College Football Power Rankings Week 4
by Zak Drapeau
Sportz Nation - 9/21/2026
1. Texas
2. Georgia
3. Ohio State
4. Ole Miss /\ 4
5. Miami \/ 1
6. Indiana \/ 1
7. Notre Dame \/ 1
8. Alabama /\ 2
9. LSU \/ 2
10. BYU /\ 2
11. USC
12. Oregon /\ 1
13. Penn State /\ 2
14. Texas Tech
15. Michigan /\ 2
16. Louisville /\ 8
17. Utah /\ 5
18. Florida /\ 2
19. Iowa /\ 2
20. Texas A&M \/ 11
21. Tennessee /\ 2
22. SMU \/ 6
23. Washington \/ 4
24. Missouri /\ 1
25. Oklahoma \/ 7
Ole Miss and LSU
What a game we witnessed in Oxford this weekend as the Lane Kiffin return didn't go as planned for him and his Tigers. The game was dominated early by the Rebels on both offense and defense and took a 24-7 lead into halftime, showing off very good defensive line play. The Tigers would storm back with 17-unanswered points to tie the game in the 4th. Their defense would be the catalyst with an interception and suffocating run defense through the 3rd quarter but the Tigers Quarterback Sam Leavitt would undermine everything with a late game interception to seal the game for the Rebels.
What we learned from this game is Ole Miss is absolutely as good without Kiffin as they were with him. Pete Golding's defense is all over the field and DT Will Echoles is one of the best lineman in the country. As for their offense, Trinidad Chambliss just made his claim as the best Quarterback in the country with a monster game where he beat his rivals without using his legs much, a feat I didn't think he was capable of.
LSU is still legit and one of the best rushing teams in the country, but Sam Leavitt's turnovers are a serious problem. LSU in the 2nd half were a completely different team, their O-line stepped up and allowed Leavitt and Jones to run all over the Rebels for a huge 3rd quarter. The injury on TE Trey'Dez Green is troubling and leaves LSU without a lot of receiving options moving forward so lucky for them, their run game is elite.
Both teams have huge SEC-showdowns next week as Ole Miss travels to the Swamp and Texas A&M comes to Baton Rouge after the Aggies just suffered a loss of their own.
Texas A&M
Speaking of Texas A&M, they were at home against a Kentucky team that Alabama just embarressed last week after a very strong 2-0 start. Kentucky has promise with Will Stein as their new Head Coach after a very successful stint as Oregon's OC for 4 seasons but the drumming of the Aggies he just put on in College Station was shocking.
Kentucky played a good first half with their Running Back duo doing most of the heavy lifting and their defense bending but not breaking with a few turnovers. They would take a 7-7 tie into the half as a win on the road but came out ON FIRE in the 3rd with 24 points in their first 4 drives. The Aggies had no hope of coming back with Marcel Reed's interceptions and their inability to run the ball against the Wildcats being their downfall.
This game wasn't all about Kentucky playing like Will Stein's version of Oregon or the Aggies playing their worst game in almost 2 years but it was a little of both. We knew Reed had problems with interceptions but TAMU really showed that their offense will be a problem when he does so, a problem their defense can't make up for when facing good teams.
SMU and Louisvlle
One of the biggest ACC matchups of the season played out in the heart of Kentucky with the Mustangs coming in as a road favorite and proceeded to put 41 on them. Both teams had a great day on offense with SMU QB Kevin jennings's 3 turnovers being the only separation of the two teams.
Jennings is a veteran behind Center and played an efficient game this weekend. Along with Kendrick Raphael who had 208 yards of offense, they went up and down the field against the Cardinals and probably had this one in the bag exccept for the turnovers.
For Louisville, we got to see another great showing from QB Lincoln Keinholz and their RB duo Keyjuan Brown and Isaac Brown. They rushed for 37-265-4 in the game with 0 turnovers and just outlasted SMU with neither defense being able to stop a nose bleed.
Check out fansonlysportz.com/news for more sports media contnent posted daily.
Make sure to stay tuned as we continue coverage of College Football every Monday and Thursday.
-Z.D.
Comments