Reality Checks Aplenty in Latest College Football Top 25 Poll

Back to life, back to reality, was the theme during Week 4 in college football.

Several schools entered the week with chances to gain program-defining victories. Colorado had an opportunity to defeat a top-10 team. Ole Miss could've set themselves up to take a commanding lead in the SEC West with a win against Alabama. Notre Dame had a chance to win a big home game that could've made them favorites to make the College Football Playoff.

Reality checks came in the form of Oregon, Alabama and Ohio State.

With playoff implications plentiful, here's a look around the college football landscape as the contenders start separating themselves from the pretenders.

College Football Week 4 Recap

1. Some schools missed out on chances for program-defining wins while No.1 Georgia maintained dominance with a 49-21 victory over UAB. Georgia is 85-15 in head coach Kirby Smart's first 100 games leading the program and are the two-time defending national champions.

2. Ohio State trailed Notre Dame by four points with less than a minute-and-a-half to go. Quarterback Kyle McCord, who finished the game with 240 passing yards, led the Buckeyes on a 65-yard drive, with Chip Trayanum running it in from the 1-yard line as time expired.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day used some of his post-game airtime to go after former Irish coach Lou Holtz for saying his team didn't have a chance of winning.

"I'd like to know where Lou Holtz is right now," Day said. "What he said about our team, I cannot believe. This is a tough team right here. We're proud to be from Ohio. It's always been Ohio against the world, and it'll continue to be Ohio against the world. But I'll tell you what: I love those kids. We've got a tough team."

3. Colorado went from No. 19 to out of the poll after getting obliterated by an Oregon squad that, based on Ducks head coach Dan Lanning's pregame speech at Autzen Stadium, was frustrated by the attention garnered by the Buffaloes.

"The Cinderella story's over, men," Lanning said while ESPN's cameras were rolling. "They're fighting for clicks, we're fighting for wins."

Colorado's rise from last season's 1-11 record to a 3-0 start with a Top 25 ranking brought lots of eyes to a program that spent most of the past 20 years dormant. Through four games under Deion Sanders, Colorado has set records in ratings for networks and countless social media impressions.

Lanning's bold statements add personality to the sport similar to Day talking trash in response to Holtz.

College football is best when the coaches have personalities, and Coach Prime gets coaches talking. Lanning telling his team to "talk with their pads" was far more effective than Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell's comments about Coach Prime's hat and sunglasses or Nebraska coach Matt Rhule's subtle jabs.

Oregon didn't make it "personal," but bolstered by Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Bo Nix, the Ducks made a statement saying they're real. Meanwhile, Colorado has to go back to the drawing board.

Life doesn't get easier for Colorado with No. 8 USC and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams coming to Boulder this week.

4. Speaking of USC, the Trojans defeated Arizona State 42-28, but fell three spots. We'll learn if the Trojans are overrated or underrated since they play four ranked teams in remaining regular-season schedule.

5. If USC isn't the most overlooked team in the country, then perhaps it's Utah. Starting quarterback Cam Rising hasn't played yet, but the Utes keep winning. Utah held down UCLA in a 14-7 win. Rising's status for Friday's game against Oregon State remains unclear.

6. The Pac-12 is the most enjoyable conference to watch through the first four weeks of the season. Washington State has two wins against Top 25 opponents, including Saturday's win over Oregon State. USC, Oregon, Washington, Utah and the Cougars all have legitimate chances to win the conference in its last season.

7. Clemson is 0-2 in ACC games after a 31-24 overtime loss against Florida State. It was the first loss against the Seminoles since 2014 for the Tigers. In the theme of getting knocked back to reality, Clemson kicker Jonathan Weitz missed an 29-yard field goal in the last two minutes of regulation.

Weitz was done playing college football until head coach Dabo Swinney convinced him to return after Clemson had some injuries in the kicking department.

It would've been a cool story if Weitz hit a game-winner. Instead, FSU remains in the top 5. The Tigers are unranked with fans wondering if Swinney's reluctance to embrace the transfer portal is holding the program back.

8. Penn State blasted Iowa 31-0. The Nittany Lions are 4-0 with winnable games against Northwestern and UMass before traveling to Columbus for a game against Ohio State. It's hard to imagine ESPN Gameday going anywhere other than their October 21 meeting if the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions remain undefeated.

9. This week ESPN's football pregame show will visit Duke's campus in Durham for the first time when the No. 17 Blue Devils host Notre Dame. The undefeated Blue Devils beat UConn 41-7 last week. A win against the Irish would take the Blue Devils from a cute story to potential contender status.

A loss for the Irish likely eliminates them from playoff contention.

10. Shoutout to Missouri for entering the poll at No. 23 after a win against Memphis. Mizzou is 4-0 for the first time since the 2013 season. Receiver Luther Burden had 177 yards in the victory. Next up for the Tigers is a game against Vanderbilt, and the following week they travel to No. 13 LSU.

11. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin had an opportunity to bury his mentor Nick Saban's chances of leading Alabama to a national championship this season. Instead Alabama downed Ole Miss, keeping themselves in the mix for a potential playoff spot.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe showed resolve after getting benched. He had 225 passing yards and ran for 28 yards in the win against Ole Miss. There are still several upcoming tests for the Tide, including games against Texas A&M, LSU and Tennessee.

Despite the sluggish start by Bama's standards, the goals of winning the SEC West, the conference and making the playoffs are still alive. Alabama (3-1) might not be as dominant as past years, but after defeating Ole Miss, they're still alive.