College Football Rankings 2017: Projected Week 4 AP Top 25

Following up a triple-overtime scare against Boise State, No. 21 Washington State came out and made short work of Oregon State in their Pac-12 opener. The Cougars defense did give up 118 yards and two touchdowns to Beavers running back Ryan Nall, but otherwise they shut down the visitors in a decisive 52-23 win at home.

Luke Falk came back from an early exit against the Broncos and looked like his old dominant self at quarterback in Mike Leach’s passing attack. Falk finished with 396 yards and six touchdowns on 37-of-49 passing. It was a great beginning to the Pac-12 season for the Cougars, who have aspirations of challenging their cross-state rivals for the North this year.

Next week, Nevada comes to Pullman before a big interdivisional showdown against top-five USC on the last Friday of the month. By the time October rolls around, Washington State will have played five home games. That will set things up for a difficult road swing through the final two months of the season. Trips to Oregon, California, Arizona, Utah, and Washington all loom. For now, though, the Cougars remain in the AP Top 25 after we falsely projected them out last week.