The purpose of these college football threads and articles are to help those who don't know a ton about the sport to stay informed throughout the year up until draft time. There are several people on this site, and others from other SBNation sites, that love to talk about college football. If you consider youself not interested, or not understanding why it's being discussed on a Niners related website then there are plenty of other great articles and fanposts on the site to focus on relative to the 49ers.
There certainly hasn't been a shortage of the unexpected thus far in the season. Teams like #25 Michigan State, #21 Michigan, #16 Stanford, #14 Arizona, and #13 Utah have all climbed their way up the charts in to the top 25. The question is, which ones will stay? And more importantly, which currently high ranked teams will drop out of the top 25? This week Houston dropped from the rankings out of the top 25 and Cal from the previous week. This isn't the last time we will see a shake up on the top 25 AP Poll. And more than likely, we'll see some of that action take place today.
Here is a look at the current standings.
| AP Top 25 | |||
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
| 1 | Alabama (53) | 3-0 | 1492 |
| 2 | Ohio State (5) | 3-0 | 1435 |
| 3 | Boise State (1) | 2-0 | 1333 |
| 4 | TCU | 3-0 | 1280 |
| 5 | Oregon | 3-0 | 1238 |
| 6 | Nebraska | 3-0 | 1175 |
| 7 | Texas (1) | 3-0 | 1164 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 3-0 | 1114 |
| 9 | Florida | 3-0 | 1044 |
| 10 | Arkansas | 3-0 | 903 |
| 11 | Wisconsin | 3-0 | 803 |
| 12 | South Carolina | 3-0 | 739 |
| 13 | Utah | 3-0 | 703 |
| 14 | Arizona | 3-0 | 663 |
| 15 | LSU | 3-0 | 654 |
| 16 | Stanford | 3-0 | 606 |
| 17 | Auburn | 3-0 | 600 |
| 18 | Iowa | 2-1 | 482 |
| 19 | Miami (FL) | 1-1 | 472 |
| 20 | USC | 3-0 | 414 |
| 21 | Michigan | 3-0 | 291 |
| 22 | West Virginia | 3-0 | 258 |
| 23 | Penn State | 2-1 | 198 |
| 24 | Oregon State | 1-1 | 75 |
| 25 | Michigan State | 3-0 | 45 |
Week 4 Preview:
It will be the most watched game of the week when Ryan Mallett and the #10 Arkansas Razorbacks take on Mark Ingram and the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide. Will the Razorbacks be able to pull the upset? Or will 'Bama roll right over the Hogs and prove to the nation that nobody is going to stop them on their way to a second consecutive National Championship. I for one, always prefer to see a good ol' fashioned upset to shake things up. But the tide is strong in Alabama and it will be an against the current swim for every team that they face this year.
Another intriguing matchup will be the Stanford at Notre Dame game. Andrew Luck had a lot to prove coming in to the season this year... so far, so good. While down in South Bend, it hasn't been the best start for Dayne Crist and the rest of the golden domers, they too have much to prove. This will be a good test for both teams. Stanford is 3-0 while Notre Dame has started out with a dismal 1-2 record. This could be the game that Notre Dame turns it around; but then again, maybe not.
#12 South Carolina at #17 Auburn could pan out to be a barn-burning thriller. Stephen Garcia will lead the Gamecocks in hopes of moving up in the rankings by beating another closely ranked team. But Auburn has been extremely tough and most likely won't be a walk in the park. They are on their own mission to move up the boards as well.
#24 Oregon State will have their work cut out but has a legitimate chance to upset #3 Boise State. Jacquizz and James Rodgers will quite possibly have to have career games in order for that to happen. Kellen Moore and the rest of that offensive fire-power will be hard for that Beaver defense to stop.
Last but not least, The Oklahoma game. Although Cincinnati may not be ranked, they have a good shot at upsetting the Sooners. The Sooners almost dropped their last game to Air Force this past weekend and barely escaped with number 8 ranking that they hold in the Nation. Landry Jones will need to stay focused and consistent throughout the course of the game. Look for Ryan Broyles and DeMarco Murray to step up and take pressure off the Sophomore Quarterback.
So pop open your beer, order your pizza and wings because this should be a tremendous week of college football with plenty of excitement.
Feel free to discuss your favorite teams or any of the games.
| Thursday, September 23 | |||||
| RESULT | GAMELINKS | ||||
| No. 19 Miami (FL) 31, Pittsburgh 3 | Box Score | Recap | ||||
| Friday, September 24 | |||||
| TIME (ET) | MATCHUP | TV | PPV | MOBILE | TICKETS |
| 8:00 PM ET | No. 4 TCU at Southern Methodist |
 
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ESPN Mobile TV | Tickets | |
