Fansided

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 /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
College football rankings Week 3
North Carolina Tar Heels (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Projected AP Top 25 College Football Rankings after Week 3: No. 20-11

20. North Carolina Tar Heels

Though the Tar Heels wish they could go back to Week 1 and get another, UNC got a win over a Virginia-based ACC team in a shootout with the Cavaliers. Sam Howell and this offense are as explosive as any unit in the country but their defense might hold them back still.

19. Arkansas Razorbacks

Sure, Arkansas was playing Georgia Southern, but it was good to see the Razorbacks not suffer a terrible letdown game after climbing swiftly into the top 20 of last week’s rankings. They have a tough SEC slate ahead but they appear more prepared to face it than previously thought.

18. Wisconsin Badgers

The only team in the top 25 college football rankings off in Week 3, Wisconsin has rebounded nicely since losing their season-opening rock fight to Penn State. They’re a team that could be more dangerous as the season goes on.

17. BYU Cougars

Keep putting one test in front of the Cougars after people expected a down year and BYU keeps knocking them down. One week after a Holy War win, they welcomed Arizona State to Provo and took them down too.

16. Ole Miss Rebels

Putting up 40 points in the first half against Tulane is about what we should expect from Ole Miss. Matt Corral has Lane Kiffin’s offense humming and the Rebels might be a legitimate challenger in the SEC this season.

15. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Up to this week, Coastal Carolina had just been taking care of business pretty easily but Buffalo gave them a real challenge on Saturday. The Chanticleers got the three-point win but they definitely almost got caught sleepwalking a tad in Week 3.

14. Iowa State Cyclones

Bouncing back after getting trounced by rival Iowa was easy for the Cyclones against UNLV but the luster has certainly worn off of Iowa State. This team is quite good but they aren’t great, which some people were trying to bill them as coming into the year.

13. UCLA Bruins

One of the big surprises of the early season, Chip Kelly’s Bruins have come up big this year and passed a couple of big tests already. They did it again in Week 3 and should be considered a real threat to take the Pac-12.

12. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Somehow, a 27-13 win over a decisively mediocre Purdue team is Notre Dame’s best win of the year to this point. If this team wants to legitimately stay in the top 25, they need to shore several things up before they face Cincinnati in their next outing.

11. Florida Gators

Even after their first loss of the season, I’m not penalizing the Gators too much for losing to Alabama, especially when they gave the Crimson Tide all they could handle on Saturday and gave the No. 1 team in college football a scare.

Home/College Football