CBS Sports College Football Power Rankings: Crazy Week 4 turns rankings upside down
Following a chaotic weekend of college football, CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd has released his new Power Rankings ahead of the fifth week of the season.
Week 4 saw a huge upset in Raleigh as NC State downed Clemson, and Clemson’s offensive concerns continue to mount. The Tigers are last in yards and points per game in an ACC that appears to have Wake Forest in the driver’s seat.
Speaking of offensive concerns, Arkansas beat Texas A&M in Arlington after nine consecutive losses as the Aggies continue to struggle to put points on the board, and the Razorbacks stunned the nation for the second time in three weeks. The Texas A&M defense allowed its first two touchdowns of the year, but unless quarterback Zach Calzada and the offense can find answers quickly, it could be a long year in the SEC.
After three incredibly shaky wins, Notre Dame beat Wisconsin in Chicago. The score suggests the game was a blowout, and while it most certainly was not, the Notre Dame front seven was suffocating. The defense looks like the Clark Lea-led defenses of the last few years in South Bend, creating five turnovers on the day and returning two interceptions for scores in the fourth quarter to blow the game wide open.
As Dodd aptly said, “proceed with caution, delight and glee.”
CBS Sports college football Top 25:
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Oregon
- Penn State
- Iowa
- Cincinnati
- Notre Dame
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Ohio State
- Florida
- UCLA
- Texas A&M
- BYU
- Michigan
- Fresno State
- LSU
- Michigan State
- Ole Miss
- Clemson
- Coastal Carolina
- Oklahoma State
- Maryland
- Baylor
- NC State
Biggest Movers:
Arkansas moved up nine spots in Dodd’s poll and is ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll for the first time since 2012. They take on Georgia in Athens this weekend, and ESPN’s College GameDay will be on site. Arkansas’ last appearance on the pregame show was 2011.
The Razorbacks still have a gauntlet of tough games in front of them (at Ole Miss and at Alabama stick out), but regardless, head coach Sam Pittman has orchestrated one of the best comebacks in recent memory after four wins and two ranked wins to open the 2021 season.
Clemson and Texas A&M fell nine and 10 spots, respectively, after their losses. No team has ever made the College Football Playoff with two losses, and with their schedule that features just one more team that is currently ranked in the AP Top 25 (No. 24 Wake Forest), the Tigers chances at a seventh straight playoff appearance seem incredibly unlikely.
Texas A&M still has to play Alabama and Ole Miss (plus a few other very formidable opponents in the SEC West), so they still have a few “prove yourself” opportunities. But after Saturday, the high hopes that head coach Jimbo Fisher’s squad had coming into the season are rapidly slipping away.
Exciting October on tap in college football
The first month of college football produced some excellent games and shocking results. The good news? October looks even better.
The Big Ten is more open than it has been in recent years, with Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State all without a loss entering the second full month of football, and and Ohio State team that is of course still a challenge to play. Iowa will need to win at Maryland and at Wisconsin plus beat Penn State at home to escape October unscathed, while Penn State has the Iowa game plus a trip to Columbus. The Spartans and the Wolverines round out October with a matchup in East Lansing.
The aforementioned Arkansas schedule is daunting, and the top of the exciting SEC West also has the annual Alabama-Ole Miss and Alabama-Texas A&M matchups in the next two weeks. As always, Georgia-Florida, otherwise known as the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party, closes out October in Jacksonville.
Notre Dame is sitting at 4-0, and October will reveal how strong the foundation is in South Bend. The Irish host Cincinnati in a Top-10 matchup this weekend, then have three currently unranked opponents entirely capable of defeating them. They travel to Virginia Tech on Oct. 9 then host USC and UNC to round out the month.