Florida Gators Surge Past Rebels Into Top 25 Poll

College football tradition received another new entry this Sunday when the week four AP Top 25 Poll dropped. Fans reacted with confusion rather than excitement.

If anyone needed proof that the SEC enjoys questionable benefits from preseason polls and perceived strength, this voting cycle settles it.

Florida Gators surged after a dominant 52-28 victory over Ole Miss Rebels. The team racked up more than 300 rushing yards. They forced two turnovers and kept the ball away from Trinidad Chambliss and his powerful offense. This win could change the entire season. The Gators climbed thirteen spots to land at No. 8. They finished one spot ahead of the Rebels.

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Oklahoma State Cowboys jumped eleven spots to reach No. 19. Their win over Oregon Ducks looks even better now that OU beat USC. UCLA moved fourteen spots into the top twenty-five at No. 23 thanks to a 54-3 blowout of Maryland Terrapins. Another surprise team through week four? The Mississippi State Bulldogs held on to beat Missouri. They climbed eight spots to No. 16.

Missouri exemplifies the problem with preseason polls and voter bias. The Tigers started as No. 25 in the preseason poll. They did nothing important for the first three weeks. A win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, a victory against a bad Kansas team, and a close win over atrocious Troy. Their reward was moving up to No. 19 before facing Mississippi State. That game ended in a 31-24 loss.

Somehow, Missouri sits at No. 25 again after looking unimpressive all season. That is the exact SEC outcome fans from other conferences complain about. Look bad, do nothing, lose, stay put. Then brag about ranked games and ranked wins. Missouri has not beaten an SEC team with a winning record since 2024. Wins that season came against 7-6 Arkansas and 7-6 Vanderbilt.

Kentucky moved up three spots to No. 24. Their win over Texas A&M looks far less impressive than last week. The Aggies look more like a top fifty team now than a top twenty-five squad. Yet the Missouri ranking holds immense value. It means their upcoming game against Florida is yet another ranked matchup in the SEC.

Iowa pulled off an upset win over Michigan with a last-second touchdown. They moved up just three spots. Michigan fell from No. 18 to unranked status. Penn State dropped from No. 13 to unranked after losing to Wisconsin. Wisconsin had a miraculous late touchdown pass in Happy Valley. USC fell six spots after losing to Oregon.

Nebraska remains unranked because they started the preseason unranked. Advanced metric systems place the Cornhuskers at No. 16 based on actual performance. Wake Forest beat No. 16 Louisville on the road. Their only loss came against a top-five Miami team. Yet they sit unranked while Missouri holds a spot.

It is hard to find any logic or consistency in these selections. The results look like nothing more than a grab bag based on an eye test, preseason polls, conference affiliation, stadium size, and whatever ESPN chooses to highlight for the cameras.

The full poll includes Texas at 4-0, Georgia at 4-0, Notre Dame at 4-0, Miami at 4-0, Ohio State at 3-1, Indiana at 4-0, Alabama at 4-0, Florida at 4-0, Ole Miss at 3-1, BYU at 3-0, LSU at 3-1, Texas Tech at 4-0, Utah at 4-0, Iowa at 4-0, Oregon at 3-1, Mississippi State at 4-0, Tennessee at 3-1, USC at 4-1, Oklahoma State at 3-1, Houston at 3-1, SMU at 3-1, Boise State at 3-1, UCLA at 4-0, Kentucky at 3-1, and Missouri at 3-1.

The upside of this system is that the AP Poll at the end of the day doesn't actually matter for the season. The downside? There is no doubt that these awful rankings inform the College Football Playoff selection committee's deliberations. They provide fodder for arguments about strength of schedule, conference affiliation, and resume wins. Texas A&M currently sits at No. 39 in computer-based rankings, one spot ahead of UCF. Yet, this team will count as a ranked win for Kentucky and LSU simply because preseason polls expected them to be good. They are not good.

With a full slate of big games in week five, expect more AP absurdity to come next week. After all, it is one of the sport's most cherished traditions.