The Oregon Ducks are ranked the No. 4 team in the country in the first regular season Associated Press college football poll of the season after defeating Arkansas State, 57-34, on Saturday.
The Ducks trail only the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (45 first place votes), No. 2 USC Trojans (11 first place votes) and No. 3 LSU Tigers (four first place votes).
The Ducks moved up one spot, overtaking the Oklahoma Sooners for No. 4 as the Ducks' victory over Arkansas State, the Sun Belt conference champion, was seen as more impressive than the Sooners struggling with UTEP, 24-7. The Ducks' ranking is the highest the Ducks have ever been at this point in the regular season.
In a season predicted to be dominated by the SEC and Pac-12, both conferences represent the top four teams in the country. The only other team ranked from the Pac-12 is No. 25 Stanford. Every team in the rankings was ranked previously except for Notre Dame, which came in at No. 22. The Fighting Irish replaced Boise State, which fell out of the rankings.
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