College Football Top 25 Power Rankings: Week 4 Edition

This week, our three respondents are Tyler Greenawalt, Courtney Martinez and Austin R. Vaughn.

Anyone remember the last time an athletic director was dismissed at one school (Texas) and a coach suspended at another (Rutgers) during a season? Is the conference’s place as best in the country in any sort of danger? And even if it doesn’t live up to expectations, it’s worth sticking around for highlights of the national championship-deciding games these teams played in the Orange Bowl. I think they got away from what they’re good at. Auburn was clearly overhyped and yes, Tennessee completely blew it in the second half against Oklahoma. Expectations were too high and not just from the fans. Jim McElwain’s got his work cut out for him scrubbing that Will Muschamp stank off of this team. Plus, Death Valley will be rocking by 2:30 p.m. Saturday. There’s still a long way to go. Despite all that, the Wildcats should have won past year .

Auburn at LSU (3:30 p.m., CBS): Can Auburn rebound after its embarrassing near-loss to FCS Jacksonville State last week? Winning by a touchdown against a Sun Belt team apparently nets you a top ten spot in this week’s power poll. Alabama is still Alabama. On the other side of the ball, Mississippi has scored over 70 in both games this year.

Martinez: This week I would have to put Florida State on upset alert at Boston College. After the last two weeks, they feel they can do anything. Like LSU, the Rebels controlled the pace of the game – and it started with the opening kickoff when Ole Miss forced the first of five Alabama turnovers. In 2013, BC put up the most points FSU allowed all season. Duke, on the other hand, has a Top 10 defense so far this season. The Seminoles weren’t convincing against South Florida and struggled early last week before Dalvin Cook opened up the scoring. They’ll beat Stanford and cover the spread in the process. But I think this is the year he finally earns that sought-after win and the Eagles propel themselves into the ACC talks. Alabama has moved DBs around to have more speed in the secondary, but will the Tide be able to substitute to exploit their depth against the rip-roaring Rebels? Granted, impact players Carl Lawson (hip), Auburn’s best pass rusher, and Tray Matthews, an impact safety, were out, and veteran corner Josh Holsey was lost for the season, but the Tigers were torched for 277 passing yards. If there’s an offense explosive enough to break through Alabama’s stout defense, it’s Ole Miss. Will an untested Georgia Tech team go into South Bend and defeat Notre Dame? But still: The Irish are home with the points and their defense? Without a quarterback to stretch out the defense, Mississippi can load up on the run.

To no one’s surprise, Chubb leads the SEC in rushing yards through two games.

Vaughn: I’m gonna answer this with another prolific offense. Georgia Tech has been putting up video game numbers on opponents who have been likened to pastries.

The sophomore had 159 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries. Outside of a Johnson 65-yard touchdown run, there was very little going on there.

But that projection didn’t even last the evening.

Ole Miss is getting hit hard at the wrong time for this game.

The Rebels became the first SEC team to score at least 73 points in back-to-back games, but those points came against UT-Martin and Fresno State.

Kelly will try to pick on Alabama’s young corners and isolate slot receivers on linebackers. They haven’t played anybody tough yet until tomorrow. Both had their ups and downs, and seemed to offset each other in glossing over individual weaknesses. That hurts the Irish, who really looked like a team to be reckoned with in the preseason. I mean, they probably have one of the toughest remaining road schedules: at UCLA, at Michigan, Missouri [“neutral site” in Kansas City] and at Utah State.

Uthman: This week in college football includes a handful of matchups that could have long-lasting effects on where teams land in their conference races or even the College Football Playoff chase.