Week 4: Florida leaps to No. 8, four teams join the ballot, and Simmons turns five sacks into the edge-class lead (2026)

Coverage: Sep. 21–Sep. 27, 2026.

Seven ranked teams lost in Week 4, and Sunday's Associated Press ballot moved four of them out of the poll entirely. Florida's 52-28 win over Ole Miss produced the week's largest climb, thirteen places from No. 21 to No. 8, and Oklahoma State, Boise State, UCLA and Kentucky took the four vacated spots. 1

One calendar note before the numbers. The ballot AP released Sunday afternoon is the fifth of the 2026 season, and it grades the games of Sept. 24–26, which is why AP and ESPN file it as the "Week 5 poll." This digest keys off the games, so the ballot below is reported as Week 4. 2

Official AP Top 25: full ballot and movement

Rank	School (First-Place Votes)	Record	Points	Previous	Movement and Driver
1	Texas (62)	4-0	1,737	1	Held No. 1 after a 20-17 win at Tennessee, with 62 first-place votes, four more than last week. 1 3
2	Georgia (6)	4-0	1,646	2	Unchanged after a 41-13 win over Oklahoma; Georgia has won 52 straight games against unranked teams. 2
3	Notre Dame	4-0	1,581	3	Unchanged after beating Purdue 49-10; the Irish have won their last 14 games by double digits. 2
4	Miami (Fla.) (1)	4-0	1,501	6	Up two to a season high after a 52-3 win over Central Michigan; Miami has started 4-0 in four consecutive seasons. 2
5	Ohio State	3-1	1,465	7	Up two after a 42-19 win over Illinois, in which Jeremiah Smith caught 12 passes for 217 yards and four touchdowns. 4
6	Indiana (1)	4-0	1,408	5	Down one after a 29-23 win at Northwestern; Indiana's 20-game win streak is the longest active one in the FBS. 2
7	Alabama	4-0	1,305	8	Up one after a 49-18 win over South Carolina. The win gave Alabama its 300th consecutive week in the Top 25, the longest active run; Georgia is next at 153. 1 2
8	Florida	4-0	1,272	21	Up thirteen, the week's largest move, after beating Ole Miss 52-28; Florida's first win over an AP top-five team since 2020, and its first top-10 ranking since 2021. 1 2
9	Ole Miss	3-1	1,089	4	Down five after the loss in Gainesville; Trinidad Chambliss turned the ball over five times, three more than he did in all of 2025. 2
10	BYU	3-0	1,078	9	Idle, and down one place as others climbed past; the Cougars open Big 12 play at TCU. 2
11	LSU	3-1	1,073	10	Down one after beating Texas A&M 35-6, LSU's largest margin against a ranked Aggies team. 2
12	Texas Tech	4-0	1,053	11	Down one after a 49-14 win over Sam Houston; Texas Tech has won 11 straight at home. 2
13	Utah	4-0	903	15	Up two after a 31-17 win over Iowa State; Utah has scored at least 30 points in ten straight games, the longest run in the FBS. 2
14	Iowa	4-0	856	17	Up three, to its highest ranking since 2021, after a 20-19 win at Michigan. 1 2
15	Oregon	3-1	725	20	Up five after a 41-27 win at USC with Dylan Raiola playing in place of the injured Dante Moore. 2
16	Mississippi State	4-0	715	24	Up eight, its highest ranking in four years, after beating Missouri 31-24; Mississippi State's first win in an AP-ranked matchup since 2014. 1 2
17	Tennessee	3-1	663	14	Down three after the 20-17 loss to Texas; Tennessee has lost 15 straight games against the AP No. 1. 2
18	USC	4-1	410	12	Down six after its first loss; USC converted 2 of 11 third downs against Oregon. 2
19	Oklahoma State	3-1	345	NR	New entry, and the Cowboys' first ranking in two years, after winning 41-24 at West Virginia for a third straight victory. 1
20	Houston	3-1	278	25	Up five after a 42-28 win at Georgia Southern. 1
21	SMU	3-1	246	22	Up one after a 34-24 win over Missouri State; SMU has won 17 straight against opponents outside the power conferences. 2
22	Boise State	3-1	221	NR	New entry after a 32-7 win at Western Michigan; the Broncos are the first Group of Six team ranked this season. 1
23	UCLA	4-0	218	NR	New entry after a 54-3 win at Maryland; UCLA is 4-0 for the first time in four years. 1
24	Kentucky	3-1	150	NR	New entry after a 45-21 win at South Alabama; Kentucky's first ranking since 2023. 1
25	Missouri	3-1	118	19	Down six after the home loss to Mississippi State; Missouri has lost nine straight against ranked opponents. 2

Also receiving votes: Wisconsin 102, Duke 101, Penn State 98, Wake Forest 88, Virginia Tech 86, Michigan 54, Pittsburgh 52, Nebraska 36, Louisville 25, Cincinnati 20, James Madison 10, Arizona 8, Minnesota 7, North Dakota State 6, Northwestern 1. 3

Penn State took the biggest fall of any team, from No. 13 to unranked, after losing 24-20 at home to Wisconsin. Michigan left from No. 18 after the Iowa loss, Louisville from No. 16 after Wake Forest won 30-27, and Texas A&M from No. 23 after the 35-6 loss at LSU. 1 5

Florida's thirteen-place rise is the biggest in the poll since LSU jumped fourteen spots, from No. 25 to No. 11, on Sept. 4, 2018. The Big 12's five ranked teams are its most since Oct. 26, 2025. Georgia appeared in the Top 25 for the 700th time, tenth-most all time. 1

The SEC again placed ten teams: Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss, LSU, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri. The Big Ten has six, the Big 12 five, the ACC two (Miami and SMU), the Pac-12 one (Boise State), and Notre Dame stands as the independent. 1

The Coaches Poll, released the same day, agrees on Texas at No. 1 and Miami at No. 4 and then parts ways. Texas took 45 of the coaches' first-place votes, Georgia 17, Indiana eight and Notre Dame three. The coaches keep Indiana fifth and BYU ninth, put Duke 21st, Penn State 22nd and Michigan 24th, and leave Oklahoma State, Kentucky and Boise State just outside the 25 in the receiving-votes line. 4

The games behind the movement

Three results did the most work on the new ballot: a blowout in Gainesville, an injury-marred night in Los Angeles, and a last-second finish in Ann Arbor.

Florida 52, Ole Miss 28: the week's biggest climb

Ole Miss came to Gainesville a week after beating LSU and left it with a first loss and a five-place drop, because Florida ran the ball through a defense that had no answer for Jadan Baugh. Baugh carried 29 times for 142 yards and three touchdowns, the last of them with about four minutes left to close the scoring. 4 6

Florida led by two scores at halftime and held that margin for most of the second half. 6 The other half of the story was Ole Miss's ball security. Trinidad Chambliss, who had thrown for 363 yards against LSU the week before, turned the ball over five times, more than he had in the entire 2025 season. 2

It is the kind of win that settles a coach's first season rather than his first month. Jon Sumrall has Florida at 4-0, ranked in the top ten for the first time since 2021, with a road trip to Missouri next. Ole Miss gets a bye week before a trip to Vanderbilt on Oct. 10, and the open question is running back Kewan Lacy, who missed the Florida game with the shoulder injury he took against LSU. 2 4

Oregon 41, USC 27: Moore leaves in an ambulance, Raiola takes over

Oregon trailed 10-7 in the second quarter when Dante Moore scrambled for a first down, began his slide, and took a hit to the helmet from USC linebacker Desman Stephens II. Moore's head snapped back into the turf and he lay motionless while the teams confronted a celebrating Stephens, who was ejected for targeting. Moore left the Coliseum on a stretcher and in an ambulance, wearing a neck brace, and was taken to a hospital for evaluation. 7

Oregon coach Dan Lanning and medical staff attend to quarterback Dante Moore on the field in Los Angeles — Moore had feeling in his extremities, but his condition after the hit was still being evaluated on Sunday, when USC suspended Stephens for one game — the Trojans' game against Washington. The hit drew a targeting ejection and, from Oregon coach Dan Lanning, the word "disgusting." (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) 8 9

The game restarted around him. Dylan Raiola, the transfer from Nebraska, threw a touchdown pass to finish the drive Moore had started, then finished 19-of-25 for 289 yards and two touchdowns and led five touchdown drives. USC never led again. 5 10

Stephens apologized Sunday and expressed empathy for Moore and his family in a statement issued by the school. "Seeing a player injured like that is incredibly serious, and my reaction in the moments afterward was completely inappropriate and inexcusable," he said. Coach Lincoln Riley called the actions "unacceptable" and suspended him for the Washington game, and defended Stephens' return to the sideline in the second half on Saturday because, he said, "he's on our football team." 6 9

USC gained 446 yards and still lost by fourteen, converting 2 of 11 third downs. 2 6 The Trojans fell six places to No. 18, and Oregon climbed five to No. 15.

Iowa 20, Michigan 19: the last play of the game

Iowa got the ball at its own 9-yard line with 1:11 left and no timeouts. Hank Brown found Addison Ostrenga for 29 yards, and then Michigan defensive lineman John Henry Daley was injured on the play, stopping the clock and giving the Hawkeyes the chance to talk over their last snap. Brown found Reece Vander Zee in the end zone as time expired. 5

Michigan receiver JJ Buchanan is tackled by Iowa defensive back Zach Lutmer in Ann Arbor — Iowa's 91-yard drive ended in the end zone as time expired, and it was the Hawkeyes' first win over a ranked Big Ten opponent since 2021. The loss dropped Michigan out of the poll from No. 18. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) 2 8

ESPN Analytics gave Michigan a 96.3% chance of winning when the drive began and 98.6% with 11 seconds left. 5 Iowa's reward is a home game against Ohio State on Saturday; Michigan, which had escaped Western Michigan on the final play earlier this season, is unranked. 2 5

Other ranked results

Texas 20, Tennessee 17: Tennessee pulled within three on Faizon Brandon's 30-yard touchdown pass to Mike Matthews with 1:22 left and recovered the onside kick at its own 49, then reached the Texas 46 and threw a Hail Mary that was batted down. Colin Simmons sacked Brandon five times, tying a Texas single-game record set in 1990. The Longhorns have won seven straight, the longest streak of Steve Sarkisian's tenure. 2 5 10
Georgia 41, Oklahoma 13: Oklahoma trailed 35-3 at halftime after Georgia turned three first-half Sooners mistakes into points, including Chris Cole's 85-yard scoop-and-score. Oklahoma finished with 65 rushing yards, and Brent Venables said afterward that the staff "discussed" changing quarterbacks. 11
Mississippi State 31, Missouri 24: Kamario Taylor went 27-of-38 for 360 yards and three touchdowns and led two fourth-quarter scoring drives after the Bulldogs fell behind 24-17, the last a 24-yard pass to Sanfrisco Magee with 3:57 left. It was Mississippi State's first win in a ranked matchup since 2014 and its first 2-0 SEC start since 2014. 5 10
LSU 35, Texas A&M 6: LSU led 14-3 at halftime after holding the Aggies to 142 yards, and the margin was the largest for LSU against a ranked Texas A&M team. 2 10
Alabama 49, South Carolina 18: Keelon Russell threw four touchdown passes in the first half and accounted for 400 yards of offense; Red Morgan returned an interception for a touchdown. 10
Wisconsin 24, Penn State 20: Wisconsin won on a late fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Colton Joseph to Jacob Harris, its second win over a ranked team under Luke Fickell, and Penn State fell out of the poll from No. 13. 4
Wake Forest 30, Louisville 27: a blocked field goal in the closing moments kept Wake Forest at 3-1 and pushed Louisville out of the poll. 4 5
Oklahoma State 41, West Virginia 24: Oklahoma State trailed early, then got 274 second-half passing yards from Drew Mestemaker and eight catches for 192 yards from Wyatt Young to end an 18-game Big 12 losing streak that dated to Nov. 25, 2023. West Virginia rushed for 334 yards in the loss. 10
Utah 31, Iowa State 17: Utah is 4-0 with four wins by double digits to open Big 12 play. 5
The rest of the ranked winners: Ohio State 42-19 over Illinois, Miami 52-3 over Central Michigan, Notre Dame 49-10 over Purdue, Indiana 29-23 at Northwestern, Texas Tech 49-14 over Sam Houston, Houston 42-28 at Georgia Southern, SMU 34-24 over Missouri State, Boise State 32-7 at Western Michigan, UCLA 54-3 at Maryland and Kentucky 45-21 at South Alabama. 2

2027 NFL Draft: Week 4 stock movement

Two sources set this channel's board reading, and they run on different clocks. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. and Jordan Reid file weekly notes on Sundays; this week's landed Sept. 27. The NFL Draft Bible's Hot 100 is a monthly board, and its Sept. 18 edition is still the most recent one published, so every board placement quoted below predates this week's games and the weekly notes are what moved. 12 13

One name at the top did not move at all and still had the loudest week. Jeremiah Smith caught 12 passes for 217 yards and four touchdowns against Illinois, and he passed Ole Miss's Trinidad Chambliss and Miami's Darian Mensah to become the Heisman favorite. He remains No. 1 on the Sept. 18 Hot 100. 4 8 13

Colin Simmons has the edge class to himself

Jordan Reid watched from the press box in Knoxville and came away with the strongest single-game note of the week. Simmons' five sacks against Tennessee tied a Texas record that had stood since 1990, and he got them from both edges and, on late downs, from inside. At 6-foot-3 and 246 pounds, Reid wrote, his upfield burst and closing speed make him hard for blockers to stay with, and he now has seven sacks this season. "Simmons is the clear top player at the position at this point in the season," Reid wrote. 12

The comparison Reid keeps returning to is South Carolina's Dylan Stewart, who is 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds and, in Reid's reading, the more explosive athlete of the two. Reid expects the two to be argued as traits against production. 12 The Sept. 18 Hot 100 did not separate them by much: Stewart is No. 6 overall, Simmons No. 7. 13

Jadan Baugh is the class running back now

Florida's 4-0 start has a draft consequence. Reid projects Baugh as a top-20 pick who could go in the teens, and called him "the clear RB1 in the class so far." Part of the case is volume: Baugh has carried at least 25 times in back-to-back games, and he has 600 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns through four games, both top-two figures in the FBS. 12

The line that will travel furthest comes from ESPN Research: Baugh is the second player in 20 seasons to run for at least 100 yards and two touchdowns in each of his first four games, joining Leonard Fournette in 2015. 12 At 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds he is a between-the-tackles runner with the contact balance to survive that workload, which is what a team without a starting back is shopping for. 12

Dante Moore's injury, and the evaluation nobody has made yet

Dante Moore entered the season as one of the quarterbacks in the first-round conversation and sits No. 10 overall on the Sept. 18 Hot 100. His injury at the Coliseum is the week's largest draft story by default, because the performance that would answer the questions about him — Oregon plays UCLA and then the back half of the Big Ten schedule — may not happen on schedule. 12 13

Kiper's note on the Oregon offense was about Moore's replacement and about a tight end, not about Moore's draft position, and no published board has repriced him since the hit. The last published figure is the Sept. 18 placement, and the next dated evaluation is what will move him in either direction. 12 13

Kiper did single out the tight end who returned to that offense. Jamari Johnson caught seven passes for 119 yards against USC and had a one-handed catch erased by a penalty, and Kiper wrote that Oregon's offense "looks different with him out there." At 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds, Johnson is now in a two-man race with LSU's Trey'Dez Green for the top tight end in the class. 12

This week's risers and stock-down names

Prospect	Position / School	Week 4 On-Field Evidence	Direction	Board Context
Colin Simmons	Edge, Texas	Five sacks against Tennessee, tying a Texas single-game record set in 1990; seven sacks this season. 12	Rising	Reid calls him the clear top edge in the class; the Sept. 18 Hot 100 has him No. 7 overall. 12 13
Jadan Baugh	Running back, Florida	142 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries against Ole Miss; 600 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns through four games. 12	Rising	Reid's top-20 projection is new this week; the Sept. 18 board predates it. 12 13
Jamari Johnson	Tight end, Oregon	Seven catches for 119 yards in his return from injury, plus a one-handed catch called back by penalty. 12	Rising	Kiper sees a potential first-rounder contending with LSU's Trey'Dez Green for the top tight end. 12
Chris Cole	Linebacker, Georgia	Eight tackles, a sack and two fumble recoveries against Oklahoma, one returned 85 yards for a touchdown. 12	Rising	Reid's top-ranked linebacker, tracking toward the middle or back of the first round. 12
Raylen Wilson	Linebacker, Georgia	11 tackles and a sack in the same game. 12	Rising	Kiper puts him on Day 2, giving Georgia two draftable linebackers. 12
Deuce Alexander	Wide receiver, Ole Miss	Seven catches for 134 yards and a touchdown in the loss to Florida. 12	Rising	Reid says he could enter first-round conversations, with few receivers in the class matching his vertical speed. 12
Ashton Hampton	Cornerback, Clemson	Three tackles and three pass breakups against Cal. 12	Rising	Kiper's grade is the first round, with four interceptions and 19 pass breakups for his career. 12
Elliot Washington II	Cornerback, Clemson	Two interceptions against Cal and at least one impact play in every game this season. 12	Rising	Kiper puts the Penn State transfer on Day 2 and credits his special-teams work. 12
Xavier Gilliam	Defensive tackle, Tennessee	Four tackles and a sack against Texas, with quick penetration into the backfield. 12	Debut	Reid adds the 6-foot-2, 305-pound Penn State transfer to the interior-defender mix. 12
CJ Heard	Safety, Vanderbilt	Nine tackles in the loss to Auburn, leading the Commodores in tackles for a third straight season. 12	Rising	Kiper's grade is the fourth round, with the arrow pointing up. 12
John Mateer	Quarterback, Oklahoma	Two fumbles and an interception in the 41-13 loss to Georgia; Georgia returned one fumble 85 yards for a touchdown. 11	Falling	Venables said the staff discussed a change at quarterback; ESPN's Sept. 20 notes had already called him "arrow down." 11 12

What to watch next Saturday

Three games match ranked teams on Oct. 3, and AP flagged all three when it released the ballot. 1

No. 7 Alabama at No. 16 Mississippi State — Alabama has won 16 straight in the series, and Kamario Taylor is the reason this one is interesting. 1 8
No. 5 Ohio State at No. 14 Iowa — Ohio State was No. 3 the last time it visited Kinnick Stadium, in 2017, and lost 55-24. 1
No. 8 Florida at No. 25 Missouri — Missouri has won the last two meetings in Columbia, on a field goal with five seconds left in 2023 and on a two-point conversion pass in overtime in 2021. 1

Texas is off until the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma on Oct. 10, when Oregon also hosts UCLA — the game that will show what the Ducks' offense looks like for however long Dante Moore is out. 2 11 For draft watchers, the circled date is still Nov. 7, when Miami visits Notre Dame and Darian Mensah finally sees a defense of that quality. 12

References

1
College Football AP Top 25: Major shuffle to poll in Week 4
sports.mynorthwest.com
2
AP college football Week 4 poll reaction: What's next for each Top 25 team
espn.com
3
The AP Top 25
apnews.com
4
College football rankings after Week 4: Updated US LBM Coaches Poll, AP Top 25
usatoday.com
5
What we know through CFB's Week 4, plus Kamario Taylor's rise and Michigan's karma
espn.com
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AP College Football Poll 2026 Week 5 Rankings Released with Top Risers and Fallers
bleacherreport.com
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Oregon QB Moore leaves field on cart, in neck brace after late hit from USC's Stephens
apnews.com
8
LIVE AP Top 25: Florida flies into the top 10 after Ole Miss takedown
apnews.com
9
USC suspends LB for game vs UW Huskies for hit on Oregon QB
sports.mynorthwest.com
10
College football scores, rankings, highlights in Week 4: Oregon takes down USC
cbssports.com
11
Oklahoma coaching staff 'discussed' QB change as John Mateer's disastrous outing raises big questions
cbssports.com
12
2027 NFL draft questions, latest intel, risers, CFB standouts
espn.com
13
2027 NFL Draft Hot 100, September Edition
allaccessfootball.com