The SEC has a stranglehold on the Week 4 AP Poll Top 25, owning six of the top seven spots, eight of the top 16, and nine overall in the top 25 with Texas A&M ranked again following a 33-20 win over Florida in Week 3.
Perhaps just as interesting as the SEC’s dominance is NIU moving up two spots without even playing. The Huskies are still celebrating a 16-14 win in Week 2 over Notre Dame. NIU is ranked for a second straight week after going 11 years without appearing in the AP Poll. 2013 was the Huskies’ last appearance before these last two weeks.
Who knew the MAC would have a representative in the AP Poll so soon, or at all, this season?
New No. 1 in AP Poll after Arch Manning gets playing time for Texas
Georgia edged out conference rival Kentucky on the road but was usurped by Texas as the country’s No. 1 team – even though the Longhorns ran roughshod over a Group of 5 school at home, defeating UTSA 56-7.
Of course, Texas saw Arch Manning step into Quinn Ewers’ role under center, so voters may see a new element of the Longhorns’ attack being opened up. While Ewers was able to improvise, he never showed the downfield speed Manning did on his third snap.
On the flip side, perhaps many are seeing the culture problems at Georgia catching up to Kirby Smart and Co. The Bulldogs were heavy favorites against the Wildcats and yet lost the time of possession by 11 minutes and needed a 10-play drive in the fourth quarter to close the deal. As three-score favorites.
Missouri falls after ranked win against Boston College, unjustly jumped by Tennessee
One of the odder quirks of the Week 4 AP Poll was Missouri slipping despite beating a ranked Boston College squad from the ACC at home. No, they didn’t win as convincingly as oddsmakers projected them to, but the Tigers weathered the storm and took care of business.
Tennessee beat down Kent State 71-0 and handled their ACC opponent, NC State, more handily in Week 2, but Missouri shouldn’t have lost ground.
What do the rankings mean if beating another ranked team doesn’t mean as much as beating Kent State?
