A chaotic Week 4 in college football has provided some shake-ups in the new rankings, with no result carrying more weight than Ohio State's 17-14 win at Notre Dame in an instant classic between two of the sport's blue-blood programs. The Buckeyes' scored the winning touchdown in the game's final seconds, giving Ryan Day's team its best win of the year and convincing the Coaches Poll top 25 voters to make some adjustments to the top five.
The Buckeyes were No. 4 in the Coaches Poll heading into the weekend, but now sit at No. 3 after defeating the Fighting Irish, who dropped four spots from No. 9 to No. 13. The Buckeyes also collected two first-place votes, something that rival Michigan, still holding firm at No. 2, did not receive in this week's balloting.
Washington State made one of the biggest moves within the top 25, rising from No. 24 to No. 17 after holding off a late charge from Oregon State in a 38-35 win. The Beavers dropped six spots to No. 21 after the road loss, one spot behind Ole Miss, which also dropped after its loss at Alabama.
While the Pac-12 still has strong representation in the Coaches Poll with the likes of Washington (No. 8), Oregon (No. 9), Utah (No. 10) and Washington State (No. 17) in the top 20, this week's update also includes Colorado and UCLA dropping from the top 25 following Week 4 losses. Deion Sanders' Buffaloes were at No. 19 heading into the weekend and now sit 35th in voting points after a 42-6 loss at Oregon; the Bruins' 14-7 defeat at Utah puts them 30th.
Rankings changes near the cut line of the top 25 include not just the exits for Colorado, Iowa, Clemson and UCLA, but Coaches Poll breakthroughs for No. 22 Missouri, No. 23 Florida and No. 24 Kansas. Kansas State also returns at No. 25 after beating UCF, ending a one-week absence from the poll.
Below is the full Coaches Poll top 25 from the 64 coaches who vote weekly (first-place votes in parentheses):
Coaches Poll top 25
- Georgia (61)
- Michigan
- Ohio State (2)
- Florida State
- Texas
- USC
- Penn State
- Washington (1)
- Oregon
- Utah
- Alabama
- LSU
- Notre Dame
- Oklahoma
- North Carolina
- Duke
- Washington State
- Miami
- Tennessee
- Ole Miss
- Oregon State
- Missouri
- Florida
- Kansas
- Kansas State
Others receiving votes: Fresno State 93; Kentucky 87; Texas Christian 54; Maryland 39; UCLA 36; Texas A&M 36; Louisville 36; Clemson 35; Syracuse 32; Colorado 29; Air Force 24; Iowa 16; Tulane 11; Wyoming 8; Marshall 2; James Madison 2; Liberty 1; Georgia St. 1.