Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 4: No. 20-16
20. Oregon State Beavers
Another loser in Week 4 that we’re not going to penalize but so much. Oregon State found itself in a game script it didn’t want to be and trailing 35-14 on the road going into the fourth quarter. But DJ Uiagalelei and the Beavers fought back to make it a three-point game, just running out of time in the end. Jonathan Smith’s team isn’t going away, though, and they’ll surely cause some chaos in the Pac-12 down the line.
19. Ole Miss Rebels
Some people are probably going to call for Ole Miss to drop out of the Top 25 – I’m not even seeing them falling out of the Top 20. Yes, the Rebels got dominated in the second half against Alabama. Even with that, however, Lane Kiffin’s team was still not out of reach until the final minutes. This is still a much-improved Ole Miss team that is going to cause more problems in the SEC moving forward.
18. Miami Hurricanes
Playing on the road at Temple, Miami wasn’t going to be in much danger given another down year for the Owls. Having said that, the Hurricanes looked strong in the ways they should. Henry Parrish Jr. ran amok with 139 yards and two scores while Tyler Van Dyke added three touchdown throws to his season-long tally. The defense dominated as they should’ve and the hype continues to slowly grow for The U.
17. Duke Blue Devils
We might as well just accept that Duke isn’t going to be winning games in a pretty fashion. Mike Elko probably wants it that way and, even against a clearly inferior UConn team, the Blue Devils weren’t turning on the afterburners. In the end, it was a decisive 41-7 victory but Duke definitely doesn’t look like a team that’s going to be piling up style points any time soon for those who watch the games.
16. Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma has never been shy about running up the score on opponents, as we’ve already seen this season, which is why you have to be at least slightly concerned about a 20-6 win over Cincinnati on the road. The Bearcats aren’t what they have been and the Sooners were far from crisp in their overall execution. A win is a win, but they stay put at No. 16 after failing to move the needle.