College football rankings 2022: Projected Week 5 AP Top 25 after Oklahoma upset, USC survives, Ohio State cruises

Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 4: No. 8-7

8. Oklahoma State Cowboys

Last week, Oklahoma State beat up on Arkansas Pine-Bluff so badly that they needed to take the week off. Not really, but the Cowboys did have a bye in Week 4 and got to sit tight in the rankings as a result of that. But we’ll learn a lot more about what Spencer Sanders and the rest of Mike Gundy’s team are next Saturday.

With a Big 12 Championship Game rematch with Baylor on deck, this Oklahoma State group that has looked far more explosive offensively than they were a year ago and that still has a solid defense should be able to come out and make a statement if they are truly one of the 10 best teams in college football.

7. Kentucky Wildcats

Considering that Kentucky has a date in Oxford with Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss next week, we can somewhat excuse a pedestrian performance in Lexington on Saturday against a vastly inferior Northern Illinois team. Having said that, Mark Stoops’ bunch didn’t look like a Top 10 team on Saturday and the flaws that could come back to bite them were quite evident.

There’s no doubt that the final score is lying a bit after the Huskies scored a field goal and touchdown after falling behind 31-14. And Will Levis showed off his stuff with 303 yards and four scores through the air in this game. But even then, this defense might not be as good as it has been in recent years and we know Levis needs to tighten up against better defenses in his own right. Even still, Kentucky remains perfect, which is the task at hand for now.