with Big Ten play beginning next week at Penn State, the defensive line will have to step up.

Next week, the Buckeyes face a big test on the road against Penn State, a team that has given them trouble in recent seasons.

First team out: LSU