Many of the top teams in the country were impressive in victory in Week 4, and Notre Dame was impressive in defeat.
1. Georgia: Again, No. 1 until proven otherwise.
2. Washington: Michael Penix, Jr., leads the nation in passing yards, touchdowns, and yards per attempt. This is the best offense in college football.
3. Florida State: Can't argue with the resume, although Saturday's 31-24 win at Clemson keeps the 'Noles number of wins over AP Top 25 teams at one. Still, Florida State has defeated three Power 5 teams away from Tallahassee.
4. Texas: I'll say it: this is the best defense in college football.
5. Ohio State: We all keep waiting to see the Buckeye offense get on track, but they had just enough on Saturday.
6. Penn State: The Nittany Lions have scored at least 30 in every game, and yet to allow more than 15 -- including Saturday's shut out of Iowa. They now have three weeks (at Northwestern, home against UMass, plus an off week) to prepare for Ohio State.
7. Michigan: Groundhog Month for Michigan is now over, after opening the season with four straight home wins by scores of 30-3, 35-7, 31-6 and 31-7. The Wolverines don't play a ranked team until November.
8. Utah: A 4-0 start with wins over two currently ranked teams and no Cam Rising is extremely impressive.
9. Oregon: A 35-0 beatdown of Colorado in the first half probably won't get the respect it deserves nationally.
10. USC: A sloppy game from the Trojans, and they still put up 42 and won by double digits on the road.
11. Notre Dame: Has any fan base taken more punches to the gut than Notre Dame? I mean, Chip Trayanum scored in essentially the exact same spot Matt Leinart did in the Bush Push 17 years ago.
12. Duke: All of a sudden, Duke has the opportunity to drive their trident through Notre Dame's heart in what's now the biggest game of the country this coming Saturday.
13. Oklahoma: It's looking like the first time Oklahoma will face adversity this season will be at the Cotton Bowl in two weeks.
14. Miami: Miami's performance against Texas A&M aged well with how the Aggies shut down Auburn on Saturday.
15. Washington State: The Cougars have scored solid home wins over Wisconsin and Oregon State, but now must go on the road to face ranked teams in two of their next three.
16. Alabama: A 14-point win over Ole Miss was enough to put the Tide back on my ballot.