This past Saturday was an opportunity for a new crop of teams to make a statement, and boy, did they.

With much of the top 10 idle or playing an inferior opponent, the story of Week 4 was the play of Texas Tech and Indiana, both of whom move into the top 15 of this week’s Athletic 136.

Neither the Red Raiders nor the Hoosiers had played a team of note, so they had largely not moved in these rankings. But on Saturday, Texas Tech went up to Utah and out-physicaled the Utes in a 34-10 win. At night, Indiana poured it on top-10 Illinois in a 63-10 beatdown.

Who will be this year’s Indiana? Maybe it’s Indiana. Maybe it’s Texas Tech. Maybe it’s someone else, since it’s still only September, and we have a long way to go. But two programs with questions for 2025 answered their first tests. Texas Tech’s big spending is paying off so far. Indiana doesn’t appear to be dropping off anytime soon.

We’ve started to get a feel for almost every team now, and some big games are on the menu in the coming weeks. I can’t wait.

The major change here is Oklahoma moving up to No. 3 after beating Auburn. The Sooners now have two solid wins against Michigan and Auburn, and the former looks better after Michigan won at Nebraska. OU will sit up here for a while, with an idle week and Kent State coming up, before a showdown with Texas.

LSU slips despite not playing because its wins against Clemson and Florida continue to lose value, with both now 1-3.

Ohio State remains No. 1, with the only win against a team currently in my top 10. I was ready to move Miami to No. 1, but the Hurricanes’ performance against Florida lacked some luster until the very end. It’s very close.

Good news: Oregon and Penn State finally play each other this Saturday in Happy Valley. It’s the first real test for both and an opportunity to shoot back up these rankings.

The aforementioned Texas Tech and Indiana sit at the top of this section for two statement wins. Ole Miss’ 45-10 win against Tulane moves the Rebels up as well, and Missouri climbs after beating South Carolina. (Again, Iowa State didn’t “drop,” it just got jumped by teams that had impressive wins while the Cyclones were idle, though the close call against Arkansas State looks worse after the Red Wolves lost to Kennesaw State).

TCU moves up after beating SMU, while Michigan returns to the top 25 for that win against Nebraska and USC jumps into the top 25 after a comfortable win against Michigan State, its first notable opponent.

Utah and Illinois slide out of the top 25 after their respective losses, Illinois more so because of that massive margin of defeat. Memphis climbs to No. 31 for its comeback win against Arkansas to move to 4-0.

BYU continues to sit around because it hasn’t played anyone of note. At least Colorado this week has a pulse, but the Cougars have a very backloaded schedule. The same reasoning applies to Washington, which hosts Ohio State next.

Syracuse gets a boost to No. 36 for its win at Clemson, which tumbles to No. 46. Baylor slides after a last-second loss to Arizona State. Maryland shoots up after a dominant win at Wisconsin. Duke’s win against NC State sees the Blue Devils hop over the Wolfpack.

Cal’s 34-0 loss at San Diego State was the most shocking result of the weekend. The Bears slide but remain one spot ahead of Minnesota due to their head-to-head win the week prior. Ohio moves up to No. 59 after an FCS win, in part because West Virginia’s blowout loss at Kansas knocked the Mountaineers back behind the Bobcats due to their head-to-head result. Idle Pitt falls with West Virginia because losing last week’s Backyard Brawl looks worse now.

UCF moves up after handling North Carolina with ease, and North Texas bumps up after an overtime win against Army, which moved the Mean Green to 4-0. Toledo’s loss to Western Michigan knocked it down to No. 71 and pulled Western Kentucky down, too, because the Rockets beat WKU.

Bill Belichick’s North Carolina is out of the top 75 after its 34-9 loss to UCF. The Tar Heels have been blown out in their two games against Power 4 opponents, and this experiment might be teetering on disaster. Louisiana Tech is a solid 3-1 and up to No. 89 after beating Southern Miss, while Troy leaps to No. 90 for beating Buffalo.

San Diego State rises after the Cal win, but only to No. 96, staying behind Washington State due to the Aztecs’ lopsided loss to the Cougars.

Mike Gundy’s Oklahoma State is now the lowest-ranked Power 4 team, down to No. 111 after losing to Tulsa, which lost to New Mexico State in its previous outing. The Cowboys have looked lifeless.

Western Michigan rises for beating Toledo, as does Kennesaw State after beating Arkansas State. Louisiana’s shocking fall continues after losing to previously 0-3 Eastern Michigan. Ball State moves up a couple of spots for a competitive loss to UConn. Akron’s blowout win against Duquesne moves the Zips up.

Sam Houston and UMass are the winless teams in the mix for No. 136. The Bearkats aren’t lower because of their strength of schedule. Middle Tennessee and UMass have losses to FCS teams, and Nevada has a loss to Middle Tennessee.

(Photo: Bryan Terry /The Oklahoman / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)