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AP College Football Poll 2018: Week 4 Rankings Unveiled for Top 25 Teams

Mike Chiari

After blowing out the Ole Miss Rebels 62-7 on the road Saturday night, the Alabama Crimson Tide maintained their No. 1 spot in the Week 4 Associated Press Top 25 Poll released Sunday. 

Here is a full rundown of the poll with first-place votes noted, courtesy of the AP:

1. Alabama (58)

2. Georgia

3. Clemson (3)

4. Ohio State

5. Oklahoma

6. LSU

7. Stanford

8. Notre Dame

9. Auburn

T10. Washington

T10. Penn State

12. West Virginia

13. Virginia Tech

14. Mississippi State

15. Oklahoma State

16. UCF

17. TCU

18. Wisconsin

19. Michigan

20. Oregon

21. Miami (Fla.)

22. Texas A&M

23. Boston College

24. Michigan State

25. BYU

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Tua Tagovailoa got the start at quarterback for Bama once again, and he continued to establish himself as a Heisman Trophy candidate by throwing for 191 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions while rushing for 47 yards in less than a half of play.

Jalen Hurts also played well in relief, and the Tide made SEC history with 50 or more points in each of their first three games:

Perhaps most impressively, Alabama shut down a high-octane Ole Miss offense piloted by quarterback Jordan Ta'amu.

He completed just seven of his 22 attempts for 133 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

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There is little doubt that Alabama is the best team in the nation, but several other elite teams performed well in Week 3 and continued to make their case to the College Football Playoff selection committee.

Clemson and Georgia both beat lower-level opponents with the Tigers defeating Georgia Southern 38-7 and the Bulldogs taking down Middle Tennessee State 49-7.

Georgia overtook Clemson for the No. 2 spot, but Clemson is the only team other than Alabama with first-place votes.

Starting quarterback Kelly Bryant left the game for Clemson with a reported chest injury, which resulted in freshman sensation Trevor Lawrence taking the reins. If head coach Dabo Swinney sticks with Lawrence, it may actually increase Clemson's national championship chances.

The Bulldogs took it to Middle Tennessee State in all facets, and they are off to their most dominant start in more than a century, per ESPN Stats & Info:

With the defense playing at an elite level, quarterback Jake Fromm throwing efficiently and a host of running backs making up for the losses of Sony Michel and Nick Chubb to the NFL, Georgia is a threat to return to the CFP National Championship Game.

Ohio State and Oklahoma had tougher tests against TCU and Iowa State, respectively, but both powerhouse programs came away with victories.

The Buckeyes held off the Horned Frogs 40-28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, while the Sooners beat the Cyclones 37-27 in a tough road environment.

Both OSU quarterback Dwayne Haskins and Oklahoma signal-caller Kyler Murray have the makings of Heisman Trophy candidates by seamlessly replacing J.T. Barrett and Baker Mayfield.

Among the biggest negative movers are Wisconsin, which dropped from No. 6 to 18th following a surprising loss to BYU, and Auburn going from seventh to ninth after a last-second defeat at the hands of LSU.

LSU jumped from No. 12 to sixth, and it suddenly looks like a contender in the stacked SEC.

While LSU hasn't been considered an elite team over the past few seasons, Aaron Torres of The Athletic pointed out that head coach Ed Orgeron has a penchant for knocking off highly ranked teams:

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Another team to keep an eye on is Oklahoma State, which jumped from 24th to 15th after beating Boise State 44-21.

Things mostly held steady near the top of the rankings this week, but there could be a shake-up or two next week due to the fact that several highly ranked teams have some tricky opponents.

Clemson and Georgia have potentially tough road games against Georgia Tech and Missouri, respectively, while Alabama will host a strong Texas A&M squad.

   

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