The most anticipated college football slate of the year did not disappoint, as a week full of close games delighted fans. Outside of two blowouts by Penn State and Oregon, every ranked game was within one score for the majority of the game. Elsewhere, Florida State won in overtime to avoid an upset scare against Clemson, and a Minnesota-Northwestern game was one of the best games of the week.

Four new teams joined the ranks this week as there was movement galore. Kansas, Missouri, and Miami debut at Nos. 19, 20, and 21 respectively. Kansas prevailed in a battle of undefeated teams in BYU’s Big 12 debut. Missouri didn’t let the emotions of its massive upset last week take over, and the Tigers took care of business against Memphis. Meanwhile, Miami concluded non-conference play with a stomping of Temple to continue its undefeated start to the season. Air Force is the final team to enter the rankings at No. 25, as it replaces Fresno State as the lone Mountain West team. The other teams to drop out are James Madison, UCLA, and Colorado.

There were multiple big risers, with Washington State making the biggest jump, going up seven spots to No. 10 after its massive Pac-12 win over Oregon State. Oklahoma was next, moving up four places to No. 15 after a road win over Cincinnati. Finally, Oregon moved up three spots to No. 7 after its thorough domination over the previously-ranked Buffaloes.

As expected, if there are lots of teams moving up, there were multiple that took a slide as well. Oregon State mirrored its opponent’s jump, falling seven ranks to No. 18. Ole Miss did the Beavers one better however, dropping eight spots to No. 23 after failing to muster any offense against Alabama. Notre Dame fell five spots after its heartbreaking last-second loss against Ohio State, while USC lost three spots after failing to dominate Arizona State the way you would expect.

Week 5 looks to be another treat, as there are four ranked matchups on the docket. First, No. 12 Utah faces off against No. 18 Oregon State in yet another ranked Pac-12 showdown on Friday night. Then on Saturday, No. 19 Kansas heads to Austin for a Big 12 matchup with No. 5 Texas. An SEC clash follows with No. 14 LSU heading to No. 23 Ole Miss. Finally, No. 11 Duke will host No. 13 Notre Dame in the final ranked matchup of the week. 

The fight for the final few spots in the ranks is tight as nine additional teams received votes but failed to make the cut. Those teams in order are: James Madison, Fresno State, UCLA, Tennessee, Florida, Syracuse, Louisville, Maryland, and Texas A&M. Georgia’s grip on the No. 1 spot continues to grow weaker as Michigan, Penn State, and Florida State all had votes for the top ranking.