College football Top 25 after Week 4, 2026

Still No. 1, and only because of the one exception to the method: the defending champion keeps the spot until it loses. On résumé alone Indiana wouldn't be near the top five. This was the first real game of the season and it was close. Northwestern was within 15-13 early in the fourth quarter and 22-20 with 5:10 left before Josh Hoover's 1-yard run with 1:56 to go made it a two-score game. Lee Beebe Jr. ran for 203 yards on 24 carries. That's 20 straight wins. Next: Saturday night at Rutgers.

The best résumé in the country. Texas has now beaten three teams that are 3-1, and Saturday's was its first road game. It wasn't pretty: 262 yards of offense, two turnovers and 11 penalties for 115 yards. The defense won it. Colin Simmons had five sacks, Tennessee finished with 221 yards, and the Volunteers' only touchdown before the final two minutes came on a 57-yard punt return. Raleek Brown's 4-yard run with 5:41 left made it 20-10. Texas is idle Saturday.

The best single result of the season so far. Ole Miss arrived with wins over Louisville and LSU and left Gainesville beaten by 24. Jadan Baugh ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns, Duke Clark added 126 and a 45-yard score, and Florida gained 498 yards without a turnover. Ole Miss got within 24-21 late in the third quarter; Florida scored 28 of the last 35 points. Add the 44-39 win at Auburn, now 3-1, and this is a top-three résumé. Texas stays ahead on the Ohio State win and a road win of its own. Next: at Missouri.

Fourth, ahead of Alabama, and the method is why. Mississippi State has two road wins over power-conference teams and two wins over teams that are now 3-1, Minnesota and Missouri. Alabama has one of each. Alabama's margins are bigger, but margin breaks ties; it doesn't lift a team past better wins. Against Missouri the Bulldogs trailed 24-17 going into the fourth quarter. Fluff Bothwell tied it with 7:09 left, and Kamario Taylor, who threw for 360 yards, hit Sanfrisco Magee for the winning 24-yard touchdown with 3:57 to go. Alabama comes to Starkville on Saturday, so this gets settled on the field.

Down a spot without doing anything wrong. Keelon Russell went 21 of 27 for 365 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another, and Red Morgan's 23-yard interception return made it 35-3 late in the first half. South Carolina lost to Mississippi State by seven; it lost here by 31. The best win is still 45-17 at Kentucky, and Alabama's other three wins are over teams that are 2-2. The gap to fourth is one good win, and Saturday at Mississippi State is the chance to take it.

Up three. Notre Dame led 35-0 at halftime in West Lafayette. CJ Carr threw three touchdown passes and ran for another, linebacker Drayk Bowen returned a fumble 15 yards for a score, and Purdue finished with 218 yards. Purdue is 1-3, so the road win proves less than the score. The case for Notre Dame is the 41-13 win over Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, which looks better now that Wisconsin has won at Penn State. Next: at North Carolina.

Passed last week's test, and seventh is now where the method puts Georgia, not an editorial call. Oklahoma turned it over three times in the first half, all on John Mateer: an interception and two fumbles, both recovered by Chris Cole, who returned one 85 yards for a touchdown. Georgia led 28-0 at halftime and won by 28 while gaining 306 yards. The wins over Oklahoma and at Arkansas are both by 28 over teams that are 2-2. Every team above Georgia except Indiana has beaten a team that's 3-1. Vanderbilt visits Saturday.

A 24-point loss in Gainesville ends the case for a top-two spot. The win over LSU still stands, and it's why Ole Miss stays one place ahead of the Tigers. Trinidad Chambliss threw for 298 yards and ran for two touchdowns, and Ole Miss got within 24-21 late in the third quarter. Then Florida took over: 498 yards, no turnovers and 28 of the last 35 points. Louisville's home loss to Wake Forest also took some shine off the opening win. Ole Miss is idle Saturday.

Down three without losing: Florida, Mississippi State and Notre Dame moved past, and the head-to-head loss keeps LSU behind Ole Miss. The win itself was complete. Sam Leavitt went 17 of 23 for 312 yards, Jackson Harris caught six passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns, the second a 57-yarder on fourth-and-short, and Texas A&M finished with 197 yards and two field goals. Clemson, beaten 51-10 in Week 1, is 3-1. McNeese visits Saturday.

Unchanged, and the 52-3 win over Central Michigan isn't the reason. Darian Mensah went 23 of 27 for 338 yards and three touchdowns and Miami outgained the Chippewas 572-158. What helped was elsewhere: Wake Forest won at Louisville, which makes the 33-20 win in Winston-Salem look better than it did a week ago. Two road wins over power-conference teams and no losses. The first real opponent comes Saturday night at Clemson.

Two wins over teams that are now 3-1: Oregon, which just won at USC, and West Virginia, beaten by 17 in Morgantown. Drew Mestemaker threw for 389 yards and three touchdowns, Caleb Hawkins ran for 180, and Oklahoma State trailed 24-21 late in the third quarter before scoring the last 20 points. The 14-point loss at Tulsa, which lost 34-6 at Arkansas on Saturday, is what keeps the Cowboys out of the top 10. Idle Saturday.

The best road win of the weekend, and it came after Dante Moore left the Coliseum in an ambulance in the second quarter. Dylan Raiola went 19 of 25 for 289 yards and two touchdowns in relief, including a 29-yard throw to Dakorien Moore that broke a 27-27 tie with 8:35 left. Oregon didn't turn it over and went 2 for 2 on fourth down. With Boise State, now 3-1, also beaten, the résumé has two good wins. It stays behind Oklahoma State, which beat it head to head. Oregon is idle Saturday.

Down five after a comfortable win, because the teams around it added better wins and Ohio State still has none over a team with a winning record. Illinois is 2-2. Jeremiah Smith caught 12 passes for 217 yards and four touchdowns, and Julian Sayin threw for 367. The one-point loss at Texas, our No. 2, keeps the Buckeyes ahead of unbeaten teams with thinner schedules. Saturday at Iowa is the first chance to add a real win.

Won in Ann Arbor on the last play. Michigan went ahead 19-14 with 11:59 left; Hank Brown answered with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Reece Vander Zee as time expired. Braeden Jackson's 99-yard kickoff return had pulled Iowa level in the first quarter. The Hawkeyes were outgained 429-285, so this is a résumé win rather than a dominant one, but a road win over a 3-1 Big Ten team is worth more than anything Utah or UCLA has done. Ohio State visits Saturday.

Linebacker Austin Romaine returned interceptions 15 and 31 yards for touchdowns on consecutive Sam Houston throws early in the second quarter, and Texas Tech won by 35 even though Will Hammond threw three interceptions. Sam Houston is 1-3, so the result adds little. The résumé is still the two-point win over Houston, which won at Georgia Southern on Saturday and whose only loss is in Lubbock. Up one mostly because teams around it lost. Next: at Colorado.

New, and overdue for a look. UCLA has two road wins over power-conference teams: 45-24 at California in Week 1 and Saturday's 54-3 at Maryland, where the defense intercepted Malik Washington four times and returned two for touchdowns. Maryland turned it over five times and gained 181 yards. Neither Cal nor Maryland is better than 2-2, and the home wins over Purdue and San Diego State are ordinary, which is why UCLA starts behind Iowa. Idle Saturday.

Passed its first road test and still dropped six, because the teams that moved ahead beat better opponents. Wayshawn Parker ran 54 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage and finished with 174 rushing yards and three touchdowns, one of them a catch. Utah led 24-3 at halftime. Iowa State and Arkansas are both 2-2 and Utah State is 1-3, so four wins by a combined 132 points include none over a team with a winning record. Idle Saturday.

New, on a résumé that has aged well. The loss is by five at home to Florida, now our No. 3, and the wins include Baylor, a one-pointer in Atlanta in Week 1, and Vanderbilt, both 3-1. Against Vanderbilt, Byrum Brown threw and ran for touchdowns and Cade Carlson scored on a blocked punt. Vanderbilt held the ball for more than 37 minutes but scored one touchdown and never led after the first quarter. Next: at Tennessee.

New after the upset of the weekend. Wisconsin trailed 17-0 in the second quarter and 20-10 with 3:31 left at Beaver Stadium when Colton Joseph hit Eugene Hilton Jr. for an 11-yard touchdown. Then Joseph found Jacob Harris for 72 yards and the lead with 1:13 to play. It wasn't clean: Joseph threw three interceptions, one returned for a Penn State touchdown. A road win over a 3-1 Big Ten team counts for a lot here. The loss is by 28 to Notre Dame at a neutral site. Michigan State visits Saturday.

Three running backs went over 100 yards: CJ Baxter 149, Jason Patterson 137 with three touchdowns, and Jovantae Barnes 100. It was 21-21 late in the first half before Kentucky scored the last 24 points. The case is still the 31-21 win at Texas A&M, and A&M has since lost 35-6 at LSU. Down six because Auburn and Wisconsin have better wins and the teams above them added some. Next: at South Carolina.

A three-point loss to our No. 2 says something good about Tennessee, and it's why the Volunteers stay in. It's also the only meaningful game on the schedule so far. The offense managed 221 yards, Faizon Brandon threw for 145, and the touchdowns came on Qua Moss's 57-yard punt return and a 30-yard pass with 1:22 left. Colin Simmons sacked Brandon five times. The wins are over Furman, Kennesaw State and a 1-3 Georgia Tech. Auburn visits Saturday.

New, with two road wins over power-conference teams: 35-26 at Maryland in Week 3 and Saturday's 21-14 comeback at Boston College. Virginia Tech trailed 14-6 in the fourth quarter, tied it on Ethan Grunkemeyer's 14-yard touchdown pass and a two-point run, and won it on Jeffrey Overton Jr.'s 76-yard run with 4:58 left. Overton finished with 209 yards. Maryland and Boston College are both 2-2, which limits how high this goes. Pittsburgh, also 4-0, visits Friday night.

Didn't play and slid three places as others added wins. The résumé is unchanged: 28-17 over Arizona, now 3-1 after winning at Washington State, and 41-23 at Colorado State. October opens Saturday night at TCU.

The kind of loss the method respects: seven points on the road to our No. 4, after leading 24-17 going into the fourth quarter. Austin Simmons threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns and Cayden Lee caught 11 passes for 156 yards and two scores. The wins are still thin, at Kansas (1-2) and over Troy (2-2), which is why Missouri stays near the bottom. Florida visits Saturday.

New, for beating a Big 12 team that arrived 3-0. Kansas State led 17-10 at halftime; Cole Tabb ran for three second-half touchdowns, the last with 3:28 left, and Cincinnati held on after a late Wildcats score. All four wins came at home and the Miami (Ohio) game was a four-point escape, which is why the Bearcats enter at the bottom. First road game: Saturday night at Arizona.