Week 4 Power Rankings: Florida Climbs Significantly, Five New Teams Enter Top 25

Texas has two wins over ranked competition. But they came by narrow margins in which its offense struggled for long stretches.

Oregon toppled USC without its starting quarterback. But the Ducks also have an ugly loss to Oklahoma State and -- potentially -- no Dante Moore for a while.

Florida and Mississippi State are ascendant in the SEC; Oklahoma and Texas A&M are tumbling.

Indiana , Miami , BYU , Notre Dame and Georgia : They all look terrific, and none has played a team that has tested them.

So, what do we know through a full month of the season? Perhaps not as much as we might hope, and odds are, a lot of narrative twists we didn't see coming are in store for October.

But with one-third of the 2026 campaign in the books, it does seem clear that USC's Lincoln Riley is in for a long few months of grumbling over his future, Arch Manning still needs to prove he's an elite-tier QB and Kamario Taylor is going to make some defensive coordinators' lives incredibly unpleasant.

There's more that we learned from September, of course, but the fun of what remains throughout the season is how much is yet to be decided. -- David Hale

Previous ranking: 1

The Longhorns sometimes look sloppy. But you know what's pristine? Their résumé, which includes wins over No. 5 Ohio State at home and at No. 17 Tennessee. Inside a deafening Neyland Stadium, Texas didn't get a ton of production out of its offense. Quarterback Manning was up and down, and the running game missed Hollywood Smothers ' playmaking (see: longest rush of 11 yards, by Manning). But the defense stepped up in a big way with 10 sacks and only 1.6 yards per rush allowed. The bye week comes at a great time for Steve Sarkisian's squad, as it gets a breather after a fast start to the season and a chance to reset heading into a rivalry game versus Oklahoma. -- Alex Scarborough

Previous ranking: 4

Thanks to Oklahoma's ineptitude on offense, the Bulldogs still haven't been tested in their first four games. But there's little doubt this is one of Georgia's best defenses under Kirby Smart. In Saturday's 41-13 win over the Sooners, the Bulldogs allowed 65 rushing yards on 35 attempts and forced four turnovers. Oklahoma went 2-for-14 on third down and 1-for-3 on fourth. Raylen Wilson had 11 tackles and one sack, while fellow Georgia linebacker Chris Cole registered eight tackles and a sack and also returned a fumble 85 yards for a touchdown. After the first month, Georgia is tied for first in the SEC in scoring defense (13.3 points) and second in run defense (50.5 yards) and total defense (232.5). After hosting Vanderbilt next week, the Bulldogs might finally be challenged when they travel to Alabama on Oct. 10. -- Mark Schlabach

Previous ranking: 3

Purdue is not a good football team, but Boilermakers QB Ryan Browne had been off to a prolific start to the season. Against Notre Dame on Saturday though? Nothing doing. Browne threw for just 111 yards as Purdue was held out of the end zone until a late TD after the game was well in hand for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish's defense again showed it isn't going to make anything easy, racking up six sacks and nine tackles for loss. The Irish's ground game did have its best showing of the campaign (177 yards, 5.5 yards per rush, two touchdowns). But the bread and butter for Notre Dame is signal-caller CJ Carr and its elite defense. Saturday's win over Purdue showcased both at a high level. -- David Hale

Previous ranking: 5

When Miami signed QB Darian Mensah from the transfer portal, there were high expectations he would make the offense look different. Through four games, that is exactly what he has done. Mensah has completed a whopping 89% of his passes -- leading the country -- by going 94-for-106 for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns with zero interceptions. His connection with wide receiver Malachi Toney has been undeniable. Toney ranks No. 3 in the nation with 564 yards and six touchdowns. Mensah-to-Toney has become a weekly highlight reel, far different from the Hurricanes' offense with Carson Beck as the starter. -- Andrea Adelson

Previous ranking: 6

Jeremiah Smith is proving to be one of the best receivers in college football history. That might seem hyperbolic. But Smith is on the verge of breaking every major career receiving record at college football's most prolific receiving program this past decade. Smith has already broken Michael Jenkins' all-time Ohio State receiving yards standard and -- after putting up 12 receptions and four touchdowns on Saturday -- is closing in on Emeka Egbuka 's receptions mark and Chris Olave 's receiving touchdowns record. Even in a strong season for quarterbacks, Smith is a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender and could even be the favorite coming out of the weekend. And even with several star receivers across the country, Smith stands clearly above the rest. -- Jake Trotter

Previous ranking: 7

The first month showed that Indiana's path to national success will be tougher than it was in 2025, both with injuries and on-field execution. The Hoosiers are still very good but not as complete nor as dominant, as they found themselves in a Friday night scrap against three-touchdown underdog Northwestern before prevailing 29-23. IU began that contest with two penalties and finished with eight, overcame first-half shakiness from quarterback Josh Hoover and struggled to defend Wildcats quarterback Aidan Chiles in the second half. The Hoosiers also sustained another running back injury, this time to Turbo Richard , and they will be leaning on Lee Beebe Jr. , who was excellent against Northwestern (203 rushing yards). Hoover isn't Fernando Mendoza but hasn't thrown an interception and has established passing rhythms at times. Coach Curt Cignetti wants to see improvement from right tackle Adedamola Ajani and the tight end group. -- Adam Rittenberg

Previous ranking: 15

Lane Kiffin might have been Florida's first choice to replace Billy Napier following the 2025 season, but former Tulane coach Jon Sumrall sure looks like the right pick after four games. The Gators blasted Ole Miss 52-28 in the Swamp on Saturday, piling up 498 yards of offense, including 302 rushing. Tailback Jadan Baugh ran for 142 yards with three touchdowns, and he already has tallied 11 scores this season. Duke Clark ran for 126 yards and a TD. The Gators put up 40 points or more in each of their first four games for the time since 2001, when Steve Spurrier's high-flying offense was still rolling. The Gators have work to do on defense, as they gave up 67 points in their first two SEC games, against Auburn and Ole Miss. But there's plenty of reason to be excited after September. -- Schlabach

Previous ranking: 8

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Don't look now, but Keelon Russell is dealing at quarterback. The first-year starter made serious headway a week ago versus Florida State . But against South Carolina , he was even better: 21-of-27 passing for 364 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. He also ran for a score. Star wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams also put together another good game, finding the end zone twice. The Crimson Tide's defense was opportunistic against South Carolina in forcing two turnovers, but the rush defense left something to be desired, as it allowed 216 yards and 5.4 yards per carry. -- Scarborough

Previous ranking: 2

Perhaps the most glaring thing that stands out after a 52-28 loss at Florida is what has happened to Ole Miss' defense in the first month of the season. Rebels coach and former D-coordinator Pete Golding pointed to the team's inability to tackle postgame -- and that has become a recurring trend. Ole Miss ranks in the bottom 10 nationally in run defense, giving up 194.8 yards per game, which is nearly 50 yards more per game than a season ago. The Rebels lost several of their top players in the portal, so that could be a contributing factor, but Golding blamed a lack of intensity in making the tackles. With an open date, this is one area that will absolutely be addressed. -- Adelson

Previous ranking: 10

For a team that has won 17 of its past 19 games, the Cougars haven't received the national hype they probably deserve. The obvious way to change that is with postseason success -- an opportunity that will be within grasp if they beat Notre Dame on Oct. 17. QB Bear Bachmeier 's development has been a positive three games into the campaign. -- Kyle Bonagura

Previous ranking: 9

Despite mounting injuries, the Tigers are back on track after shutting down Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed , who had given LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker fits during former coach Brian Kelly's final two seasons. But what a difference a year makes. The Tigers dominated A&M, piling up 506 yards while holding the Aggies to 197. Tigers QB Sam Leavitt had his second 300-yard passing game of the season, despite sitting out much of the second half with an ailing hamstring. Lane Kiffin said the Tigers have played good football for all but one half of the season -- the second half against Ole Miss. And at 3-1, they feel good about where they stand after what could've been a tough stretch on paper when the schedule came out. Kiffin worries the injuries will catch up to them. But right now, they're making all the right moves to plug those holes, and the Tigers are a fully formed product. -- Dave Wilson

Previous ranking: 16

Week 4 brought another intriguing test on paper, only for the Utes to have no trouble with Iowa State , winning 31-17 after leading 24-3 at halftime. It was a breakout game for Wayshawn Parker , who ran for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 18 carries. The Utes are firmly in the playoff conversation now and look as complete as we've seen from them in years. -- Bonagura

Previous ranking: 21

Few teams have become must-watch quite like Mississippi State so far this season. Coach Jeff Lebby and his ascending star quarterback Taylor have flipped the Bulldogs' fortunes with a 4-0 start. They are ranked for the first time since 2023 after remaining perfect on Saturday with a 31-24 comeback win over No. 19 Missouri . Taylor led two clutch touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, and the Bulldogs' defense delivered with four consecutive stops to finish the night. A ranked Mississippi State squad hadn't taken down a top-25 opponent since the Dak Prescott era in 2014. Lebby's squad keeps gaining confidence week after week, and it has an opportunity to take the next big step and keep playing SEC spoiler with Alabama and LSU up next. -- Max Olson

Previous ranking: 18

A close win over Boise State and a loss to unranked Oklahoma State put the Ducks in an unfamiliar position. In recent years, their shortcomings have only shown themselves in the playoff, where the room to criticize and overanalyze shrinks as teams simply get eliminated. Now, for the first time in the Dan Lanning era at Oregon, the early part of the season has not been smooth sailing. This is undoubtedly a very talented Oregon team, and yet despite fighting for a 41-27 win over USC in Los Angeles without star quarterback Moore , it's clear the Ducks are very much a work in progress with two new coordinators. That work and the grind of another climb back up the mountain is certainly easier when you have Dylan Raiola as a backup. For however long Moore might be out, it appears Raiola has enough firepower to keep Oregon above water. Its margin for error is still small. But if any team can walk -- no, run -- on that tightrope successfully, it might just be the Ducks. -- Paolo Uggetti

Previous ranking: 19

The Hawkeyes are a Big Ten title contender coming out of a stunning 20-19 victory at Michigan on the final play of the game. Iowa's offense continues to be frustrating at times. The same goes for some of the conservative decision-making. But the defense has yet to give up 20 points in a game. And Hank Brown , who emerged from

_Originally reported by [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/50028427/2026-college-football-power-rankings-top-25-week-4)._