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2025 College Football Rankings Recap: Week 4
Ole Miss (4-0) takes over the top spot in The Davis Rankings, up from 2nd after week 4 of the 2025 season, with a score of 95.1 out of 100. Also ranked in the top five (ties included): #2 USC, #3 Texas A&M, #4 Oklahoma, T-5 Georgia, T-5 Houston.
Every score comes from the same published formula, explained on the methodology page.
The top 25
SEC It just means something, when you have... Florida (#118), 3rd week running
| Rank | Team | Record | TDR scoreTDR | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ole Miss | 4-0 | 95.1 | ▲ 1 |
| 2 |  USC | 4-0 | 94.4 | ▲ 3 |
| 3 |  Texas A&M | 3-0 | 94.0 | ▲ 4 |
| 4 |  Oklahoma | 4-0 | 93.1 | ▲ 2 |
| T-5 |  Georgia | 3-0 | 92.5 | ▲ 7 |
| T-5 |  Houston | 3-0 | 92.5 | ▲ 9 |
| 7 |  Navy | 3-0 | 92.1 | ▲ 7 |
| T-8 |  Iowa State | 4-0 | 91.5 | ▲ 11 |
| T-8 |  Mississippi State | 4-0 | 91.5 | ▲ 3 |
| T-8 |  TCU | 3-0 | 91.5 | ▲ 1 |
| T-11 |  Louisville | 3-0 | 91.4 | ▲ 6 |
| T-11 |  North Texas | 4-0 | 91.4 | ▲ 10 |
| T-13 |  Maryland | 4-0 | 91.2 | ▲ 12 |
| T-13 |  Washington | 3-0 | 91.2 | ▲ 17 |
| T-15 |  LSU | 4-0 | 91.1 | ▼ 12 |
| T-15 |  Memphis | 4-0 | 91.1 | ▲ 5 |
| T-15 |  Vanderbilt | 4-0 | 91.1 | ▼ 3 |
| 18 |  Texas Tech | 4-0 | 91.0 | ▲ 18 |
| T-19 |  Georgia Tech | 4-0 | 90.8 | ▲ 4 |
| T-19 |  Missouri | 4-0 | 90.8 | ▲ 2 |
| 21 |  Indiana | 4-0 | 90.6 | ▲ 14 |
| T-22 |  BYU | 3-0 | 90.5 | ▲ 16 |
| T-22 |  Penn State | 3-0 | 90.5 | ▲ 1 |
| T-24 |  Arizona | 3-0 | 90.4 | ▲ 1 |
| T-24 |  Ohio State | 3-0 | 90.4 | ▲ 6 |
Biggest movers
25 teams jumped two or more tiers (13 up, 12 down). 54 more moved a single tier.
Risers
| Team | From | Direction | To | Tiers | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 UL Monroe 2-1 | Sick of It | → | Character Building | ▲ 2 | 106 → T-54 | ▲ 52 |
| After a road win at T-116 UTEP (31-25) in a one-score game. As expected: UL Monroe entered with 33.0 TDR points to UTEP's 25.3. Now 2-1. TDR score +32.0: win/loss record +9.2, road-win bonus +5.0. | ||||||
 San Diego State 2-1 | Do We Need to Talk? | → | Feeling Good | ▲ 2 | 99 → T-49 | ▲ 50 |
| After a home win over T-17 California (34-0) in a blowout. An upset: San Diego State entered with 36.0 TDR points to California's 91.7. Now 2-1. TDR score +31.0: win/loss record +9.2, road-win bonus +3.8. | ||||||
 Troy 2-2 | Sick of It | → | Character Building | ▲ 2 | 121 → 73 | ▲ 48 |
| After a road win at T-52 Buffalo (21-17) in a one-score game. An upset: Troy entered with 24.1 TDR points to Buffalo's 66.2. Now 2-2. TDR score +29.9: win/loss record +9.2, road-win bonus +3.8. | ||||||
 James Madison 2-1 | Do We Need to Talk? | → | Feeling Good | ▲ 2 | 96 → T-49 | ▲ 47 |
| After a road win at T-121 Liberty (31-13). As expected: James Madison entered with 37.0 TDR points to Liberty's 24.1. Now 2-1. TDR score +30.0: win/loss record +9.2, road-win bonus +5.0. | ||||||
 Notre Dame 1-2 | Oh Crap | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▲ 2 | 128 → 84 | ▲ 44 |
| After a home win over T-83 Purdue (56-30) in a blowout. An upset: Notre Dame entered with 10.5 TDR points to Purdue's 49.9. Now 1-2, first win of the season. AP: #24 to #22. TDR score +37.7: win/loss record +18.3, road-win bonus +2.9. | ||||||
and 8 more tier jumpers
Colorado 102→59, Duke 109→T-67, Tulsa 111→69, Western Kentucky 87→47, Western Michigan 126→87, Central Michigan 104→T-67, Jacksonville State 107→74, Missouri State 108→75
Fallers
| Team | From | Direction | To | Tiers | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 NC State 3-1 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 1 → 56 | ▼ 55 |
| After a road loss at T-109 Duke (33-45). An upset: NC State entered with 95.5 TDR points to Duke's 26.6. Now 3-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -33.0: win/loss record -13.8, road-win bonus -2.1. | ||||||
 Tulane 3-1 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 4 → 57 | ▼ 53 |
| After a road loss at #2 Ole Miss (10-45) in a blowout. A coin flip: Tulane entered with 93.9 TDR points to Ole Miss's 95.2. Now 3-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -31.5: win/loss record -13.8, road-win bonus -2.1. | ||||||
 Buffalo 2-2 | Character Building | → | Sick of It | ▼ 2 | 52 → T-103 | ▼ 51 |
| After a home loss to T-121 Troy (17-21) in a one-score game. An upset: Buffalo entered with 66.2 TDR points to Troy's 24.1. Now 2-2. TDR score -28.0: win/loss record -9.2, road-win bonus -2.5. | ||||||
 Auburn 3-1 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 8 → 58 | ▼ 50 |
| After a road loss at #6 Oklahoma (17-24) in a one-score game. A coin flip: Auburn entered with 93.2 TDR points to Oklahoma's 93.5. Now 3-1, first loss of the season. AP: #22 to unranked. TDR score -31.7: win/loss record -13.8, road-win bonus -2.1. | ||||||
 Utah 3-1 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 10 → 60 | ▼ 50 |
| After a home loss to #36 Texas Tech (10-34) in a blowout. An upset: Utah entered with 92.9 TDR points to Texas Tech's 89.1. Now 3-1, first loss of the season. AP: #16 to unranked. TDR score -34.2: win/loss record -13.8, road-win bonus -4.2. | ||||||
and 7 more tier jumpers
Toledo 51→T-101, Baylor 49→T-98, California 17→62, Army 86→130, East Carolina 49→T-91, Hawai'i 44→85, Charlotte 95→129
Weekly awards
Eight awards in four groups, each with one you want and one you don’t. The biggest poll gaps are in Polls vs the data, in detail under Mind the Gap. Season totals for every team are on the Awards page. The week’s game honors are in Games that mattered.
Kitchen
Who sits on top of the rankings, and who is stuck at the bottom.
Mountaineering
Two straight weeks of climbing, and two straight weeks of falling.
Biggest two-week rise, up both weeks
Biggest two-week fall, down both weeks
Mind the Gap
Where the polls and the data disagree most.
Data rank far better than any poll's
Poll rank far better than the data's
Polls vs the data, in detail
The biggest gaps between the TDR rank and the best rank in any poll. A team in no poll counts as just outside them, so its gap is a minimum (shown with a +). Gaps under 5 spots are not listed.
Wins don't matter
TDR counts every win.
| Team | TDR | AP | Coaches | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston 3-0 | T-5 | NR | NR | ▲ 21+ |
| USC 4-0 | 2 | 21 | 22 | ▲ 19 |
| Navy 3-0 | 7 | NR | NR | ▲ 19+ |
| Mississippi State 4-0 | T-8 | NR | NR | ▲ 18+ |
Explaining losses away
Every loss is about 8% of a season.
| Team | TDR | AP | Coaches | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame 1-2 | 84 | 22 | 21 | ▼ 63 |
 Illinois 3-1 | 61 | 23 | 23 | ▼ 38 |
 Alabama 2-1 | 46 | 17 | 16 | ▼ 30 |
 Tennessee 3-1 | 41 | 15 | 15 | ▼ 26 |
Moving Company
The biggest single-week moves up and down the rankings.
Games that mattered
The week’s standout games, each shown once, in the first list it qualifies for. The one exception: a close loss by a top-25 team can be in both Upset of the Week and Winnin’ ain’t easy (one is about the size of the gap, the other about how close it was). Upset of the Week, Winnin’ ain’t easy and Coin Flips are recognitions: they are not trophy-case awards, so they never go on a helmet.
The lowest-entering team to beat a better-ranked one. Ranks are from the week before.
Duke beat NC State45-33#109 vs #1108 spots- San Diego State beat
California34-0#99 vs #1782 spots 
Western Michigan beat 
Toledo14-13#126 vs #5175 spots- Troy beat Buffalo21-17#121 vs #5269 spots
- Notre Dame beat
Purdue56-30#128 vs #8345 spots
A top-25 team in a one-score game against a team ranked far below it: it survived, or it fell. Ranks are from the week before.
- Memphis beat
Arkansas32-31#20 vs #71top-25 team survived by 1 - North Texas beat
Army45-38#21 vs #86top-25 team survived by 7
Teams within 3 points of each other on paper going in, closest finish first. Scores are away, then home.
Fresno State at 
Hawai'i23-210.5 points apartwon by 2
Arizona State at 
Baylor27-240.9 points apartwon by 3- Auburn at Oklahoma17-240.3 points apartwon by 7
One-score games involving a top-60 team that are not already above.
Michigan beat 
Nebraska30-27#31 vs #64won by 3
UNLV beat 
Miami (OH)41-38#30 vs #132won by 3
The biggest margins by a team in the current top 50, the two top tiers.
Florida State beat 
Kent State66-10#29 vs #120won by 56
Texas beat 
Sam Houston55-0#33 vs #131won by 55- Indiana beat Illinois63-10#21 vs #61won by 53
Conference snapshot
Conferences by average team score, with how many of each conference's teams sit in each tier. This is a different measure from the non-conference record ranking (for this week) on the standings page.
| Conference | Avg score | Highest-ranked team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEC | 74.6 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | #1Ole Miss |
| Big 12 | 68.3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | T-5Houston |
| Big Ten | 65.8 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | #2USC |
| ACC | 57.4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | - | T-11Louisville |
| American Athletic | 55.3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | #7Navy |
| Mountain West | 52.2 | - | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | #30UNLV |
| Sun Belt | 46.9 | - | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | - | T-44 Texas State |
| Conference USA | 43.9 | - | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | #36 Louisiana Tech |
| Mid-American | 30.8 | - | - | 2 | 2 | 7 | 2 | T-65 Ohio |
Winning | Feeling Good | Character Building | Do We Need to Talk? | Sick of It | Oh Crap
The most teams in the Winning tier: SEC (8). The most teams in the bottom two tiers (Sick of It and Oh Crap): Mid-American (9).
Not ranked as a conference: FBS Independents (not a conference: UConn T-77, Notre Dame #84); Pac-12 (only 2 teams: Washington State #89, Oregon State #133).
Conference race
Who leads each conference and what the title game picture looks like. Ties are shown as ties, never broken: each conference decides them with its own rules. See the full conference standings.
| Conference | Leaders | Title game |
|---|---|---|
| SEC | FinalChampion: Georgia | |
| Big 12 | FinalChampion: Texas Tech | |
| Big Ten | FinalChampion: Indiana | |
| ACC | FinalChampion: Duke | |
| American Athletic | FinalChampion: Tulane | |
| Mountain West | FinalChampion: Boise State | |
| Sun Belt | East  Coastal Carolina 1-0West  Southern Miss 1-0 | FinalChampion: James Madison |
| Conference USA | FinalChampion: Kennesaw State | |
| Mid-American | Western Michigan 1-0Buffalo 1-0 | FinalChampion: Western Michigan |
Looking ahead to week 5
The biggest games between current top-25 teams, best matchup first.
Show all 51 games between ranked teams
Every game next week between two ranked FBS teams, best matchup first. The matchup score is the two ranks added together plus how far apart they are (lower is better). A coin marks a toss-up by the numbers.
#53 
#59 
#69 
#71 
#75 
#79 
#54 
#65 
#80 
#81 
#82 
#83 
#48 
#91 
#94 
#98 
#77 
#106 
#107 
#108 
#103 
#109 
#111 
#113 
#113 
#67 
#113 
#117 
#122 
#123 
#124 
#77 
#124 
#26 
#126 
#128 
#52 
#91 
#133 
#72 
#112 See the full 2025 week 4 rankings, see every team by tier, the conference standings, or browse every weekly recap.
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