Coaches Poll top 25: Clemson out, Notre Dame drops in Week 4 college football rankings

A look at the updated Coaches Poll top 25 college football rankings coming out of an active Saturday and looking ahead to the Week 4 action next weekend.

There was no change among the top seven teams in the Coaches Poll this week after those teams expectedly won their games, but there was plenty of movement elsewhere in the rankings, including the addition of four new teams in the latest standings.

Notre Dame was predictably a big loser in the rankings after falling to 0-2 following a 1-point loss to Texas A&M at home, and Vanderbilt pushed its way into the poll after a big win on the road in SEC play.

Clemson fell out of the rankings entirely after dropping to 1-2 on the year following an upset loss on the road against Georgia Tech that could affect the future of the ACC title picture.

Where does that leave things in the updated Coaches Poll top 25 college football rankings as we come out of Saturday and look ahead to the Week 4 action?

Let’s take a look at what teams moved up, moved down, and didn’t budge in the rankings for this weekend, according to the coaches’ vote.

Coaches Poll top 25 rankings for Week 4

First-place votes in parentheses

1. Ohio State (62)
2. Penn State (3)
3. Georgia (1)
4. LSU (1)
5. Oregon
6. Miami
7. Texas
8. Illinois
9. Florida State
10. Texas A&M
11. Ole Miss
12. Oklahoma
13. Iowa State
14. Alabama
15. Tennessee
16. Texas Tech
17. Indiana
18. Utah
19. Georgia Tech
20. Michigan
21. Notre Dame
22. Missouri
23. Vanderbilt
24. South Carolina
25. Auburn

Where we left off: Last week’s Coaches Poll rankings

--

Teams that dropped out

Better luck next time to these teams that tumbled out of the Coaches Poll rankings this week after taking another costly loss on Saturday

Clemson. The preseason consensus favorite to take home another ACC title and make a second-straight playoff, suddenly those predictions look very premature after the Tigers took a three-point loss on the road against Georgia Tech, falling to 1-2, and though not out of reach of the CFP, definitely much further away than they anticipated.

USF. Two glorious weeks for the Bulls came to an abrupt and unceremonious end after taking an ugly 49-12 loss on the road against ACC favorite Miami, ending a two-game win streak that included wins against ranked opponents, taking some of the shine off their effort to punch through as the Group of Five’s playoff contender.

Arizona State. The reigning Big 12 champs beat Texas State over the weekend, but the coaches dropped them from the rankings to make room for four previously unranked teams.

BYU. Likewise for the Cougars, idle on Saturday, and who were sacrificed to make way for those teams that played and won games in Week 4.

--

Other teams receiving votes

These teams earned some votes from the coaches this week, but not enough of them to qualify for the official rankings, leaving them on the outside looking in

BYU 158; Arizona State 141; USC 117; Clemson 116

Tulane 107; Louisville 53; TCU 49; USF 48

Mississippi State 27; SMU 24; Nebraska 24

Navy 15; Memphis 14; Washington 13; NC State 13

Baylor 8; Houston 5; Kansas 2; UNLV 1; Cal 1

--

Coaches Poll biggest movers

Michigan (+2). Not since the 1922 season has the Wolverines defeated an opponent by at least 60 points, having little trouble getting past Central Michigan in the Big House, rushing for 8 touchdowns ahead of the Big Ten opener at Nebraska.

Vanderbilt (+18). Coming into this weekend, the Commodores were 2-122-1 all-time against ranked teams on the road, but that changed after a statement 31-7 win at South Carolina.

South Carolina (-14). Taking a 31-7 loss at home to Vanderbilt isn’t what any team in the SEC wants, but the Commodores looked pretty good in the process, while the Gamecocks await word on star quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who left the game with an injury after taking a big hit.

Texas A&M (+7). Marcel Reed hit the game-winning touchdown with seconds left on fourth and goal to take down CFP runner-up Notre Dame on the road in a signature moment for Mike Elko’s tenure leading the Aggies, who moved up five spots in these rankings last week, too.

Notre Dame (-13). College football’s national title runner-up is in big trouble after falling to 0-2 following losses to Miami and Texas A&M, even if only by four combined points, but the Irish are definitely in the exact hole they didn’t want to be in just two weeks into the season.

Georgia Tech (+15). A signature victory over Clemson puts the Yellow Jackets in the rankings after moving to 3-0 pushing their way up the ACC power rankings this young season.

--