Well, that was close. The top-ranked Clemson Tigers survived an unexpectedly tight trip to North Carolina, earning a 21-20 victory thanks to a clutch defensive stop...
NCAA Football Rankings 2019: Predicting Top Movers in Week 5 Post-Week 4 Results
Sep 22, 2019
Two of the biggest movers in the Week 5 AP Top 25 are coming off victories over ranked opposition.
Auburn is expected to inch closer to the group of College Football Playoff favorites following its win over Texas A&M, while Wisconsin should leap into the Top 10 by way of its triumph versus Michigan.
Notre Dame, Utah and Michigan will all drop, but the biggest loser in the polls could be UCF, who fell on the road to Pittsburgh.
The Knights entered the season with little room for error, and instead of continuing a push upward, they are in danger of falling out of the rankings.
AP Top 25 Prediction
1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. LSU
5. Oklahoma
6. Auburn
7. Ohio State
8. Wisconsin
9. Florida
10. Notre Dame
11. Texas
12. Penn State
13. Oregon
14. Iowa
15. Utah
16. Boise State
17. Virginia
18. Michigan
19. Washington
20. California
21. Kansas State
22. USC
23. UCF
24. Army
25. Texas A&M
Biggest Movers
Auburn
Auburn's second win over a ranked foe was much more convincing than the first.
The Tigers held a 14-point lead over Texas A&M through one quarter and went on to win 28-20 at Kyle Field.
The manner in which Auburn won is significant when comparing it to Oklahoma and Ohio State. Both the Sooners and Buckeyes have dominated opponents, but neither of them have beaten Top 25 teams.
Some voters could make the argument to place the Tigers above Oklahoma or Ohio State because of their pair of ranked victories, the other occurred in Week 1 over Oregon.
At the very least, Auburn will move into the No. 7 position beneath the six playoff contenders. It may be a one-spot move, but it is significant when it comes to joining the top-tier programs of the sport.
If Gus Malzahn's team continues to win, it will move further up the rankings, as it has LSU, Georgia and Alabama still on its schedule.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin's path to the Top 10 is wide open thanks to its win over Michigan and Utah's Friday night defeat at the hands of USC.
The Badgers continued their dominance from the first two weeks by pulverizing the Wolverines at Camp Randall Stadium.
At minimum, the Badgers should move up three positions, and they could jump up more spaces depending on how the voters stack their Week 4 win up against others.
Since the Big Ten West is perceived as the weaker division in the conference, Wisconsin could reside in the Top 10 for an extended period.
Wisconsin's next three contests come at home versus Northwestern, Kent State and Michigan State before it hits the road to play Illinois.
If the Badgers run through that lineup, they could be in store for a Top 5 clash with Ohio State October 26. In that best-case scenario, the Badgers would work themselves into the playoff conversation as the conference's top option.
UCF
One week after moving up two spots off a home win against Stanford, UCF will be on the brink of dropping out due to a road loss to Pittsburgh.
Because of their Group of Five status, the Knights had a slimmer margin of error than any other power-conference team, and they likely lost their claim as the top Group of Five team to Boise State, who is 4-0.
Now that they have a blemish on their resume, the Knights will be valued less and will be on the fringe of the national conversation for a few weeks.
Since a majority of the programs beneath it won, Josh Heupel's team may land in the bottom few spots, or out of the rankings completely.
UCF might avoid a tumble out of the Top 25 since Washington State and Arizona State lost Saturday night, and the list of potential entrants is light following Oklahoma State's defeat to Texas.
UCF also took a hit in strength of schedule, as Temple and Houston suffered Week 4 defeats. If the Knights were to climb back up the rankings, they would need some quality victories.
Entering conference play, the most beneficial win for UCF could come against Cincinnati or Tulane, who are a combined 5-0.
College Football Picks Week 4: Predictions for Top 25 Games on Upcoming Schedule
Sep 16, 2019
Georgia running back D'Andre Swift (7) is chased by the Arkansas State defense as he scores a touchdown in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
The College Football Playoff discussion comes into the spotlight in Week 4, with title contenders Notre Dame and Georgia facing off for the second time in three years.
The Bulldogs won the last meeting in 2017 on their way to the playoff. Notre Dame is looking to return the favor in an attempt to make a repeat Final Four appearance.
Georgia and Notre Dame have looked impressive to date, but Saturday's clash at Sanford Stadium is their first true test.
Although Auburn is on the outside looking in at the playoff conversation, it has a chance to earn its second notable victory against Texas A&M in an SEC West clash at Kyle Field.
Week 4 Schedule
All Times ET.
Predictions in bold.
Friday, September 20
No. 10 Utah at USC (9 p.m., FS1)
Air Force at No. 20 Boise State (9 p.m., ESPN2)
Saturday, September 21
Southern Mississippi at No. 2 Alabama (Noon, ESPN2)
No. 4 LSU at Vanderbilt (Noon, SEC Network)
Tennessee at No. 9 Florida (Noon, ESPN)
No. 11 Michigan at No. 13 Wisconsin (Noon, Fox)
No. 23 California at Ole Miss (Noon, ESPNU)
Miami (Ohio) at No. 6 Ohio State (3:30 p.m., BTN)
No. 8 Auburn at No. 17 Texas A&M (3:30 p.m., CBS)
No. 15 UCF at Pittsburgh (3:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN2)
No. 22 Washington at BYU (3:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN2)
SMU at No. 25 TCU (3:30 p.m., FS1)
No. 16 Oregon at Stanford (7 p.m., ESPN)
Old Dominion at No. 21 Virginia (7 p.m., ESPN2)
Charlotte at No. 1 Clemson (7:30 p.m., ACC Network)
Oklahoma State at No. 12 Texas (7:30 p.m., ABC)
No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 3 Georgia (8 p.m., CBS)
Colorado at No. 24 Arizona State (10 p.m., Pac-12 Network)
UCLA at No. 19 Washington State (10:30 p.m., ESPN)
Predictions
Georgia 31, Notre Dame 21
Georgia and Notre Dame have outscored their opponents 249-54.
The Bulldogs have five players over 100 rushing yards to complement the 601 passing yards and five touchdowns that belong to Jake Fromm.
Ian Book enters Athens, Georgia with 680 total yards and eight scores against Louisville and New Mexico.
The significant difference comes on defense, as Georgia is ranked ninth in yards conceded per game with 243, while Notre Dame is 68th with 373.
Additionally, the Bulldogs have conceded the fifth-least rushing yards per game, so that could pose problems for Book and Tony Jones Jr.
Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish sit on the opposite end of that statistic, as they have let up 230.5 rushing yards per game.
That might spell trouble for Notre Dame going up against D'Andre Swift, who had a trio of triple-digit ground performances versus ranked foes in 2018. The junior is averaging 8.4 yards per carry and recorded at least 65 yards in the three contests to start the season.
Book could try to create an advantage in the air with Chase Claypool, but he is going up against a defense that concedes 182 passing yards per game.
Since 2017, Georgia is 7-3 against ranked foes. Notre Dame is 6-3 in the same span, but only one of its Top 25 victories occurred on the road.
Notre Dame could pull off the upset, but all of the statistics lead us to believe the Bulldogs will be triumphant.
The victory will boost the SEC East's side resume that could include victories over Florida, Auburn and Texas A&M before conference championship weekend.
If that is the case, arguments might be made in favor of a one-loss Georgia side getting into the playoff, but that discussion will be had later.
Texas A&M 20, Auburn 14
Unlike most Top 25 matchups at this juncture, we already have an idea of what Auburn and Texas A&M look like in high-profile games.
Auburn gutted out a 27-21 Week 1 win over Oregon behind freshman quarterback Bo Nix, while the Aggies dropped to Clemson by 14 points.
Saturday's game starts a gauntlet for both sides. Auburn plays Mississippi State and Florida after its visit to College Station, Texas, while A&M opposes Alabama October 12.
Jimbo Fisher's squad should have the experience at quarterback in Kellen Mond and the home-field advantage to come out on top.
Mond has 23 touchdowns and six interceptions in the last two seasons at Kyle Field. Eleven of those passing scores have come against ranked foes.
A&M is forming a nice supporting cast around the signal-caller with a pair of running backs over 120 yards and three wideouts with more than 140 yards.
Nix has Eli Stove and Will Hastings to work with as his top targets, but he is facing a team that has conceded 184.7 passing yards per game and 5.2 yards per attempt.
Texas A&M's advantage could come on the ground, as Auburn has let up 17 more yards per carry than it, and it is coming off a win over Lamar in which it ran for five scores.
When the regular season is finished and the proverbial dust settles on conference championship week, the best college football teams usually stand out well above the rest...
