No. 1 Florida State increased its winning streak to 19 games Saturday night, surviving the No. 22 Clemson Tigers in an overtime thriller. The Seminoles were highly tested due to a combination of the absence of starting quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston, and a solid effort from the Tigers.
With Winston on the sidelines, Clemson's defense was able to sell out against the run, forcing inexperienced backup signal-caller Sean Maguire to attempt to keep pace with his arm. Maguire provided a valiant effort, and despite his two costly interceptions—and the Seminoles average of 0.5 yards per rush—the one-sided offense was able to prevail in the end.
The result was a 23-17 Seminoles victory.
Clemson's game plan was fantastic, but without a Seminoles loss, there will be no changing of the guard atop the nation's rankings. With Florida State remaining at the No. 1 spot, here's a look at who is projected to be well in the mix heading into Week 5.
The No. 2 Oregon Ducks shouldn't have much of an issue defeating Washington State during Saturday's late game. However, early in the game, the team wasn't winning any style points, allowing the Cougars to keep up at the half. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network tweeted his take:
Marcus Mariota and Co. have already produced three decisive victories, including one against a very talented Michigan State team, although a win on Saturday will ensure the team retains its No. 2 standing.
The Ducks only have two ranked teams currently remaining on their schedule—the inconsistent No. 12 UCLA Bruins and one-loss No. 16 Stanford Cardinal. It would take an enormous upset for any team to defeat Oregon, and we can assume the team will hold its current position and wait for the Seminoles to falter.
No. 3 Alabama can be expected to retain its position following Florida State's win. The Crimson Tide began the season in shaky fashion, squeezing past West Virginia in Week 1. However, over the team's next three games, it has continuously improved in several facets of the game.
Blake Sims has emerged as a quality quarterback, completing 23 of his 33 passing attempts for 445 yards and four touchdowns against Florida on Saturday. ESPN Stats & Info noted the quarterback's impressive feat:
With a balanced offense now taking shape—along with a solid defense—Nick Saban appears to have a championship-worthy team once again.
The No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners should keep their spot as well. The team did give up 33 points to West Virginia during Saturday's victory, but it also proved to have one of the nation's most devastating ground attacks. Samaje Perine torched the Mountaineers for 242 yards and four touchdowns on 34 carries—an average of 7.1 yards per rush.
According to David Ubben of Fox Sports, head coach Bob Stoops had some kind words regarding his running back:
The Sooners have playmakers in every phase of the game—the defense picked off Clint Trickett twice, and Alex Ross returned a kick for a touchdown on Saturday—which makes this team worthy of playoff consideration going forward.
After the four projected playoff teams, we come to a bit of a fork in the road in regard to the next teams in the hunt.
On one hand, No. 5 Auburn remains unbeaten and the heir apparent; however, the team's struggles against No. 20 Kansas State on Thursday may not sit well with voters. Then we have No. 6 Texas A&M. The Aggies haven't played a worthy opponent since Week 1, but their 58-6 victory over SMU on Saturday was certainly impressive.
Style points count in a big way with voters, and we shouldn't be surprised when Kenny Hill and the Aggies leapfrog Auburn to take the No. 5 spot in the impending rankings to hover just beyond the four College Football Playoff teams through four weeks of the 2014 season.
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