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College Football Rankings 2016: Projected AP Top 25 after Week 4

By Zach Bigalke

Sep 24, 2016; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Xavian Marks (19) returns a punt for a touchdown against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 24, 2016; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Xavian Marks (19) returns a punt for a touchdown against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 23, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes wide receiver Tim Patrick (12) scores the game winning touchdown against the USC Trojans in the final second at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Utah Utes defeated the USC Trojans 31-27. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 23, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes wide receiver Tim Patrick (12) scores the game winning touchdown against the USC Trojans in the final second at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Utah Utes defeated the USC Trojans 31-27. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /

Utah looked like they were about to sustain their first loss of the season at home to USC when the two teams met on Friday night. Sam Darnold validated Clay Helton’s move to switch Trojans quarterbacks, and the USC offense looked like it was beginning to figure things out. Then the Utes got the ball on its own 7-yard line with five and a half minutes left. Churning out a 15-play, 93-yard drive, Utah broke USC’s heart with an 18-yard TD pass from Troy Williams to Tim Patrick with 16 seconds remaining to steal the win.

Now Utah is 4-0 for a second straight season. They take on California in Berkeley next weekend to begin their October slate, which looks like a win on paper. But Kyle Whittingham will have to make sure his team isn’t looking too far ahead to the next weekend, when Utah plays Arizona. The Wildcats dealt Utah a loss in 2015 that helped prevent the Utes from playing for the Pac-12 championship against Stanford. But Utah will keep rising in the AP Top 25 if they keep winning.

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