Pro Football Focus College Football Top 25: Massive changes ahead of Week 4

20200517_134556by:Justin Rudolph•09/22/21

Pro Football Focus has unveiled its top 25 college football teams heading into Week 4 of the season. While there are some familiar faces in familiar spots, a few teams saw some pretty big jumps from the week before.

  1. Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0, -)
  2. Georgia Bulldogs (3-0, -)
  3. Oklahoma Sooners (3-0, -)
  4. Oregon Ducks (3-0, -)
  5. Cincinnati Bearcats (3-0, -)
  6. Iowa Hawkeyes (3-0, -)
  7. Ole Miss Rebels (3-0, +4)
  8. Texas A&M Aggies (3-0, +1)
  9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-0, +1)
  10. North Carolina Tar Heels (2-1, +5)
  11. Florida Gators (2-1, +1)
  12. Ohio State Buckeyes (2-1, -4)
  13. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0, +3)
  14. Clemson Tigers (2-1, -7)
  15. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (3-0, -2)
  16. Michigan Wolverines (3-0, +2)
  17. BYU Cougars (3-0, +4)
  18. Michigan State Spartans (3-0, NR)
  19. Maryland Terrapins (3-0, +5)
  20. Kentucky Wildcats (3-0, -)
  21. Wisconsin Badgers (1-1, NR)
  22. Arkansas Razorbacks (3-0, NR)
  23. Texas Longhorns (2-1, NR)
  24. Fresno State Bulldogs (3-1, NR)
  25. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-0, NR)

New arrivals in the top 25

This week’s top 25 saw a lot of movement at the bottom as Pro Football Focus welcomed six new teams from the week before. Wake Forest, Fresno State, Michigan State, and Arkansas are all fresh faces, making their debut in this week’s top 25. The Wisconsin Badgers and Texas Longhorns both found their way back into the top 25 this week after falling out previously.

Biggest risers in the top 25


Ole Miss Rebels (+4), North Carolina Tar Heels (+5), Penn State Nittany Lions (+3)
These three teams saw the biggest jumps after putting in solid Week 3 performances.

The Tar Heels continued to bounce back after their season opener loss to Virginia Tech, by beating the Virginia Cavaliers, 59-39. Quarterback Sam Howell has found some much-needed help on the outside in Josh Downs, Who was named PFF’s offensive player of the week.

The Rebels continued to put up eye-popping numbers on the offensive side of the ball. Led by quarterback Matt Carroll’s seven touchdown performance, Ole Miss defeated Tulane soundly, 61-21.

Penn State won a dogfight at home against the Auburn Tigers Saturday night in a battle of top 25 teams. Quarterback Sean Clifford was money for the Nittany Lions, completing 28-of-32 passes in the game. That level of efficiency helped Penn State maintain the lead and secure a 28-20 victory.

Biggest falls in the top 25


Ohio State Buckeyes (-4), Clemson Tigers (-7)
These two teams have been fixtures in the College Football Playoff picture for nearly a decade. But one’s absence of defense and the others’ lack of an offensive identity have their playoff chances in question.

Ohio State struggled on defense for the third consecutive week. For the majority of the game, they allowed Tulsa to hang around and keep the Buckeyes on upset alert. Thanks to a ridiculous day running the ball by freshman TreVeyon Henderson and his 277 yards rushing, Ohio State was able to pull away late and win the game, 41-20.

For the Clemson Tigers, the inability to have any offensive consistency has them as the team with the biggest fall this week. Against Power 5 conference schools this year Clemson has put up an underwhelming 17 points total in two games. Had it not been for true freshman running back Will Shipley’s emergence and solid defense late, the Tigers would have been upset by Georgia Tech. Fortunately for Dabo Swinney and his side, they scraped by with the win by the narrow margin of 14-8.