Josh’s College Football Rankings 2024–Week 4

It was a quiet week for big games, but the games that did happen ended up shaking the rankings up a decent amount. It is also the fourth week of the season, which means we are starting to learn more about teams. I give teams a mulligan the first three weeks for close games, but now? A team has had plenty of time to put it all together…top teams need to crush weaker opponents. When I say crush, I do not mean running up the score, but more like how dominant was the victory. 

1. Texas (4-0)–#3–W 51-3 ULM. I was not ready to bump them to #1 last week because of the injury of Quinn Ewers. I wanted to see a full game of Arch Manning. He was good, and I do not think the Longhorns need to be worried if Ewers needs another week or two to get healthy.
2. Georgia (3-0)–#1–BYE
3. Alabama (3-0)–#2–BYE
4. Ohio State (3-0)–#4–W 49-14 Marshall. It was close for a few minutes, but the Buckeyes offense was just too much for Marshall. This team has so many weapons.
5. Tennessee (4-0)–#9–W 25-15 #13 Oklahoma. I was annoyed with how much hype the Vols got last week after putting 70+ points on Kent State. But then they beat Oklahoma, and from what I saw, they controlled the game. The Sooners scored a touchdown with a minute to go. Hell, two TDs happened in the 4th quarter.
6. Ole Miss (4-0)–#6–W 52-13 Georgia Southern. An easy schedule, but win the games, and win them impressively.
7. Penn State (3-0)–#7–W 56-0 Kent State. Nittany Lion fans were enraged after the first quarter because it was only 7-0. Then they turned it up and absolutely dominated the Golden Flashes. Penn State set a new school record for total yards (718).
8. Oregon (3-0)–#8–BYE
9. Missouri (4-0)–#5–W 30-27 OT Vanderbilt. A close one against Boston College, then this game against Vandy. Look, a top five team needs to win these games easily.
10. Miami (4-0)–#11–W 50-15 South Florida. This was a good game in the first half, but the Hurricanes were just too much for the Bulls.
11. Utah (4-0)–#12–W 22-19 #18 Oklahoma State. I won did not see any of this game, but Utah still won against a good team without Cam Rising.
12. Michigan (3-1)–#14–W 27-24 #10 USC. It was an ugly win, but that is how Michigan likes it. The Wolverines are still a good time, they have some question marks. They got beat up by Texas, but they can still win against most teams out there. And they showed that against the Trojans.
13. Louisville (3-0)–#16–W 31-19 Georgia Tech. Louisville just creeping up the rankings.
14. Clemson (2-1)–#17–W 59-35 NC State. Clemson’s offense has come alive these last few weeks.
15. USC (2-1)–#10–L 27-24 #14 Michigan. Not going to punish the Trojans too much for a close loss at Michigan. They need to bounce back from it, and win the next two against Wisconsin and Minnesota, before hosting PSU.
16. Illinois (4-0)–#20–W 31-24 OT Nebraska. I did not have Nebraska ranked, but every other ranking body had the Cornhuskers above Illinois. Looks like I knew more than they did. I usually do.
17. LSU (3-1)–#19–W 34-17 UCLA. Is LSU any good? Barely beat South Carolina, beat UCLA, but lost to USC. Oh, and Nicholls State.
18. Oklahoma (3-1)–#13–L 25-15 #9 Tennessee. Maybe a QB change will spark some life into this offense.
19. BYU (4-0)–NR–W 38-9 #15 Kansas State. The Cougars with a statement win over the Wildcats. They held K-State to under 300 total yards.
20. Boston College (3-1)–#24–W 23-19 Michigan State. It was a close game, but this team finds ways to win.
21. Notre Dame (3-1)–#25–W 28-3 Miami OH. How did they lose to NIU, who lost to Buffalo!!??
22. Oklahoma State (3-1)–#18–L 22-19 #12 Utah
23. UCF (3-0)–HM–BYE. The rare jump into the rankings while on bye.
24. Duke (4-0)–NR–W 45-17 Middle Tennessee. The defense is good (would you expect anything less from Manny Diaz?), but the offense finally scored more than 26 points.
25. Kansas State (3-1)–#15–L 38-9 BYU. The Big XII is going to be a battle, KSU better regroup quickly.

Honorable Mention

• Texas A&M (3-1)–HM–W 26-20 Bowling Green. The Aggies beat a good team. Bowling Green has now given Penn State and Texas A&M everything they could handle. 
• Arizona (2-1)–#22–BYE. The even more rare drop out of the rankings while on bye. But that Kansas State loss looks a little worse now.
• Pitt (4-0)–NR–W 73-17 Youngstown State. The Panthers are good this year. Instead of going for veteran QBs in the portal, they went after Eli Holstein from Alabama. The redshirt freshman has been impressive so far.
• Washington State (4-0)–HM–W 54-52 2OT San Jose State.
• Indiana (4-0)–NR–W 52-14 Charlotte. Curt Cignetti has turned things around in Bloomington.

Watch List
SMU (3-1)–NR–W 66-42 TCU
JMU (3-0)–NR–W 70-50 UNC. James Madison destroyed UNC. 70 points…insane.
UNLV (3-0)–NR–BYE. The MWC should be fun the next few weeks.
Arkansas (3-1)–NR–W 24-14 Auburn. I am reluctant to pay attention to this team, since they burned me the last few years.
Iowa State (3-0)–NR–W 52-7 Arkansas State. They beat Iowa, and for some reason people want to rank them. I bet they end up with two losses by the end of October.

There is one game everyone will be talking about next week: Colorado at UCF! Can the Buffaloes come to Orlando and prove they are legit, or will Gus Malzahn run the ball all over them?

Just kidding, the big game next week is #2 Georgia at #3 Alabama. Depending on how this game goes, there could end up being a new #1. We also get #22 Oklahoma State at #25 Kansas State, and #13 Louisville at #21 Notre Dame. I am obviously excited for #16 Illinois to make their way to Happy Valley to face the #7 Nittany Lions!

Coaching Hot Seat
I am going with a reverse hot seat: Alex Golesh. Yeah, the head coach of South Florida. He plays top ten teams well. They do not win, but they are at least competitive, remember last year against Alabama? And the first half against Miami looked like it could be an upset. I think Coach Golesh will find himself a job at a P4 conference in the next year. 

Awful Losses
Monmouth over Florida International 45-42. Another FCS win over the FBS. 
JMU over UNC 70-50. The most points given up by a Mack Brown team (I think that is something I heard). The Tar Heels will probably stop scheduling Sun Belt opponents.