2023 Week 4 CFP Resume Rankings!

Welcome to the 2023 Week 4 College Football Playoff Resume Rankings!

It was a much-hyped weekend with 6 ranked on ranked matchups and other juicy games with unbeaten or highly ranked teams. On the field the weekend absolutely delivered, with several 1-score games, a classic overtime comeback, and another decided on the final play with major playoff implications. On paper however the week was very vanilla, with only a single ranked upset with Washington State “upsetting” Oregon State. Many games were great, but went to the higher ranked team, which means the impact to the course of the season was not substantially altered from where we stood after last week. In many games though, the season was on course for major alteration until the higher ranked team secured the win late, none more so than with the finish to the game of the week, Ohio State at Notre Dame.

In the only Top 10 game of the week the defenses starred early forcing punts, getting 4th down stops and holding to field goal attempts. Particularly important was a Notre Dame goal line stand early in the second quarter including 2 stops from the 1-yard line to keep Ohio State scoreless at the time. Ohio State would finally break through with a 31-yard field goal just before the half to lead 3-0. In the second half both teams moved the ball successfully, and Ohio State momentarily extended their lead to 10-0 on a 61-yard run by TreVeyon Henderson, but it was a pair of long Notre Dame drives taking 7:39 and 6:28 off the clock that set the stage for the finish.

Trailing 14-10 deep into the 4th quarter, Ohio State marched 64 yards down the field arriving at 3rd and 1 at the Notre Dame 11-yard line. Ohio State would run the ball twice, and Notre Dame stood tall both times forcing a turnover on downs. It was the second time that Notre Dame produced a defensive stand on two consecutive plays with Ohio State needing a yard. Ohio State would get the ball back at their own 35 with 1:26 to play needing a touchdown to win. Quarterback Kyle McCord marched his team down the field, converting long pass plays to convert a 3rd and 10, 4th and 7, and a critical 3rd and 19 that put the ball at the Notre Dame 1-yard line with 7 seconds left. For the 3rd time in the game, Notre Dame’s defense would be asked to produce a pair of 1-yard stops to save the game. Following an incomplete pass, Ohio State called the game deciding play, and converted on a Chip Trayanum 1-yard touchdown over the left tackle to win the game. Notre Dame had come up with the stops they needed 5 different times, but on the final defensive play of the game they came up 1 play (and 1 player?) short. Upon review, it was clear that coach Freeman had recognized that his team was without a key defensive lineman on the final play, but chose to play with 10 instead of take a penalty giving Ohio State a shot from the half yard line. Ohio State ran right at the defensive hole, and in doing so saved the game and maybe their season. The end result here was that the projected winner won, but when we look back at the season in review, there will be very few singular plays that may hold the weight of this play given the 4-team playoff format. Notre Dame now needs to run the table to get a shot at the playoffs, and Ohio State likely now earns a mulligan should they fall to either Michigan or Penn State and fail to appear in the Big Ten title game. It was a huge moment in the season, and Ohio State capitalized on a Notre Dame mistake to secure the win in the top game of the weekend.

Quick Hitters:

• Florida State / Clemson

  • Florida State struggling to put away Boston College in week 3 created a lot of doubt about their week 4 showdown with perennial ACC power Clemson. Clemson did not trail in regulation, but a pair of mistakes kept FSU in the game leading to overtime. In the second half, Florida State opened with a field goal drive to tie the game at 17. FSU’s offense would not score again until the overtime touchdown winner. Clemson pulled ahead 24-17 on a Will Shipley touchdown run, but a few drives later fumbled with the Seminoles returning the recovery for a game tying touchdown. Clemson also missed a go ahead 29-yard field goal with 1:33 left on the clock that could have won it without OT. Once the game went to OT it was over almost before it started. FSU hit on a 24-yard pass to star receiver Keon Coleman, and Clemson could not convert on 3rd or 4th and 1. This effectively ends the playoff consideration for Clemson, who with 2 losses in ACC play may need help just to make the conference title game. For FSU, it’s another big early season win that solidifies them as a playoff contender.

• Alabama / Ole Miss

  • The Alabama offense may not be what it has been in the past, but the defense is still as advertised. Ole Miss lead early and was in the game until the 4th quarter Jace McClellan touchdown run established the 24-10 final margin. Do not put it past Alabama to make a run through the SEC West, upset Georgia for the SEC title and find themselves primed for a playoff run.

• Penn State / Iowa

  • Penn State is the only AP top 7 team to not receive a vote for first place, but their dominance on Saturday still sets the tone for their contention in the Big Ten West amongst Ohio State and Michigan. Penn State is every bit the contender they seemed to be on paper. Iowa is not bad on D, but Penn State had their way in a 31-0 rout.

• Oregon / Colorado

  • Speaking of routs, maybe Colorado is a team that overperformed against a regressing TCU team, barely pulled away from an average at best Nebraska team, and struggled with a bad Colorado State team. Oregon certainly exposed Colorado in a dominant 42-6 win that certainly dampened the year 1 Coach Prime experience. Colorado and USC may combine for 150 points next week.

• Utah / UCLA

  • Utah has played 4 weeks without star QB Cam Rising. Utah now has 3 power 5 wins, each with very strong defensive performances that set the tone of the season. Utah’s defense will come in handy with some of the high-powered offenses in the Pac-12, and they have carried the Utes to a 4-0 record with more wins to come. This team is good!

• Washington State / Oregon State

  • Oregon State made a feverish attempt at coming back in this one late, but it was Washington State delivering the only AP Top 25 upset of the day to win the Pac-2 championship game! These teams may both feel left behind, but they delivered on the field and both hope to make a lot of noise in a crowded Pac-12.

• LSU / Arkansas

  • Arkansas did their best to play spoiler on Saturday, leading at halftime and tying the game late, but LSU pulled through to remain unbeaten in SEC play with a 34-31 win. The Tigers have now looked dominant in 2 games and human in 2 games. They can survive the less than stellar performances against the middle class of the SEC, but they need to peak against the top flight teams if they want any shot at winning the conference and making the playoffs. This type of performance leaves them vulnerable in a deep SEC.

• Kansas / BYU

  • Kansas starts 4-0 for the second consecutive season, delivering BYU’s first loss of the season in a 38-27 win. Up next for the Jayhawks, a road trip to #3 Texas. Surely Texas wouldn’t lose at home to Kansas in football, would they???

• Michigan / Rutgers

  • Pour one out for Rutgers, who had a really fun 3-0 start to the season and pounced on Michigan with an early 69-year touchdown to take a 7-0 lead in Ann Arbor. That would be their only score of the game in a 31-7 rout by Michigan. It was fun while it lasted Scarlet Knights!

Let’s take a look at the Week 4 CFP Resume Rankings (note: these ranking should mirror a fair CFP committee):

Notes on the CFP Resume Rankings:

• Texas remains in the top spot and by a comfortable margin, in part because they still have the #1 raw resume, but also now because they have elevated themselves to be #3 in our composite team strength rating (as of Sunday night). Another resume building game against Kansas awaits before a mammoth showdown with OU.

• Ohio State jumps up to #2 off of the strength of their road win at Notre Dame. Ohio State now rates as the strongest team in the country, and has a strong resume to boot which elevates them slightly over the next 2 teams.

• Florida State sits narrowly ahead of Penn State, but only from the raw resume value. FSU’s close wins over Boston College and now Clemson do not help their strength ratings, which could hold back their resume even as they continue winning games.

• Under Ranked teams in the AP Poll as defined by teams having both a better raw resume and being stronger in our composite strength rating than the AP Poll include: Oklahoma, Miami, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Louisville, Syracuse and Wisconsin

• Over Ranked teams with the same criteria include: Michigan, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Duke, USC, Fresno State and Tennessee

• AP Mistake: Florida is 3-1 with a road loss to Utah and a home win over Tennessee. Both games were decisive results, meaning it should not be a surprise if Florida is comfortably between Utah and Tennessee in the rankings. Utah is the AP #10 team. Tennessee is #21. Where is Florida? Sitting behind Tennessee at #22! What are we doing here voters?!

Top 25 as voted on by the strength rating systems:

• Ohio State is again the strongest team per the composite team strength rating, but look how far AP #1 Georgia has fallen!

• This week in the AP Poll 6 teams received a vote for first place. Our 54 strength rating systems have given voted to 10 (!!!) different teams this week for the top spot.

• There were five teams with 7 or more votes, including Ohio State, Penn State, Texas, Washington and Georgia.

• This is the most teams we have had with a rating value of <10 in a long time.

Unexpected results from Week 4 after adjusting for our updated Composite Team Strength Rating

• Northwestern over Minnesota

• Central Michigan over South Alabama

• Georgia Tech over Wake Forest

Top 5 risers and fallers in Composite Team Strength Rating

Now let’s highlight a few Week 5 games worth watching (Top 50 games)

• This week, one fifth of the top 15 games will be played on Friday night, with Utah at Oregon State representing as the 3rd best game of the week. Will we see the return of Cam Rising, or will the Utes D have to hold up again to secure the win.

• Fresh off of the loss to Ohio State, Notre Dame travels to North Carolina for a showdown with still unbeaten Duke, who hopes to reinforce their position as a contender following the week 1 demolition of Clemson.

• Ole Miss will host LSU in what amounts to a CFP elimination game for the loser, who will fall further behind in SEC tiebreaks and take a second loss on the season. High stakes for both teams!

• Still unbeaten Kentucky faces their first major test against Florida, who comfortably dispatched ranked Tennessee 2 weeks ago.

• We get another round of “Is Syracuse good?” on Saturday, as they look to send Clemson to a losing record through 5 weeks, a spot Clemson has not been in for a long time.

• Texas plays host to Kansas, where an unbeaten team is guaranteed to fall. Could this be a trap game for the Longhorns who might be looking ahead to the Red River (Game Name) against OU?

• The best Group of 5 game of the week goes to Memphis hosting Boise State. Memphis nearly beat an impressive Missouri team last week, and Boise may be rounding into form after a rough start to the season. This could make for a great G5 non-conference game!

That’s all we have for the Week 4. If you have any questions about the CFP Resume Rankings or just want to follow along come find us @CFPResumeRanks on Twitter/X. If you would like to officially reference our rankings or partner with us the DMs are always open. Have a great week everyone!

(Note: For tables instead of pictures of the rankings, see the resume ranking pages)