College Football Power Rankings: Penn State joins top 10, Oklahoma plummets after loss in SEC opener

Georgia
Kirby Smart leads a rested and tested Georgia team into Tuscaloosa for the biggest game yet on the calendar this week. The bye week came at a perfect time for Smart to circle the wagons, and you can bet the Bulldogs are peeved after that 13-12 close call at Kentucky two weeks ago. The Bulldogs enter Week 5 as the only team in the country to not allow a touchdown this season. That stat likely won’t hold against the Crimson Tide’s explosive attack. — 3-0
2

Texas
Arch Mania may be nearing an end. Quinn Ewers took a break this week to heal an oblique injury, and it’s possible he returns to practice this week before hosting Mississippi State. If not, the Longhorns will be content enjoying the rare pleasure of having two elite quarterbacks on the roster. Arch Manning threw an early interception in the 51-3 win against ULM but rebounded to throw for 258 yards and two touchdowns. The Horns led 21-0 after the first quarter. — 4-0
3

Ohio State
Ohio State might have the most talented offense in the country with several players capable of recording MVP-type performances that garner national attention. Last week it was Quinshon Judkins, whose 86-yard touchdown run sparked an eventual 49-14 blowout of Marshall. He had 173 yards and two scores. Next up is the Buckeyes’ Big Ten opener at Michigan State. — 3-0
4

Tennessee
Don’t let the scoreboard fool you. Tennessee dominated Oklahoma on the road, handing the Sooners only their fourth double-digit loss at home in this century. The Vols slowed down the tempo on offense in the second half, opting to run and bleed clock against an Oklahoma defense that was taking out its anger with big hits in the open field. I’ll keep repeating this every week until people start listening: The Vols’ defense is elite. They went 19 straight quarters without allowing a touchdown, and on Saturday, 10 players combined for 11 tackles for loss. — 4-0
5

Miami (FL)
Cam Ward is a superstar, and he’ll start getting more love as more marquee games start popping up on the schedule, but what he’s doing at Miami is already making history. He’s the first quarterback in program history with four straight 300-yard games and led a 36-point outburst to pull away from a tricky South Florida team for a 50-15 win on the road. Miami has scored 50-plus in three straight games, the best streak since the Hurricanes won the national title in 2001. — 4-0
6

Ole Miss
The Rebels have yet to be challenged and have outscored opponents by a combined 198 points, the highest total through four games since Baylor in 2013. Kentucky provides a much stiffer test on defense this week, but the Wildcats offense shouldn’t be an issue for a much improved Ole Miss defense, which finally allowed their first offensive touchdown of the season in the 52-13 win against Georgia Southern last week. — 4-0
7

Alabama
Alabama exits the bye week in an unfamiliar position: underdog. Georgia opened as a slight favorite against the Tide, who are underdogs at home for the first time since 2007, Nick Saban’s first of 17 seasons leading the program. Alabama can rocket up the power rankings with a win against the No. 1 Bulldogs. Alabama has the talent, but as Bama247 outlined last week, it’s not just talent that wins big games like those against Georgia. — 3-0
8

Utah
Kyle Whittingham can just flat-out coach, no matter the obstacles or limitations. Freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson started in place of injured seventh-year veteran Cam Rising and led the Utes to an impressive 22-19 win at Oklahoma State – their first road win against a top-15 team since 2018. The Utes were in control most of the game thanks to Whittingham’s defense, which limited the Cowboys’ vaunted rushing offense led by Doak Walker Award winner Ollie Gordon II to 48 yards. 1 4-0
9

Oregon
Oregon healed up and had an opportunity for its work-in-progress offensive line to improve communication. Next up is UCLA, which was competitive for a half against LSU but has struggled in all facets. The Bruins have allowed their last two opponents to complete 72% or more of their passes. This could be a huge game for quarterback Dillon Gabriel. 1 3-0
10

Penn State
Penn State finally enters Big Ten action with a ranked-on-ranked matchup against surging Illinois this week. The Nittany Lions dispatched Kent State 56-0 with a school-record 718 offensive yards and 40 first downs while limiting the Golden Flashes to 67 yards. The Nittany Lions have won 18 straight games in the month of September, the second-longest streak in the FBS. 1 3-0
11

Missouri
Missouri drops a spot after a ho-hum win in double overtime against Vanderbilt, which lost the previous week to Georgia State. If not for kicker Blake Craig, would the Tigers still be undefeated? He kicked a 50-yard field goal for the third straight game. Nate Noel ran for a career-high 199 yards. Mizzou owns the nation’s longest active winning streak at eight games and enters a bye week before traveling to Texas A&M, which has jumped back into the AP poll since losing earlier this season to Notre Dame. 1 4-0
12

Clemson
Georgia usually breaks teams, not spark them into a ravenous thirst for blood. The Tigers were again explosive at home, drilling NC State 59-35 on Saturday. The Tigers led 28-0 after the first quarter, marking the second straight hot start. The Tigers have outscored their last two opponents 125-55. Dabo Swinney is one win away from tying Bobby Bowden as the winningest coach in ACC history with 173 victories. He’ll try to get it against ACC newcomer Stanford, which upset Syracuse on the road in its conference opener last week. 6 2-1
13

Michigan
Who needs a quarterback when you can have an elite defense and a backup running back capable of breaking a game open on the ground? Kalel Mullings is a tackle-breaking machine and has somehow surpassed Donovan Edwards as the face of the Wolverines offense, rushing for 159 yards to eclipse his career-high a week earlier. Alex Orji threw for only 32 yards, the lowest pass total by the Wolverines this century. 6 3-1
14

USC
Michigan rallied from a 14-3 halftime deficit at Michigan, took the lead and then gave it up again on Kalel Mullings’ touchdown with 37 seconds remaining in The Big House. USC’s defense has seemingly turned a corner under first-year coordinator D’Anton Lynn, but a 63-yard run on Michigan’s game-winning drive was a heartbreaker in the Trojans’ debut in the Big Ten. 2 2-1
15

LSU
LSU’s offense continues to power the Tigers into the upper half of the SEC, but can the defense hold it together? The Tigers knocked off UCLA 34-17 in Baton Rouge behind Garrett Nussmeier’s 352 passing yards and three touchdowns. He now leads the SEC with 13 passing touchdowns. That’s the good news. The bad news: defensive star Harold Perkins is out for the season with a torn ACL. 2 3-1
16

Iowa State
Iowa State had no problem demolishing Arkansas State in a 52-7 win. Six Cyclones scored, and coach Matt Campbell tied Dan McCarney’s record with 56 wins as the program’s head coach. Rocco Becht threw two touchdowns and scored on a run as well. The Cyclones picked up 490 yards of offense, the most since 2021. Next up is a trip to Houston, the worst team in the Big 12. 1 3-0
17

Louisville
Louisville passed its first test of the season with a disciplined approach, scoring touchdowns on an interception return and blocked field goal. Jeff Brohm’s bunch is one of only three teams in the country to not commit a turnover this season. 3 3-0
18

Illinois
Illinois was one of the more impressive teams in Week 4, eeking out an overtime win at resurgent Nebraska on Friday. Defensive coordinator Aaron Henry called a magnificent game as he dealt with the tragedy of his sister’s death. He dialed up well-timed blitzes that led to five sacks of Dylan Raiola. Offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. was masterful with his play designs in the red zone as well. Bret Bielema is 2-0 against teams ranked in the AP poll this year. The program was 2-32 in its previous 34 matchups against ranked teams. NR 4-0
19

Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State has fallen on hard times on offense. Ollie Gordon II is averaging only 64.5 yards per game after winning the Doak Walker Award last season, and quarterback Alan Bowman was benched at halftime in the 22-19 loss to Utah. The Utes were up 22-3 with 6:21 remaining in the game. 2 3-1
20

Notre Dame
Notre Dame has responded well since its loss to Northern Illinois. Riley Leonard finally threw his first touchdown pass of the season in a 28-3 win Saturday against Miami (Ohio), and he rushed for a career-best 143 yards and two touchdowns. Louisville looms large this week as the Irish try to stay in the playoff hunt. 2 3-1
21

BYU
Credit BYU for taking advantage of Kansas State’s mistakes, yes, but did we also see the rise of a new star? Freshman running back Sione Moa was breathtaking in the late-night win, rushing for 76 yards and bouncing off tacklers with ease in relief of injured starter LJ Martin. The Cougars scored an insane 31 points in the middle eight minutes of the 38-9 win. BYU needed only 241 yards of offense, its lowest total in a victory since 1998. NR 4-0
22

Iowa
Welcome back, Iowa. Don’t fool us again. The Hawkeyes crushed Minnesota 31-14 behind its fourth straight 200-yard rushing performance, the program’s best streak since 2013. Kaleb Johnson rushed for a career-high 206 yards and three touchdowns. It was an impressive performance against a Minnesota defense that had allowed only 19 combined points in its first three games. NR 3-1
23

Indiana
Indiana was this close to entering the power rankings last week and impressed enough in a 52-14 victory against Charlotte to enter the fray. Curt Cignetti is on a tear in his honeymoon season, staking out four straight wins by 24 points or more, the best stretch in the Hoosiers’ history. He’s also the first coach in school history to start a career 4-0. Look at the schedule and it’s not crazy to believe Indiana could move to 6-0 before hosting Nebraska on Oct. 19. NR 4-0
24

Texas A&M
Texas A&M held on for a 26-20 win against Bowling Green, which earlier this season put a scare in Penn State. Freshman quarterback Marcel Reed made his second start in place of Conner Weigman (injury), throwing for 179 yards and running for 91 yards. Reed hasn’t been perfect but he certainly seems to be a much better fit than Weigman. NR 3-1
25

Oklahoma
Yuck. The Sooners cling to the bottom rung of top 25 after yet another dismal offensive performance. Tennessee limited the Sooners to a combined -4 yards in the second and third quarters, and it appears Michael Hawkins Jr. has taken over for Jackson Arnold as quarterback. The Sooners’ defense, which limited the highest-scoring offense in the country to 25 points, will give them a shot in many games remaining on the schedule. 9 3-1