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College football rankings: Projected Week 4 AP Top 25 after Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State survive upset bids

By Cody Williams

Sep 18, 2021; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Alabama running back Brian Robinson Jr. (4) runs around Florida defenders for a touchdown at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Alabama defeated Florida 31-29. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 18, 2021; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Alabama running back Brian Robinson Jr. (4) runs around Florida defenders for a touchdown at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Alabama defeated Florida 31-29. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michigan Wolverines. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State were pushed to the brink in Week 3 but survived. Will it affect their spot in the AP Top 25 college football rankings?

Going down the college football rankings, Week 3 was much more about some of the top teams in the country getting a big-time scare than it was about huge upsets or top-five teams losing as it had been in weeks past.

To be sure, there were some upsets that transpired. Virginia Tech fell on the road at West Virginia after climbing into the top 15 while Miami got boat-raced by Michigan State. But the week, again, was more about Alabama, Oklahoma, Clemson and Ohio State all getting pushed to the limit — to varying degrees, it should be said — but coming out on top.

Does that affect what will happen in the AP Top 25 college football rankings coming out of this? We have our projections for the poll after Week 3.

Projected AP Top 25 College Football Rankings after Week 3: No. 25-21

25. Auburn Tigers

I’m not ready to move Auburn out of the top 25 college football rankings just yet. They were in the game with Penn State for all 60 minutes and clearly belonged on both sides of the ball. This is a top-25 team and one loss isn’t taking them out of the poll for me.

24. Kansas State Wildcats

Though you have to wonder if it will be short-lived with quarterback Skylar Thompson out, the Wildcats beat up on a pretty good Nevada team this week and moved to 3-0 on the season. That deserves some respect for now.

23. Liberty Flames

Malik Willis and the Flames have continued to produce against pretty inferior competition but it will be interesting to see how they fare against a Power 5 team like Syracuse on the road next week. Regardless, Liberty has checked all the boxes to be ranked at 3-0 on the year.

22. Michigan Wolverines

Maybe Jim Harbaugh’s team hasn’t played a legitimately quality opponent yet but Michigan is downright dominant thus far. They blasted Northern Illinois on Saturday and are now 3-0 with no game finishing within 21 points to this point. The Wolverines clearly have something cooking.

21. Michigan State Spartans

Unranked last week, Michigan State jumps ahead of their in-state rivals in the projected college football rankings after not just beating Miami on the road but destroying the Hurricanes. The Spartans are far better than almost anyone was giving them credit for this season.

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