College football rankings 2023: Projected Week 4 AP Top 25 after Tennessee upset, Alabama, Texas, Georgia struggle

Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 3: No. 8-7

8. Washington Huskies

There were some people questioning the Washington Huskies after they beat up on Boise State and Tulsa in the first two weeks of the season. Specifically, plenty of people were curious if the Huskies defense would be able to hold up against Power-Five competition as they went on the road this week to East Lansing. Sure, Michigan State has some obvious turmoil, but the offense had still looked solid behind Noah Kim prior to Saturday.

Washington’s defense made a big statement on the road, however. While Michael Penix Jr. continued to lead one of the country’s most prolific and explosive attacks, the Huskies held Michigan State to just 261 total yards (Washington put up 713). This team still needs to clean some things up, perhaps most notably the 11 penalties for 110 yards on Saturday, but it’s clear this team is going to make big noise on a national stage.

7. Penn State Nittany Lions

Drew Allar got his first road test in the Big Ten on Saturday, heading to Champaign to face the Fighting Illini. If we’re just looking at the young quarterback, there are certainly some lingering questions. Allar went just 16-of-33 for 208 yards and no scores in this game, even against a secondary that had been diced up in previous weeks. 

The good news for Allar is that the Penn State roster is good enough to live with that as long as there are no back-breaking mistakes. The Nittany Lions forced five turnovers from the Illini on Saturday while the ground game continued to be a force behind Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. 

Having said that, the big, high-end hopes for James Franklin’s team lie in Allar elevating the offense to new heights. He’ll have to be better throughout conference play for that to come to fruition.