My top four teams from last week — Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan — remain the same on my Associated Press Top 25 ballot this week.
That’s to be expected when they won by an average margin of 53 points on Saturday. The closest call was “only” a 41-point win by Georgia, my No. 1 team.
The Bulldogs blitzed South Carolina, 48-7, and allowed their first touchdown in three games. That came with 53 seconds left in the game. Alabama (56-point margin), Ohio State (56-point margin) and Michigan (59-point margin) also were never challenged.
While my top four remained the same, there was the usual shuffling among the majority of teams on my ballot.
Also, I ranked four new teams this week: Washington debuts at No. 12 after its dominant win over Michigan State; Oregon returned to my ballot at No. 16 after handling BYU; Texas A&M also returned to my ballot at No. 21 after outlasting Miami; and Washington State debuts at No. 25.
Here's my Top 25 ballot compared to Action Network senior writer Collin Wilson’s betting power ratings.
Brett McMurphy's Week 4 AP Top 25 Ballot
AP denotes Brett McMurphy's Associated Press Top 25 ballot.
PR denotes Collin Wilson's College Football Betting Power Ratings.
1
Georgia
3
2
Alabama
2
3
Ohio State
1
4
Michigan
4
5
USC
28
6
Kentucky
25
7
Oklahoma State
12
8
Oklahoma
5
9
Arkansas
11
10
Tennessee
10
Collin and I agree on the nation’s top four teams, but not in the same order. I went with Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan; Collin went with Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia and Michigan.
In Collin’s ratings, Ohio State jumped Alabama for the No. 1 spot, while he rates Georgia No. 3. Among my top-10 teams, Collin rates eight in his top 12.
11
Clemson
6
12
Washington
30
13
NC State
15
14
Utah
8
15
Penn State
18
16
Oregon
17
17
BYU
27
18
Florida
33
19
Baylor
24
20
Appalachian State
54
Collin and I don’t have much agreement on the teams I ranked between Nos. 11 and 20 on my ballot. In fact, NC State, Penn State and Oregon are the only teams we both have ranked between 11-20.
The biggest difference between my AP ballot and Collin’s ratings were Washington and Appalachian State. I ranked UW 12th, while Collin rated it 30th. I ranked App State 20th, and Collin put the Mountaineers at 54th.
21
Texas A&M
9
22
Miami
26
23
Texas
7
24
Oregon State
55
25
Washington State
69
The final five teams in my rankings also feature two more of the biggest differences with Collin’s ratings. I ranked Oregon State No. 24, while Collin has the Beavers No. 55. I ranked Washington State No. 25, and Collin put the Cougars No. 69.
Collin also had eight teams in the top 25 of his power ratings that I did not rank on my Top 25 ballot this week: No. 13 Mississippi State, No. 14 Florida State, No. 16 TCU, No. 19 Ole Miss, No. 20 Cincinnati, No. 21 LSU, No. 22 Michigan State and No. 23 Pitt.
