College Football

College football rankings: Notre Dame climbs, Clemson vanishes in RJ Young's Top 25

Updated Sep. 26, 2021 4:14 a.m. ET

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By RJ Young
FOX SportsCollege Football Writer 

Editor’s note: Every Sunday morning during the college football season, RJ Young will release his updated Top 25 rankings.

Saturday in Week 4 might have looked like a bit of a lackluster slate, with only two games matching ranked opponents.

But that is the beauty of college football. We were treated to a day of upsets and plenty of movement in the Top 25.

Let's get to the rankings.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (4-0)
Defeated Southern Miss 63-14

On the same day when No. 9 Clemson lost to unranked North Carolina State, Nick Saban and Alabama recorded their 100th consecutive victory over an unranked opponent. 

Saban hasn't lost to an unranked foe since the iPhone first launched. Saban hasn't lost to an unranked opponent since Tennessee was relevant. 

Meanwhile, North Carolina State has brought back "Clemsoning" — with an upset in double overtime to knock off the original Death Valley Tigers. The final score: "North Carolina State 27, Clemson is not making the playoff."

A man we thought would compete for the Heisman this year, Clemson QB D.J. Uiagalelei, was just 12-for-26 for just 111 yards with two TDs a pick. Clemson running back Will Shipley rushed for just 36 yards on 11 carries.

Honestly, though, Big 12, Pac-12 and Big Ten fans ought to send the Wolfpack flowers. They’ve done three of the five Power conferences a tremendous favor. All of a sudden 2021 Clemson is looking real 2020 LSU. Look, Wake Forest has twice as many wins as Clemson does at the start of October.

2. Oregon Ducks (4-0)
Defeated Arizona 41-19

3. Georgia Bulldogs (4-0)
Defeated Vanderbilt 62-0

4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-0)
Defeated No. 18 Wisconsin 41-13

Notre Dame stomped a mud-hole in Wisconsin and walked it dry 41-13 at Soldier Field, improving to 4-0 with the most impressive win of the weekend. 

ND and Wisky hadn’t played against each other since the Civil Rights Act was signed into law in 1964, and they hadn’t played against each other at Soldier Field since 1929.

Brian Kelly becomes Notre Dame's winningest coach with 41-13 win over Wisconsin

Brian Kelly became the winningest coach in Notre Dame history as the Fighting Irish cruised to a 41-13 victory over Wisconsin at Soldier FIeld.

And it was a historic victory for ND coach Brian Kelly, who passed Knute Rockne for most wins by a Fighting Irish coach ever with 106. That means Kelly holds the record for most wins and most losses in ND history.

After Irish quarterback Jack Coan was knocked out of the game in the third quarter and with Tyler Buchner out injured, freshman QB Drew Pyne came in to steady an ND offense that had been held in check for most of the game. 

So, it was the ND defense that starred. Wisconsin turned the ball over more times (five) than Notre Dame had rushing yards. Notre Dame ran the ball 32 times against Wisconsin — for three yards. Three. This also checks out. 

Coming into the game, Wisconsin had allowed just 33 rush yards a game. Dating back to Paul Chryst’s first year as Wisconsin coach, the Badgers had allowed an average of just 108.0 rushing yards per game. Among Power 5 programs, that average is second only to Alabama, which allows a paltry 106.2 a game.

Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz threw four interceptions, giving him six in three games this season. As a true freshman, his potential was compared to that of Badgers great Russell Wilson. And now? It’s a yikes from me, dawg.

And those four interceptions Mertz threw? None of them were intercepted by that friggin' pterodactyl Kyle Hamilton. Drew White had a pick. Jack Kiser had a pick-six, and Cam Hart had two picks, and that’s all apart from a forced fumble. I mean, five turnovers? There are only four quarters. Goodness.

Notre Dame scored 31 unanswered points in 14 minutes of football, and the 41 points given up by the Badgers are the most an opponent has scored since 2014 Ohio State scored 59 on them. A special hello to all of my beautiful Wisconsin Badger friends.

'Be excited about this team and its future' - Joel Klatt on Notre Dame's win over Wisconsin

Joel Klatt says Notre Dame fans have good reason to be excited about the future of their team.

Finally, with the win against Wisconsin, the Fighting Irish remain undefeated at Soldier Field with an overall record of 11-0-2. They also have a perfect record in the Shamrock Series of 10-0. Reportedly, BYU is the next opponent for ND in the Shamrock Series. Perhaps the Cougars might think about getting that game off their schedule. Just a thought.

So is this the best win of the season for any team in college football? No. That still belongs to Oregon. The Ducks walked into the Shoe, in front of a sellout crowd, without the best player in college football in Kayvon Thibodeaux and one of the better defenders in Justin Flowe and soundly beat an Ohio State team that is still expected to win the Big Ten Championship and perhaps make the College Football Playoff (because Clemsoning is back, baby).

But ND’s win against Wisconsin on Saturday was one of the best wins of the season, for sure. It’s a push with Penn State’s win against Wisconsin because, at the time, Wisconsin hadn’t lost – yes, I know it was their first game of the season – and the Nittany Lions were on the road. 

And even though the Badgers were playing the visitor – it’s called the Shamrock Series for a reason – I saw a majority of Wisconsin red in Chicago while hosting FOX Sports' "Live Tailgate." A special thank-you to all of you who came through.

The goal now for Brian Kelly’s Irish is to leave no doubt that they are a playoff team. In years when Clemson was thought to have the weakest résumé among undefeated Power 5 teams aching for a CFP invitation, the Tigers committed to burying their opponents in October, November and December. They did that not to prove a point to us, but to themselves, so that when they got to the CFP, they knew without a doubt that they were not just one of the four best teams in the country but the best.

"They have to believe when they're playing the elite of the elite," Notre Dame legend Rocket Ismail said on FOX's Big Noon Kickoff on Saturday morning. "That they have what it takes, like at the end of the day, the belief that you have (what) is necessary to be able to take it to the next level."

5. Iowa Hawkeyes (4-0)
Defeated Colorado State 24-14

6. Penn State Nittany Lions (4-0)
Defeated Villanova 38-17

7. Oklahoma Sooners (4-0)
Defeated West Virginia 16-13

Oklahoma won a slugfest on a game-winning kick from Gabe Brkic, but the story, like a red-faced angry baby, is the Rattler. In this simile, the baby is a bunch of spoiled rotten Sooners fans.

Spencer Rattler was 26-for-36 for 256 yards with a TD and a pick against a team that knocked off a Top 25 opponent last week. OU fans, calm down.

8. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-0)
Defeated Texas A&M 20-10

Arkansas made Texas A&M look like a Big 12 team in a 20-10 victory at Jerry World, where Jerry made an appearance himself. Arkansas made Texas A&M wonder how much eligibility Johnny Football has left.

With this one victory, Arkansas moved to 4-0 for the first time since 2003, won a game against an AP top-seven program for the first time since 2010, and snapped a near-decade-long losing streak to the A&M.

Entering this week, the Hogs were projected underdogs for six of their next eight games, including their Top 25 matchup against Ampersand U. The Razorbacks showed up to Vegas looking to cut your bet slips in half because they believed in your ass. That’s a Sam Pittman reference. 

The Hogs beat ranked Texas. They beat ranked Texas A&M. And now, after securing the Texas state title, they’ve got those doggone Dawgs. But UGA better come correct. 

9. Ohio State Buckeyes (3-1)
Defeated Akron 59-7

10. Brigham Young Cougars (4-0)
Defeated South Florida 35-27

11. Cincinnati Bearcats (3-0)
Idle

12. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Defeated Massachusetts 53-3

13. Michigan State Spartans (4-0)
Defeated Nebraska 23-20 (OT)

14. Ole Miss Rebels (3-0)
Idle

15. Michigan Wolverines (4-0)
Defeated Rutgers 20-13

It’s not just that Rutgers had a chance to win this game late and messed that up three times. It’s that the Scarlet Knights had a chance to ruin Michigan’s homecoming. You know how ticked I’d be to know I let an opportunity to ruin homecoming go by? That I could've made like Thomas Wolfe and told all you viewers "You Can’t Go Home Anymore."

As for Michigan, they beat a quality opponent for the first time this season, and that opponent hails from Piscataway, N.J.

16. Baylor Bears (4-0)
Defeated No. 14 Iowa State 31-29

17. Oklahoma State Cowboys (4-0)
Defeated No. 25 Kansas State 31-20

18. Fresno State Bulldogs (4-1)
Defeated UNLV 38-30

19. Maryland Terrapins (4-0)
Defeated Kent State 37-16

20. SMU Mustangs (4-0)
Defeated TCU 42-34

It’s not just that SMU whooped TCU in Fort Worth to retain their grandaddy’s heirloom in the probate fight for the iron skillet. It’s also that the Mustangs planted their flag on the Frogs at midfield.

21. Boston College Eagles (4-0)
Defeated Missouri 41-34

22. Kentucky Wildcats (4-0)
Defeated South Carolina 16-10

23. San Diego State Aztecs (4-0)
Defeated Towson 48-21

24. Florida Gators (3-1)
Defeated Tennessee 38-14

25. Texas Longhorns (3-1)
Defeated Texas Tech 70-35

With the 35-point rout of the Red Raiders, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian became the first Texas coach to win three of his first four games since Fred Akers started 4-0 in 1977. 

Akers had a Heisman Trophy winner that year by the name of Earl Campbell, for whom we get the Tyler Rose. Since then there has been Ricky Williams, Cedric Benson, Jamaal Charles, D’Onte Foreman, and now, Bijan Robinson.

Robinson had 20 touches for 191 yards and a TD. Texas quarterback Casey Thompson hit 18 of 23 passes for 303 with five TDs, and the Longhorns put up 70 on a previously undefeated Texas Tech.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The No. 1 Ranked Show with RJ Young." Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young, and subscribe to "The RJ Young Show" on YouTube. He is not on a StepMill.

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