College football rankings 2023: Projected Week 4 AP Top 25 after Tennessee upset, Alabama, Texas, Georgia struggle
- Tennessee's upset loss to Florida proves costly for Vols
- Alabama falls in rankings despite a win
- Georgia, Florida State, Texas all stumble into wins
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 3: No. 15-11
15. Ole Miss Rebels
Lane Kiffin had Ole Miss in a tricky spot this week, facing a better-than-you-think Georgia Tech team in Oxford sandwiched between the tough trip to Tulane and the trip to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama next week. Though Jaxson Dart looked pedestrian early, he rebounded for a big game overall and the Rebels still handled business against the Yellow Jackets. They built a 24-3 lead early in the second half and, even when GT fought back, they pulled away again for the win.
14. Oregon State Beavers
If not for by far the worst performance we’ve seen yet from DJ Uiagalelei with the Beavs, Oregon State would’ve more than run away with Saturday’s game against San Diego State. The end result was still a quite emphatic 26-9 win over the Aztecs, even with DJU’s two picks. The Beavers defense continues to look stout and, if mistakes are limited, Jonathan Smith’s team is extremely difficult to get out of its highly effective gameplan.
13. Alabama Crimson Tide
Even with a win over USF, Alabama drops from No. 10 in last week’s AP Top 25. They simply have to. Nick Saban benched Jalen Milroe for this game and gave run to both Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson. The results were worrisome at best for the Crimson Tide as they could not get anything going consistently. Bama’s offensive line is a shocking issue and SEC play looms large for this team very clearly still trying to figure itself out.
12. LSU Tigers
There was the potential for a sneaky big test for LSU this week as they were forced to go on the road to face Mississippi State in their SEC opener. Jayden Daniels and the Tigers made it look easy, though. The QB tallied four total touchdowns while Malik Nabers had a 239-yard, two-score day at the office. Granted, the Bulldogs might not be great this season, but it was a big statement to open conference play for LSU.
11. Oregon Ducks
Speaking of lopsided results that might not mean too much, Hawaii has not looked good this season and Oregon didn’t change that on Saturday night. Bo Nix continued to tally up numbers with 247 yards passing and three scores, but the Rainbow Warriors truly had no answers for anything. The Ducks defense will be tested much further next week when they welcome the upstart Buffaloes from Colorado to Eugene.