The way that Georgia handled Notre Dame got itself a first-place vote in the Coaches Poll, but things remained steadily split between No. 1 Clemson and No. 2 Alabama in the new AP Top 25 college football rankings released on Sunday. Week 4 gave us several ranked-against-ranked matchups, and by the end of the carnage in UCLA's comeback win against Washington State, eight ranked teams had suffered losses -- five to unranked teams. All of this provided the room for some changes in the rankings, and one team that benefited in a big way was Wisconsin.
Wisconsin moved from No. 13 up into the top 10 at No. 8 after its 35-14 win against Michigan on Saturday. The AP voters had been reluctant with the Badgers based on the strength of their opponents in two blowout wins, but carrying the same level of execution against a team like the Wolverines is worthy of an adjustment in the rankings.
On the other side of the Badgers' success is a fall for Michigan from No. 11 to No. 20. The Wolverines leave this impactful Week 4 still in search of an identity on offense, holding a respectable 3-1 record but quickly getting jumped by other conference title hopefuls in the Big Ten. The fact that the Wolverines are now closer to Michigan State than Penn State in the rankings shows the change in expectations for this year's team, which has looked less and less like a College Football Playoff contender with each week.
Here's how the full AP Top 25 looks after Week 4:
- Clemson
- Alabama
- Georgia
- LSU
- Ohio State
- Oklahoma
- Auburn
- Wisconsin
- Florida
- Notre Dame
- Texas
- Penn State
- Oregon
- Iowa
- California
- Boise State
- Washington
- Virginia
- Utah
- Michigan
- USC
- UCF
- Texas A&M
- Kansas State
- Michigan State
Dropped out: Washington State (19), Arizona State (24), TCU (25)
Others receiving votes: Wake Forest 73, Oklahoma State 57, Southern Methodist 55, Army 46, Memphis 42, Iowa State 31, Appalachian State 24, Washington State 21, Missouri 14, Mississippi State 14, Pittsburgh 6, Arizona State 5, Minnesota 5, Colorado 5, Tulane 1
