Top 25 (Week 4)

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0) LW 1
Going into this game you had to know Alabama was going to be conservative and not blow out Colorado State since former 'Bama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain is the Rams coach. And that is exactly what happened. The Crimson Tide on almost cruise control rolled through and got the easy victory. This sets up a big time game against Mississippi this week.

2. Oregon Ducks (3-0) LW 2
It was a bye week for the Ducks who have played so well you almost forget that Chip Kelly is no longer coaching this team. It also helps that QB Marcus Mariota is back for his second full season and looks like a grizzled veteran. The Ducks have a couple more easy wins on their horizon before games against Washington, Stanford, and UCLA.

3. Clemson Tigers (3-0) LW 3
With an extra week off to prepare for their Thursday showing against NC State you would have thought that the Tigers would be crisp and high flying. Instead they looked rusty and tight. But Clemson got the win to stay unbeaten to start ACC play. I wouldn't be surprised to see this team sleepwalk the next couple of weeks playing a bunch of patsies leading up to their game against FSU. And that's not a good thing.

4. Stanford Cardinal (3-0) LW 5
In what was suppose to be the game of the weekend and the only match up of two ranked teams, we saw Stanford play host to Arizona State. But just like most of the games this weekend, it was a one sided game. Stanford asserted their dominance early and never looked back. Aside from a late 21 point rally in the fourth, the Cardinal were practically flawless.

5. Louisville Cardinals (4-0) LW 4
Whenever you can win 72-0 that is impressive. However this is and probably will be a common scene for the Cardinals this year. FIU never stood a chance and that allowed Bridgwater to shine in limited play and get the backups involved. Louisville gets a bye week this Saturday, but that Rutgers game in three weeks can't come fast enough.

6. Florida State Seminoles (3-0) LW 6
It was pay day in Tallahassee where Bethune-Cookman came to take a beating and a paycheck. That's what happened here where FSU took the 59-6 victory and got out without any big injuries. But the Seminoles better watch out this week at Boston College that has "Trap Game" written all over it with Maryland in two weeks.

7. LSU Tigers (4-0) LW 7
With RB Jeremy Hill back the Tigers went from good to possible threat to win the SEC. Against an undefeated Auburn team, Hill ran for a career best 184 yards and two touchdowns. Paring him up with an improved Mettenberger has the Tigers looking like on of the best teams in the nation. Whether that is true or not, we may have a better idea when they face Georgia this weekend.

8. Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0) LW 8
It's games like Ohio State's 76-0 route of Florida A&M that make people want to get rid of the FCS vs FBS games. Florida A&M was clearly outmatched and the Buckeys toyed with them. We saw Kenny Guiton throw for six TDs in the first half as Ohio State continues to roll without QB Braxton Miller. It will be interesting to see if Miller gets the start against Wisconsin or if Guiton continues to lead.

9. Georgia Bulldogs (2-1) LW 9
There game against North Texas was nothing more than a confidence builder before their huge game against LSU. QB Aaron Murray topped 400 yards and the offense was flying on all cylinders. But will they be able to do that against the athletes LSU will have on defense? And are we going to see the Georgia that beat South Carolina or the one that lost to Clemson?

10. Texas A&M Aggies (3-1) LW 10
After lossing to Alabama, the Aggies bounced back with a convincing win over in state rival Southern Methodist. Johnny Manziel continued to excel this season with 346 combined yards and three touchdowns. A&M will now travel to Arkansas and face off aginst a Razorback team that is going to look to beat the Aggies up in the trenches.

11. South Carolina Gamecocks (2-1) LW 11
After a couple of tough match ups to start the year, the Gamecocks got a week off to rest and get ready for the bulk of their games. But they cannot afford to look past a Central Florida team that is very dangerous. The Gamecocks need to look like they did opening week against North Carolina or we could see an upset here.

12. UCLA Bruins (3-0) LW 12
In an emotion game honoring the death of a teammate the Bruins continued to look like the class of the Pac 12 South. QB Brett Hundley looked like a Heisman candidate and used TD runs by two different backs to get to a 59-13 win. Now the Bruins enjoy their second bye week of the year in preparation of their Thursday night game against Utah.

13. Miami Hurricanes (3-0) LW 13
I understand that FCS schools schedule games against top teams to get a pay day for their athletic budget. But I think it's time Savannah State stops. They are not even close to being competitive and get completely blown out. This game was nothing different. It basically served as a scrimmage for the Hurricanes.

14. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0) LW 14
Adding to the lackluster week of games and no upsets was the fact that many of the top teams had bye weeks. Oklahoma State was one of them. But the good thing is that the nation has practically forgotten about the Sports Illustrated story that brought out negative allegations of their program.

15. Baylor Bears (3-0) LW 16
Last year Baylor traveled to Louisiana-Monroe and had to survive an upset bid. This year the Bears didn't want anything to do with that and made it a one sided show winning 70-7. RB Lache Seastrunk had 156 yards rushing and starting to get some traction in the Heisman Race. Baylor enjoys a week off before starting the Big 12 schedule against West Virginia.

16. Oklahoma Sooners (3-0) LW 17
It's only fitting that the Big 12 looks to be a three team a race and all three teams are back to back to back in the rankings. I don't know if you could have said that a couple of weeks ago about the Sooners, but with them starting Blake Bell last week the offens really took off. They were another team with a bye week and hopefully had time to full integrate Bell into the starting lineup.

17. Washington Huskies (4-0) LW 18
This week had a couple of themes amongst the top 25. One of those was teams winning in blowout fashion over FCS schools. Washington fit right in there by blowing out Idaho State 56-0. It was pretty uneventful and gave the starters a chance to rest. Washington now moves on to Pac 12 play and faces a 3-0 Arizona team that is flying under the radar. This is a great opportunity to show that Washington is worthy of their top 20 ranking.

18. Mississippi Rebels (3-0) LW 19
The other big trend of this week was teams on byes. That is where we found Mississippi getting ready for their huge showdown against Alabama. The Rebels are off to a great start and could really make an big impact with an upset victory. Alabama usually has that one let down game a year (A&M last year) and that could be this weekend.

19. Northwestern Wildcats (4-0) LW 20
After winning in impressive fashion for most of the year, the Wildcats had their first really downer of game. But luckily the defense manufactured two scores that ended up being the difference. Northwestern now has a bye week before a huge showdown against Ohio State.

20. Florida Gators (2-1) LW 21
It was a case of bad news and possibly some good. The bad news was that Jeff Driskell broke his leg and will miss the rest of the season. It's too bad for the kid who gave it everything he had to make the team better. But the injury forced the Gators to play backup Tyler Murphy who in relief brought some life to the Gators offense that they've lacked for a while. Could this new play maker help save the Gators season?

21. Wisconsin Badgers (3-1) LW 24
After the debacle that was the Arizona State game, the Badgers got back to their usual ways in blowing out Purdue. It was an easy 41-10 win that gives Wisconsin a lot of momentum heading into their game at Ohio State. Even though it's early in the season, this game has a lot of implications on who will represent the Leaders.

22. Michigan Wolverines (4-0) LW 15
After throttling Notre Dame everything was roses for the Wolverines. But then came the near loss to Akron. Ok, just one game. Then came another near loss to UConn (that lost to Towson). One time is a bad game, twice is a sign of problems. Michigan better get their ducks in a row or what was thought to be a banner year could turn into a nightmare. Luckily they have an off week to get it figured out.

23. Fresno State Bulldogs (3-0) LW 25
With three straight Boise State touchdowns to take the lead, it looked like Fresno State's undefeated season was going to come to an end. However QB Derek Carr lead the Bulldogs down and got the go ahead touchdown to get out with an impressive 41-40 victory. It was the first victory over Boise State since 2005. Carr was the star of the show with 460 yards and 4 TDs. The win also gives the Bulldogs the early lead in the Mountain West and and a chance at ending Boise State's string of dominance.

24. Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-0) LW 23
After having such a great start to the year, it was only a matter of time before true freshman walk on quarterback Baker Mayfield played like a true freshman walk on quarterback. Luckily it was against Texas State and the Red Raiders were able to overcome it. Mainly because of their defense. They'll need Mayfield to get back to his normal self to make the Big 12 go from a three team race to a four team.

25. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-0) LW NR
Making their first appearance in the top 25 this year are the Yellow Jackets from Georgia Tech. But we shouldn't be too surprised since Paul Johnson has always keep them right in the thick of it. This year they've relied on sophomore quarterback Vad Lee to run their triple option offense and he had to overcome two Tech fumbles to still get the win. The win also gives them two early ACC wins and has them off to a good start.

Dropped Out: Arizona State Sun Devils