Week 3 of the college football season delivered multiple ranked-versus-ranked matchups on Saturday, including the Georgia Bulldogs vs Tennessee Volunteers and the Texas A&M Aggies vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish. With some of the best college football teams in 2025, there’s plenty of movement in our top 25 college football rankings after Week 3.
As Saturday’s action draws to a close, let’s dive into our Week 4 college football rankings. For the sake of transparency, you can find our top 25 rankings from before Week 0 here, Week 2 here and Week 3 here.
Dropped from Top 25 Rankings: Louisville (25), South Florida (24), Arizona State (23), Clemson (13)
25. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12)
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had an opportunity to prove they are a national championship contender early in the season. Instead, they are 0-2. Regarding the finger-pointing, it will obviously start with a defense that allowed 488 total yards and 41 points to the Aggies, including 10 points in the fourth quarter. Blame will also be placed on the botched extra-point attempt that proved costly in a one-point loss. However, we also have real questions about why star running back Jeremiyah Love is averaging under 4 yards per carry this season.
24. South Carolina Gamecocks (11)
It was over after the LaNorris Sellers injury (concussion). The South Carolina Gamecocks offense has been spotty, at best, with Sellers on the field this year. Remove him from the equation and you get a unit that can’t find the end zone against Vanderbilt. Even if Sellers is cleared to play in Week 4, it’s difficult to see the Gamecocks going on the road and beating Mizzou next Saturday night.
23. Auburn Tigers (Unranked)
Coming off their third consecutive win, the Auburn Tigers finally cracked the Week 4 college football rankings. It all started up front on Saturday afternoon, with the Tigers’ offensive line helping Jeremiah Cobb (119 yards, 1 TD) and quarterback Jackson Arnold (50 rushing yards, 2 TDs) each average more than 5 yards per carry. Arnold was also sacked only once in this game, another testament to the strong blocking. Auburn will have a chance to really make some noise nationally if it can go into Norman next week and upset Oklahoma.
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22. Missouri Tigers (Unranked)
It’s Ahmad Hardy’s world, and we’re just living in it. The Missouri Tigers running back came into Week 3 riding back-to-back performances with over 100 yards and a touchdown. He then more than doubled his stat line against Louisiana, erupting for 250 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. Hardy led a backfield that amassed 427 yards on 62 carries (a 6.9 yards-per-carry average) against the Ragin’ Cajuns defense. Mizzou vs. South Carolina should be one of the best games of Week 4.
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21. Vanderbilt Commodores (Unranked)
Maybe the results on Saturday night would have been different if South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers hadn’t suffered a concussion. All that matters for the Vanderbilt Commodores, though, is getting the win. Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia took advantage of South Carolina being short-handed, easily outdueling Luke Doty for a huge win over the Gamecocks. With Georgia State and Utah State up next on Vanderbilt’s schedule, there’s a very good chance this team is 5-0 in October when it faces Alabama.
20. Tennessee Volunteers (21)
The heartbreak for the Tennessee Volunteers is undeniable. They had a golden opportunity in the closing seconds at Neyland Stadium to beat Georgia, but the kick was off the mark. While the loss certainly hurts, the coaching staff and fan base should feel great about how good quarterback Joey Aguilar looked. It’s also worth keeping in mind that Tennessee was missing both its starting corners. What this team showed in Week 3 is that, barring an implosion, the Vols should be 5-1 when they face Alabama.
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19. Alabama Crimson Tide (22)
After an up-and-down performance in the season-opening loss to Florida State, Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson has now completed 41 of 46 attempts (an 89.1% completion rate) for 608 passing yards (13.2 yards per attempt) and 8 total touchdowns in his last two games. Alabama also got Ryan Williams (concussion) back in Week 3, and he immediately delivered 165 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 5 receptions against Wisconsin. Kalen DeBoer has to feel great about getting this offense back on track, but all of this momentum could come undone in two weeks at Sanford Stadium against Georgia.
Related: Alabama Football Game Today, Crimson Tide Schedule 2025
18. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Unranked)
Victories over Colorado and Gardner-Webb certainly were not enough to get the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets into the top 25 college football rankings. That changed after beating Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers. It was an evenly matched game, with both teams close in total yardage (381-358), but it was the takeaways by the Yellow Jackets’ defense that made the difference. It’s ultimately fitting that Georgia Tech won with a game-winning field goal, given that they sacrificed 3 points on the game-opening drive with a failed 4th-and-goal attempt from the 4-yard line. Georgia Tech might have to enjoy Brent Key while it still can because top programs are keeping a close eye on him.
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17. Michigan Wolverines (19)
We got to see the Michigan Wolverines unleash true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood in Week 3. While there were some mistakes he’ll have to learn from—one interception and a dropped interception—the explosive plays were what mattered. Not only did Underwood show some nice touch on downfield throws, but he also showcased his athleticism with a team-high 144 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on just nine attempts. Underwood showcasing that athleticism on tape is great, especially ahead of matchups against Nebraska and Wisconsin. There will still be growing pains for the young quarterback, but the upside for this offense is much higher now.
16. Indiana Hoosiers (20)
The Indiana Hoosiers made Friday’s game painful for Indiana State. As part of a six-touchdown performance from quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Indiana jumped out to a 45-0 lead at halftime. With the game well out of hand, the Hoosiers’ backups entered the game, with quarterback Alberto Mendoza throwing two touchdown passes, leading the way to a 73-0 rout of the Sycamores. Next week’s matchup against the Illinois defense will be a fantastic test for Mendoza and company.
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15. Texas Tech Red Raiders (16)
It’s starting to really come together for Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Behren Morton. Hosting Oregon State in Week 3, the senior signal-caller delivered his third consecutive game with 3 passing touchdowns and his second in a row with 250-plus passing yards. Texas Tech also has to feel pretty good about this defense, which has recorded a takeaway in every game this season and hasn’t allowed an opponent to score more than 17 points thus far. We do, however, expect that streak to end in Week 4 on the road against Utah.
14. Ole Miss Rebels (17)
Lane Kiffin expressed a lot of confidence before Week 3 in backup quarterback Trinidad Chambliss if starter Austin Simmons missed time. We can see why after what Chambliss did on Saturday night. Chambliss executed Kiffin’s offense to near perfection and did a phenomenal job spreading the football around versus Arkansas. If Simmons has to miss time, Ole Miss is in very good hands with Chambliss.
13. Utah Utes (15)
We remain much higher on the Utah Utes than the AP top 25 college football rankings. Following another crisp dual-threat performance on Saturday night, quarterback Devon Dampier now has three consecutive games with at least two touchdowns, and he delivered a season-high in rushing yards in Week 3. Meanwhile, Utah has allowed 25 combined points to open the season. We acknowledge the Utes have faced bottom-tier competition, but that’s what makes next week’s home bout against Texas Tech a must-watch.
12. Iowa State Cyclones (14)
It wasn’t the prettiest road victory for the Iowa State Cyclones, but style points don’t matter when so many top-10 teams in the preseason college football rankings have already lost a game (or two). Rocco Becht (14-for-25, 1-1 TD-INT) had some issues on Saturday afternoon, but Carson Hansen (116 rushing yards) and this Cyclones’ defense saved the day. Becht will have two weeks to learn from this performance and get ready for a key portion of Iowa State’s Big 12 schedule.
11. Texas Longhorns (8)
Coming into tonight, quarterbacks averaged a 67.86 percent completion rate with a 149.5 passer rating and averaged 264 passing yards per game against the UTEP Miners’ defense. So, it’s not as if Arch Manning was facing one of the best pass defenses in college football. Manning completed just 5 of 16 attempts in the first half, averaging 4.3 yards per attempt. The Texas Longhorns still won, but they did it despite their star quarterback. If Manning can’t start elevating his game quickly, this team will lose to Oklahoma, and it could also lose to Florida.
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10. Oklahoma Sooners (10)
The beauty of this Oklahoma Sooners offense in 2025 is that a variety of players are capable of stepping up and shouldering the load for this unit on any given week. A week after John Mateer led the Sooners to a win over Michigan, Sooners running back Tory Blaylock (100 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14 carries) stepped up with Mateer not quite as efficient through the air (20-for-34, 1-1 TD-INT). A dominant performance from Oklahoma’s ground game (228 yards, 4 touchdowns) and a defensive clinic (1.9 yards-per-play average) made this an easy 42-3 victory over Temple.
9. Illinois Fighting Illini (9)
The Illinois Fighting Illini defense continues to stand out every single week. Even with the offense a bit sluggish on Saturday night, it didn’t matter because Illinois did whatever it wanted defensively to shut down Western Michigan. We’ve been counting down the weeks until the Illinois vs Indiana battle and it’s finally arriving in Week 4.
8. Texas A&M Aggies (18)
There’s the version of the Texas A&M Aggies we expected coming into the season. Going into Notre Dame and winning on NBC speaks volumes about where Mike Elko’s football program is now. Marcel Reed came up big in Week 3, but it was obviously Mario Craver (207 receiving yards) who stole the show. Off to a 3-0 start, the Aggies now head home with an opportunity to take down another ranked team (Auburn) in two weeks.
7. Florida State Seminoles (7)
The Florida State Seminoles were on a bye in Week 3, allowing the team to reflect on its performance after the first two games. Seminoles quarterback Tommy Castellanos has elevated his game even with the added pressure of expectations that come with being the leader of this offense. In his first two games, he recorded the sixth-best ESPN QBR (88.8), and Florida State’s defense has performed well, allowing just 0.227 points per drive (31st nationally). The Seminoles should have little trouble blowing out Kent State in Week 4.
6. Oregon Ducks (4)
Making the trip to Northwestern for a game that kicked off fairly early for this Oregon Ducks team, the final score (34-14) was closer than the game itself. The Ducks carried a 31-0 lead into the fourth quarter before Dan Lanning’s team eased off the gas. There are still a few things the Ducks can clean up offensively, but they will have a chance to do that against Oregon State.
5. Miami Hurricanes (5)
The Miami Hurricanes wasted little time derailing the South Florida Bulls’ hype train on Saturday. Even a lengthy weather delay could not slow down this one-sided battle in Florida. Carson Beck wasn’t exceptional, but he didn’t need to be since the Hurricanes’ defense completely wrecked shop against the Bulls. Miami has a much more well-rounded team than it did a year ago with Cam Ward, and we can’t wait to see the battle against the Florida Gators in Week 4.
4. LSU Tigers (3)
It might’ve been a little too close for comfort on Saturday night at Death Valley for the LSU Tigers, but they are still 3-0 on the season. Caden Durham is the only one who could get anything going out of the Tigers’ backfield on a night when quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was a bit sporadic. The real credit for this win goes to LSU’s defense, which shut out the Gators’ offense after they scored in the second quarter to take a 10-3 lead. It will be much easier next weekend against Southeastern Louisiana.
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3. Georgia Bulldogs (6)
The Georgia Bulldogs proved they are the better-coached team in a thrilling Week 3 victory over Tennessee. There are certainly some concerns with this roster, especially the secondary and offensive line, when comparing Georgia to the best college football teams. However, quarterback Gunner Stockton played like a Heisman candidate, and the run game (198 yards, 3 touchdowns) imposed its will against the Volunteers’ defensive front. Given two weeks to prepare for Alabama, we expect Kirby Smart to have these Bulldogs’ cornerbacks ready, but Stockton has already shown he can overcome that unit.
Related: Winners, Losers from Georgia Bulldogs’ Win over Tennessee Volunteers
2. Penn State Nittany Lions (2)
Given all of the talent on the Penn State Nittany Lions offense right now, the results with this unit feel a bit underwhelming. Allar has an outstanding run game backing him, but he has not exactly delivered a standout performance, with the defense often having to carry the team and provide short field position. Penn State will have two weeks to fix it, but this passing game feels like it could be the team’s undoing against Oregon.
Related: College Football QB Rankings Before Week 3
1. Ohio State Buckeyes (1)
The Ohio State Buckeyes certainly weren’t firing on all cylinders early in Week 3, only leading 6-0 over the Ohio Bobcats midway through the second quarter. Once the Buckeyes’ passing game settled in, though, it was exactly the rout you’d expect from the best team in college football. What continues to matter here is that quarterback Julian Sayin is getting the football in Jeremiah Smith’s hands. Unsurprisingly, feeding the rock to the best player in college football pays off. The Buckeyes have to travel to Washington in two weeks, but the Week 4 bye should give Sayin even more time to sharpen his rapport with Smith and Carnell Tate.
Related: Ohio State Game Today, Buckeyes Football Schedule 2025
