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College Football Rankings 2023: Projected AP Top 25 for Week 4

By Connor Muldowney

Sep 16, 2023; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; LSU Tigers wide receiver Malik Nabers (8) reacts after a touchdown against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the fourth quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 16, 2023; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; LSU Tigers wide receiver Malik Nabers (8) reacts after a touchdown against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the fourth quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 16, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Dominic DeLuca (0) and safety Keaton Ellis (2) break up a pass against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 16, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Dominic DeLuca (0) and safety Keaton Ellis (2) break up a pass against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

Penn State was one of the teams that I believed would be on upset alert this week as the Nittany Lions went on the road to take on an Illinois team that began the season as a potential Big Ten West contender. But the Nittany Lions escaped a potential upset by pulling away in the second half.

It wasn’t what you’d call a pretty win, by any means, but it was a very Big Ten football type of game.

Drew Allar didn’t have his best game of his young career, completing less than 50 percent of his passes for 208 yards as the only touchdown pass of the game for Penn State came from senior running back Trey Potts.

The defense was fairly dominant, holding Illinois to about 350 total yards but under 300 passing yards and four interceptions on 25-of-44 completions.

James Franklin’s team got a bit of a wake-up call in this one because they’re better than what they showed and they still won by 17 points on the road.

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