With Week 4 now in the books, it’s time to release our staff rankings that now factor in the weekend that was in college football.

Each of the seven members of the NDT staff (Kyle Crabbs, Joe Marino, Roger Dixon, Scott Bischoff, Jon Ledyard, Benjamin Solak and Jonah Tuls) submitted their individual top-15 rankings that factored into the composite list by averaging them together.

The top five from last week’s poll held serve but then the shakeup begins. An unranked team from last week is now in the top-1o and another returns to our poll. The Cowboy’s of Oklahoma State plummet in the rankings after losing at home on Saturday.

*Last weeks rank in parenthesis

1. Alabama 4-0 (1) – No change at the top with Alabama embarrassing the previously undefeated Commodores 59-0 at home.
2.  Clemson 4-0 (2) – Tied entering the fourth quarter, Clemson scored 27 unanswered points to take down Boston College.
3. Oklahoma 4-0 (3) – The Sooners played a closer contest against Baylor than expected but managed to pull out the win and remain in the third slot.
4. Penn State 4-0 (4) – Iowa on the road is always a tough destination for highly ranked teams but Penn State pulled out a victory by scoring a touchdown on the final play of the game. While they didn’t dominate, being able to win a close game on the road says a lot about this squad.
5. Southern Cal 4-0 (5) – We’re still waiting for the Trojans to win in convincing fashion but so far they have taken care of business by ripping off four consecutive wins to start the season. A Friday night showdown at Washington State awaits USC this week.
6. Washington 4-0 (7) – Some thought Colorado would give the Huskies a game on Saturday but a 37-10 road win for Washington proved otherwise.
7. Georgia 4-0 (11) – The Bulldogs made a statement on Saturday, defeating the Bulldogs of Mississippi State 31-3. The Georgia defense is fast and physical.
8. TCU 4-0 (NR) – A road win over previously undefeated Oklahoma State lands the Horned Frogs in the top-10.
9. Michigan 4-0 (8) – The Wolverines are undefeated with two wins over power five schools, yet our staff remains lukewarm in slotting them among the unbeaten.
10. Ohio State 3-1 (9) – The highest ranked one-loss team, Ohio State has won convincingly over Army and UNLV following the Oklahoma loss.
11. Wisconsin 3-0 (10) – The Badgers were idle last week with Big Ten play starting on Saturday against Northwestern.
12. Virginia Tech 3-0 (14) – The Hokies are creeping up the polls but a big test awaits them on Saturday when they play host to Clemson.
13. Oklahoma State 3-1 (6) – The Cowboy’s defense couldn’t slow down TCU in a disappointing home loss to the Horned Frogs. It will be an uphill battle for OK State to get back in the playoff picture.
14. Miami 2-0 (13) – The ‘Canes returned from two weeks off and exploded for nearly 600 yards and 52 points against Toledo. The undefeated Duke Blue Devils host Miami on Friday night and we will learn more about both teams.
15. Auburn 3-1 (NR) – The Tiger’s offense had its best performance of the season against Missouri and Auburn is back in our rankings after two weeks off following the Clemson loss.

Others receiving votes:  South Florida, Duke, Notre Dame, Washington State.

Dropping Out:  Florida State (15), Mississippi State (12)