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2026 College Football Rankings Recap: Week 4
Mississippi State (4-0) holds the top spot in The Davis Rankings after week 4 of the 2026 season, with a score of 95.6 out of 100. The rest of the top five: #2 Texas, #3 Notre Dame, #4 UCLA, #5 Alabama.
Every score comes from the same published formula, explained on the methodology page.
Editor's note
Good teams win games. Look what 
Indiana did, just win. Here at TDR we don't care about your ancient history, we only care about this year's history. But we all know if a team like say 
South Florida had a game like this against maybe a 
Bowling Green, they would have no respect in the polls.
Until next week.
Just Win! Excuses and Polls are for Losers.
The top 25
SEC It just means something, when you have... South Carolina (#93)
| Rank | Team | Record | TDR scoreTDR | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mississippi State | 4-0 | 95.6 | - |
| 2 |  Texas | 4-0 | 95.5 | ▲ 1 |
| 3 |  Notre Dame | 4-0 | 94.5 | ▼ 1 |
| 4 |  UCLA | 4-0 | 94.4 | - |
| 5 |  Alabama | 4-0 | 94.3 | ▼ 1 |
| T-6 |  BYU | 3-0 | 93.3 | ▲ 4 |
| T-6 |  Miami | 4-0 | 93.3 | ▼ 2 |
| T-8 |  Florida | 4-0 | 92.8 | ▲ 8 |
| T-8 |  Virginia Tech | 4-0 | 92.8 | ▲ 6 |
| 10 |  North Dakota State | 4-0 | 92.0 | ▲ 8 |
| 11 |  Iowa | 4-0 | 91.8 | ▲ 14 |
| T-12 |  Duke | 4-0 | 91.4 | ▼ 8 |
| T-12 | South Florida | 4-0 | 91.4 | ▲ 6 |
| 14 |  James Madison | 4-0 | 91.2 | ▲ 8 |
| 15 |  Cincinnati | 4-0 | 90.9 | ▲ 11 |
| T-16 |  Texas Tech | 4-0 | 90.8 | ▲ 5 |
| T-16 |  Utah | 4-0 | 90.8 | ▲ 13 |
| 18 |  Pittsburgh | 4-0 | 90.6 | ▼ 6 |
| 19 |  Georgia | 4-0 | 90.3 | ▲ 9 |
| T-20 | Indiana | 4-0 | 90.0 | ▲ 12 |
| T-20 |  Nebraska | 4-0 | 90.0 | ▲ 12 |
| 22 |  Massachusetts | 4-0 | 88.3 | ▲ 13 |
| 23 |  Clemson | 3-1 | 77.7 | ▲ 17 |
| 24 |  Wake Forest | 3-1 | 77.5 | ▲ 45 |
| 25 |  Auburn | 3-1 | 77.4 | ▲ 45 |
Biggest movers
34 teams jumped two or more tiers (13 up, 21 down). 53 more moved a single tier.
Risers
| Team | From | Direction | To | Tiers | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest 3-1 | Character Building | → | Winning | ▲ 2 | 69 → 24 | ▲ 45 |
| After a road win at T-49 Louisville (30-27) in a one-score game. An upset: Wake Forest entered with 56.4 TDR points to Louisville's 66.2. Now 3-1. TDR score +21.1: win/loss record +4.6, road-win bonus +1.2. | ||||||
| Auburn 3-1 | Character Building | → | Winning | ▲ 2 | 70 → 25 | ▲ 45 |
| After a home win over #23 Vanderbilt (21-15) in a one-score game. An upset: Auburn entered with 56.3 TDR points to Vanderbilt's 90.9. Now 3-1. TDR score +21.1: win/loss record +4.6, road-win bonus +0.7. | ||||||
 UNLV 2-2 | Sick of It | → | Character Building | ▲ 2 | 104 → 61 | ▲ 43 |
| After a road win at T-116 Akron (38-10) in a blowout. As expected: UNLV entered with 31.2 TDR points to Akron's 25.3. Now 2-2. TDR score +27.1: win/loss record +9.2, road-win bonus +1.9. | ||||||
 Houston 3-1 | Do We Need to Talk? | → | Feeling Good | ▲ 2 | 79 → T-37 | ▲ 42 |
| After a road win at T-126 Georgia Southern (42-28). As expected: Houston entered with 51.2 TDR points to Georgia Southern's 24.1. Now 3-1. AP: #25 to #20. TDR score +22.0: win/loss record +4.6, road-win bonus +2.1. | ||||||
 UTSA 3-1 | Do We Need to Talk? | → | Feeling Good | ▲ 2 | 78 → T-37 | ▲ 41 |
| After a home win over T-84 Colorado State (59-45). A coin flip: UTSA entered with 51.7 TDR points to Colorado State's 49.9. Now 3-1. TDR score +21.5: win/loss record +4.6, road-win bonus +0.8. | ||||||
and 8 more tier jumpers
UAB 103→62, Virginia 82→T-43, New Mexico 83→T-45, Arkansas 106→69, SMU 76→40, NC State 106→70, Miami (OH) 105→72, Georgia State 76→47
Fallers
| Team | From | Direction | To | Tiers | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Northwestern 2-1 | Winning | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▼ 3 | 17 → 83 | ▼ 66 |
| After a road loss at T-32 Indiana (23-29) in a one-score game. An upset: Northwestern entered with 92.3 TDR points to Indiana's 88.2. Now 2-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -40.0: win/loss record -18.3, road-win bonus -3.8. | ||||||
 Western Michigan 2-2 | Feeling Good | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▼ 2 | 45 → T-98 | ▼ 53 |
| After a home loss to #47 Boise State (7-32) in a blowout. A coin flip: Western Michigan entered with 66.7 TDR points to Boise State's 66.4. Now 2-2. TDR score -27.8: win/loss record -9.2, road-win bonus -2.5. | ||||||
 Penn State 3-1 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 4 → 55 | ▼ 51 |
| After a home loss to #62 Wisconsin (20-24) in a one-score game. An upset: Penn State entered with 94.2 TDR points to Wisconsin's 64.4. Now 3-1, first loss of the season. AP: #13 to unranked. TDR score -32.6: win/loss record -13.8, road-win bonus -2.7. | ||||||
 Louisville 2-2 | Feeling Good | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▼ 2 | 49 → 100 | ▼ 51 |
| After a home loss to #69 Wake Forest (27-30) in a one-score game. An upset: Louisville entered with 66.2 TDR points to Wake Forest's 56.4. Now 2-2. AP: #16 to unranked. TDR score -27.4: win/loss record -9.2, road-win bonus -1.9. | ||||||
 UConn 2-2 | Character Building | → | Sick of It | ▼ 2 | 53 → 103 | ▼ 50 |
| After a road loss at #105 Miami (OH) (21-24) in a one-score game. An upset: UConn entered with 65.7 TDR points to Miami (OH)'s 27.1. Now 2-2. TDR score -27.1: win/loss record -9.2, road-win bonus -1.2. | ||||||
and 16 more tier jumpers
California 49→T-98, Oklahoma 39→87, Michigan 9→T-56, Delaware 49→95, Missouri 14→59, West Virginia 20→64, Iowa State 57→T-101, USC 10→53, Tulsa 24→66, Middle Tennessee 65→107, Ole Miss 13→54, Vanderbilt 23→63, Boston College 65→T-104, TCU 63→T-101, Georgia Tech 93→131, South Alabama 67→T-104
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.
Ranked #1 that week
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA 4-0 | 4 | 23 | 23 | ▲ 19 |
| Virginia Tech 4-0 | T-8 | NR | NR | ▲ 18+ |
| North Dakota State 4-0 | 10 | NR | NR | ▲ 16+ |
| Mississippi State 4-0 | 1 | 16 | 16 | ▲ 15 |
Moving Company
The biggest single-week moves up and down the rankings.
Biggest rank rise of the week
Biggest rank fall of the week
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.
Arkansas beat 
Tulsa34-6#106 vs #2482 spots
NC State beat 
App State41-31#106 vs #3076 spots
Wisconsin beat Penn State24-20#62 vs #458 spots
Utah State beat 
Troy21-10#134 vs #7955 spots
Miami (OH) beat UConn24-21#105 vs #5352 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.
- Texas beat
Tennessee20-17#3 vs #26top-25 team survived by 3 - Wisconsin beat Penn State24-20#62 vs #4top-25 team fell by 4
- Auburn beat
Vanderbilt21-15#70 vs #23top-25 team fell by 6 - Virginia Tech beat
Boston College21-14#14 vs #65top-25 team survived by 7
Teams within 3 points of each other on paper going in, closest finish first. Scores are away, then home.
Kennesaw State at 
Arkansas State14-170.1 points apartwon by 3
Navy at 
UAB20-241.3 points apartwon by 4
Kansas State at Cincinnati26-311.2 points apartwon by 5
One-score games involving a top-60 team that are not already above.
- Iowa beat
Michigan20-19#11 vs T-56won by 1 
Minnesota beat 
Washington27-24#35 vs #71won by 3- Wake Forest beat Louisville30-27#24 vs #100won by 3
Tulane beat 
Southern Miss24-21#58 vs T-126won by 3
Air Force beat 
Nevada36-33T-51 vs #134won by 3
The biggest margins by a team in the current top 50, the two top tiers.
- UCLA beat
Maryland54-3#4 vs #90won by 51 - Miami beat
Central Michigan52-3T-6 vs #92won by 49 - Notre Dame beat
Purdue49-10#3 vs #117won by 39
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 | 69.8 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 3 | - | - | #1Mississippi State |
| Big 12 | 65.8 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | T-6BYU |
| Big Ten | 63.2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | #4UCLA |
| ACC | 61.6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | T-6Miami |
| American Athletic | 51.4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | T-12South Florida |
| Pac-12 | 45.9 | - | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | #27 Fresno State |
| Mountain West | 42.8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | #10North Dakota State |
| Sun Belt | 42.3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | #14James Madison |
| Mid-American | 41.8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | #22Massachusetts |
| Conference USA | 38.4 | - | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | T-41 Liberty |
Winning | Feeling Good | Character Building | Do We Need to Talk? | Sick of It | Oh Crap
The most teams in the Winning tier: SEC and ACC (6 each). The most teams in the bottom two tiers (Sick of It and Oh Crap): Sun Belt (8).
Not ranked as a conference: FBS Independents (not a conference: Notre Dame #3, UConn #103).
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 | TiedMississippi State, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Texas tied for the top two spots | |
| Big 12 | TiedBYU, Cincinnati, Texas Tech, Utah, Oklahoma State, UCF, Baylor and Arizona State tied for the top two spots | |
| Big Ten | TiedUCLA, Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Minnesota and Wisconsin tied for the top two spots | |
| ACC | TiedMiami, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Duke, Pittsburgh and Virginia tied for the top two spots | |
| American Athletic | TiedSouth Florida, Florida Atlantic and UAB tied for the top two spots | |
| Pac-12 | No games yet | Not startedNo conference games yet |
| Mountain West | TiedNorth Dakota State, UNLV and Wyoming tied for the top two spots | |
| Sun Belt | East James Madison 1-0WestNo games yet | DivisionsEast and West leaders meet in the title game |
| Mid-American | TiedMassachusetts, Kent State and Eastern Michigan tied for the top two spots | |
| Conference USA | TiedJacksonville State in; Liberty, Florida International, Delaware, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Sam Houston, Kennesaw State, Missouri State and New Mexico State tied for the last spot |
Looking ahead to week 5
The biggest games between current top-25 teams, best matchup first.
Show all 56 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.
#37 
#45 
#60 
#41 
#79 
#80 
#76 
#84 
#91 
#93 
#95 
#75 
#96 
#98 
#85 
#101 
#64 
#101 
#40 
#109 
#31 
#111 
#94 
#112 
#113 
#107 
#113 
#77 
#116 
#96 
#119 
#119 
#49 
#122 
#123 
#47 
#126 
#45 
#128 
#129 
#130 
#123 
#108 
#132 
#43 
#104 See the full 2026 week 4 rankings, see every team by tier, the conference standings, or browse every weekly recap.
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