College Football Week 4 Recap: Big Wins for Buckeyes, Ducks, Crimson Tide and Utes

 

This week in college football featured four major showdowns between ranked opponents and while the Buckeyes, Utes, and Crimson Tide clung to victory, the Oregon Ducks absolutely dismantled the Cinderella story of the early season in Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes.

It was an ugly showing in Eugene and it doesn't get easier as the Buffs welcome USC (4-0) to Boulder next week. The Buckeyes' incredible come-from-behind win delivered a gut punch to the Fighting Irish, who had put together 58 minutes of excellent defensive football, but tried to stop Ohio State with just 10 players on the field. Despite having to play a backup quarterback for the fourth week in a row, the Utes got a pick-six to start the game and rode that to a 14-7 win over UCLA. Alabama has been playing some pretty poor football by their standards, but a big fourth quarter helped them upend Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss. 

Overall, there are 27 undefeated teams remaining with Florida State, Missouri, Kansas, and Texas coming on as the early surprises. With the good, there is also the bad, as Virginia, Buffalo, Nevada, Sam Houston St, and UConn are the five remaining winless teams in the FBS.

As for the conference power rankings, the SEC is clinging on as the best conference in the FBS, but the Big Ten and Pac 12 are right behind them. After the departure of their marquee teams, the American sits as the worst conference, as only Tulane and Memphis boast winning records.

Here's a look at the first real rankings in this week's Pool Poll (WA=the average opponent's rank of games won, LA= average rank of losses):

1. Washington Huskies (4-0, 57.5 WA, 0 LA)

Previous Rank: 3

Last Week: Steamrolled Cal (59-32)

This Week: Arizona (54, 3-1)

How'd They Get Here: Their worst offensive output was 41 against Michigan State and this week's 27-point win over Cal was their closest contest yet. All of their opponents have been at the FBS level and that has helped their overall average.

2. Texas (4-0, 58.8, 0)

PR: 1

LW: Declawed Baylor (38-6)

TW: Kansas (13, 4-0)

HTGH: A huge win over Alabama got them to number 1, but Baylor has been a doormat early on and that dropped them into a tie for second in WA, but then it becomes my personal opinion for the tiebreaker.

3. North Carolina (4-0, 58.8, 0)

PR: 2

LW: 41-24 over Pitt

TW: Bye

HTGH: They almost didn't after seeking out a double-overtime win against Appalachian State a few weeks ago. Aside from App State though, their other three wins are against Power 5 schools (South Carolina, Minnesota, and Pitt).

4. Utah (4-0, 61.8, 0)

PR: 8

LW: 14-7 win over UCLA

TW: Oregon State (37, 3-1)

HTGH: The Utes have been without Cam Rising due to injury, but that hasn't stopped them from winning big games. Utah's defense has allowed nine points per game against Florida, Baylor, Weber St (FCS), and UCLA. 

5. Florida State (4-0, 63.3, 0)

PR: 4

LW: Survived Clemson in overtime (31-24)

TW: Bye

HTGH: Jordan Travis is much improved and he's opening the door for Florida State to make a push for the playoffs. Their marquee wins over LSU and Clemson were impressive, but they struggled against Boston College and their other win was over lowly Southern Miss.

6. Missouri (4-0, 65.5, 0)

PR: 7

LW: 34-27 win over Memphis

TW: Vanderbilt (100, 2-3)

HTGH: The big win came over No. 15 Kansas State on a last-second field goal and that's been the Tigers' M.O. Three of their four wins this season have been by seven points or less.

7. Oregon (4-0, 68, 0)

PR: 12

LW: 42-6 serving of Prime Buffalo

TW: Stanford (106, 1-3)

HTGH: The Ducks' big win over Colorado was impressive, but their rally against Texas Tech in Week 2 was equally impressive. Oregon hasn't scored fewer than 38 points and dropped 81 against Portland St (FCS) in Week 1.

8. Ohio State (4-0, 72.8, 0)

PR: 14

LW: 17-14 over Notre Dame

TW: Bye

HTGH: The Buckeyes had played a non-conference schedule so soft, one might have mistaken it for Michigan's or Georgia's, but unlike those two, they had a bonafide showdown with a Top Ten opponent. While it looked shaky, the Buckeyes remained calm and Chip Trayanum punched it in with one second left to give OSU the biggest win of the college football season. One could argue Florida State over LSU, but that was played on a neutral field and the Buckeyes had to go into South Bend in primetime.

9. Washington State (4-0, 73.8, 0)

PR: 20

LW: 38-35 win over fellow 2024 Pac 12 member Oregon St

TW: Bye

HTGH: The Cougars put a hurting on Colorado State, then knocked around Wisconsin before holding on to win over Oregon State. Their two wins over Top 25 teams are only hurt by their win over Northern Colorado (FCS).

10. Penn State (4-0, 75.8, 0)

PR: 21

LW: 31-0 plucking of Iowa

TW: Northwestern (66, 2-2)

HTGH: Their win over West Virginia looks better now that the Mountaineers are off to a fast start, but a win over a ranked Iowa team, has got them looking good early on. It's a shame that they are stuck in the same division as Michigan and Ohio State because they likely aren't making the Big Ten Championship.

11. Michigan (4-0, 80.3, 0)

PR: 23

LW: 31-7 over Rutgers

TW: Nebraska (65, 2-2)

HTGH: Playing mediocre football against mediocre schools has failed to impress me so far this season. They should be able to handle Nebraska, but J.J. McCarthy has got to better job at not turning the ball over.

12. Oklahoma (4-0, 82.8, 0)

PR: 19

LW: 20-6 win over Cincinnati

TW: Iowa State (75, 2-2)

HTGH: They score a lot of points against D-tier schools and don't allow points to B-tier schools and now they're 4-0. Iowa State already lost to one OU already, but the Sooners seem like a tougher task than the Bobcats.

13. Kansas (4-0, 84.5, 0)

PR: 28

LW: 38-27 win over BYU

TW: Texas (2, 4-0)

HTGH: Their wins over Illinois and BYU are most impressive, but they needed to rally from 17-0 against Nevada (0-4). They are a nice story, but the Longhorns are head and shoulders above any competition they've played so far.

14. Duke (4-0, 87, 0)

PR: 6

LW: 41-7 over UConn

TW: Notre Dame (28, 4-1)

HTGH: Duke showed their promise with a win over Clemson in Week 1, but now they can show if they're for real when they square off with Notre Dame.

15. Miami (4-0, 89, 0)

PR: 18

LW: 41-7 over Temple

TW: Bye

HTGH: A big win over Texas A&M is about all the Hurricanes have going for them with the rest coming against lower-level opponents.

16. Syracuse (4-0, 91, 0)

PR: 27

LW: 26-19 over Army

TW: Clemson (84, 2-2)

HTGH: The same way they always do, win all their non-conference games and then struggle to get to six wins.

17. Liberty (4-0, 93, 0)

PR: 33

LW: 38-6 over FIU

TW: Bye

HTGH: The Flames have not skipped a beat under new head coach Jamey Chadwell. Unlike the past few seasons, this year's non-conference did not feature any Power 5 schools.

18. Georgia State (4-0, 100.5, 0)

PR: 31

LW: 30-17 over Coastal Carolina

TW: Troy (77, 2-2)

HTGH: The Panthers have never lost to Coastal Carolina in Myrtle Beach, and they still haven't lost this season.

19. Fresno State (4-0, 101, 0)

PR: 22

LW: 53-10 over Kent State

TW: Nevada (132, 0-4)

HTGH: They have two big wins over Power 5 schools, but they needed overtime to hold off Eastern Washington (FCS). They will be hard to stop in Mountain West play.

20. Louisville (4-0, 101, 0)

PR: 26

LW: 56-28 thumping of Boston College

TW: NCST (57, 3-1)

HTGH: They have skated by so far and can do a lot to improve their stock with a win this week against NCST.

21. Marshall (3-0, 101, 0)

PR: 30

LW: 24-17 over Virginia Tech

TW: Old Dominion (82, 2-2)

HTGH: The first two wins were unimpressive, but they added to the Sun Belt's win over Power 5 schools early on when they knocked off the Hokies.

22. USC (4-0, 102, 0)

PR: 24

LW: 42-28 over Arizona State

TW: Colorado (34, 3-1)

HTGH: There is no marquee win yet, but if they can kick Colorado while they're down, it would be a good start.

23. James Madison (4-0, 109.3, 0)

PR: 32

LW: 45-38 over Utah State

TW: South Alabama (69, 2-2)

HTGH: They won in the final seconds against Virginia to claim a Power 5 win and followed that up by edging past Sun Belt heavyweight Troy.

24. Kentucky (4-0, 111, 0)

PR: 37

LW: 45-28 over Vanderbilt

TW: Florida (44, 3-1)

HTGH: They finally get a real test in Florida, so I don't expect to see them in these rankings next week.

25. Maryland (4-0, 113.8, 0)

PR: 39

LW: 31-9 over Michigan State

HTGH: The Terrapins are the Syracuse of the Big Ten, they'll get their wins early and scrap for bowl eligibility the rest of the season.

Dropped Out: Ole Miss, Colorado, Oregon St, Notre Dame, UCLA, UCF, Iowa, Wake Forest,  and Rutgers

Waiting List: Georgia, Air Force, Notre Dame, Ohio, Alabama, KSU, Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Colorado, Wyoming, Ole Miss, Oregon St, UCLA, TCU, and UCF

Week 2 Recap: Statement Wins, Whacky Weather, and Overtime Thrillers

 

WR Adonai Mitchell silences the Tuscaloosa crowd during Texas' big win over Alabama.

Week 2 in college football has wrapped up and after the dust has settled, or more appropriately, the lighting and rain have cleared out, 51 teams remain unscathed after at least two games. Among those who pulled out high-value wins were Texas (at Alabama), Oregon (at Texas Tech), Utah (at Baylor), Miami (over Texas A&M),  and Washington State (over Wisconsin).  With success comes failure as 16 teams have yet to record a win. A list that surprisingly includes four Power 5 schools (Baylor, Texas Tech, Nebraska, and Virginia) as well as Boise State.

Virginia found itself in one of the many thrilling finishes, although it was a paycheck game gone wrong, as James Madison scored in the final minute to win 36-35 over the Cavaliers. Central Michigan needed a last-second field goal to hold off New Hampshire (FCS) 45-42, a game that saw the Chippewas allow nearly 500 yards passing. Fresno State needed two overtimes to hold off Eastern Washington (FCS) as did North Carolina, which nearly became another name on Appalachian State's resume. Mississippi State nearly blew a 14-point lead to Arizona but held the Wildcats off in overtime. The best overtime game belonged to Rice in their upset victory over Houston.

Rice vs. Houston is a big deal in the nation's fourth-largest city, with the inner-city rivals playing for the Bayou Bucket. The Cougars had long dominated the rivalry with seven-straight wins coming since 2010 and with their move to the Big 12, it was even more of a surprise that the Owls hung on, despite blowing a hefty lead. Luke McCaffrey (pictured) had one the most iconic pictures in Week 2 after a one-handed diving catch that popped his helmet off. It's no surprise he could accomplish such a feat as his father is longtime Broncos' receiver, Ed McCaffrey, and his older brother, Christian, is one of the elite backs in the NFL. The Owls' 43-41 win in double-overtime capped their first win in the series since 2010 and only the 12th win in their 45 meetings.

Another bizarre factor in Saturday's contests was the weather. Essentially, any game played from Tennessee to Massachusetts with an afternoon kickoff was delayed at some point. Notre Dame/NCST, Purdue/Virginia Tech, and Vanderbilt/Wake Forest all spent several hours waiting out heavy rains and lightning. The ones who endured the longest were Miami (OH) and UMass, which sat through a five-hour lightning delay, began play, and had to wait longer after the first quarter saw more lightning, and then by then had to play through heavy rains to finish out their game. Kickoff was set for 3:30 P.M. and the game finally finished around 12:30 A.M, a 41-28 win for the Redhawks because MACtion never quits (unless its in losses to FCS schools, i.e. NIU, Buffalo, and almost Akron).

Here's a look at the top performers in games featuring an FBS team (*Denotes FCS school).

Passing:

1. Max Brosmer (UNH*): 32-50, 493 yards, 4 TD, INT (vs. CMU)

2. Michael Pennix Jr. (Wash): 28-38, 409 yards, 3 TD, INT (vs. Tulsa)

3. J.T. Daniels (Rice): 28-42, 401 yards, 3 TD, INT (vs. Houston)

Rushing:

1. Omarion Hampton (UNC): 26 carries, 234 yards, 3 TD  (vs. App St)

2. Darius Taylor (Minn): 33 carries, 193 yards, TD (vs. EMU)

3. Keith Willis Jr. (La Tech): 13 carries, 188 yards, 2 TD (vs. NWST*)

Receiving:

1. Dylan Laube (UNH*): 12 catches, 295 yards, 2 TD (vs. CMU)

2. Gage Larvadain (MOH): 8 catches, 273 yards, 3 TD, School Record 99-yard TD (vs. UMass)

3. Hudson Clement (WVU): 5 catches, 177 yards, 3 TD (vs. Duquesne*)

After two weeks, the Pool Poll shifts to its most ridiculous form. There's not a ton of data to calculate, but some teams need to get more love than their preseason rank. For example, Colorado was ranked 109th to start the season and that's not fair for all those teams they keep beating to have such a high loss average. Without further delay, the most unique Top 25 you'll see after Week 2.

1. Colorado (2-0)

2. Florida St (2-0)

3. Utah (2-0)

4. Texas (2-0)

5. UNC (2-0)

6. UCLA (2-0)

7. Washington (2-0)

8. UCF (2-0)

9. Minnesota (2-0)

10. Miami, FL (2-0)

11. Duke (2-0)

12. Ole Miss (2-0)

13. Washington State (2-0)

14. Wyoming (2-0)

15. Kansas State (2-0)

16. Oregon (2-0)

17. Cincinnati (2-0)

18. Kansas (2-0)

19. Michigan (2-0)

20. Fresno St (2-0)

21. Notre Dame (3-0)

22. Oklahoma (2-0)

23. Iowa (2-0)

24. Liberty (2-0)

25. USC (3-0)

Waiting List (or the rest of the undefeated teams): Ore St, WF, Marsh, Mizzou, GSO, Miss St, UL, ULM, Auburn, GST, TOSU, PSU, Rutgers, OKST, Tenn, JMU, Cuse, MSU, UGA, UK, Ark, Mem, Mary, WKU, AF, BYU

(See more of the best pictures from Week 2 here)

 

A Look Back at Week 1 in College Football

Colorado Receiver Dylan Edwards celebrates one of his 3 touchdowns on Saturday.

 

So, technically, Week 1 was not finished at the time of my writing this (Clemson and Duke play on Labor Day), but all the important stuff has been taken care of. Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes had the statement game of the weekend, while others struggled to get things going until the second half (Ohio State, Georgia, Texas). Not to be outdone, on Sunday, the Seminoles put on an impressive performance to knock off LSU for the second consecutive season. There were a lot of paycheck games this week, so don't look for much change aside from FSU and Alabama leap-frogging the Buckeyes in the Top 10 after a slow performance against Indiana.

Of course, it wouldn't be college football in 2023 without some realignment talk. SMU, Cal, and Stanford are all headed to the ACC in 2024. That leaves Oregon State and Washington State as the lone Pac-12 schools remaining, although it didn't impact the performance on the field as the conference sits at 13-0 in games played (USC played in Week 0). The Mountain West has been linked to the lonely two Pacific Northwest schools, but the AAC announced they aren't interested in bringing those two schools into the fold. Instead, the AAC is rumored to replace SMU with Army if the Black Knights look to no longer remain as an Independent.

There weren't many upsets outside of Colorado knocking off TCU in Fort Worth, but another big blow was dealt elsewhere in the Lonestar State. Texas State secured their first win over a Power 5 school as they were 26-point underdogs against Baylor, but won 42-31. Northern Illinois took the paycheck and waived the MACtion Pirate Flag in Chestnut Hill in their upset of Boston College in overtime. Texas Tech also fell in overtime, but their upset came on the road at Wyoming in the battle between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes' alma maters. The Big Ten was not immune either as Purdue wasn't able to thwart Fresno State, while Illinois needed a last-minute score to avoid an upset at the hands of Toledo.

Newcomers Jacksonville State has gotten off to a fast start with their first two wins as an FBS school knocking off UTEP and East Tennessee State (FCS). Unfortunately, the Gamecocks won't be bowl-eligible as they transition to the FBS level. Sam Houston State was competitive in its first game at the FBS level, stymieing the BYU offense, but they were unable to score in a 14-0 loss. 

Here were the top performers in Week 1.

Passing

1. Shedeur Sanders (Colorado)- 38/47, 510 yards (school record), 4 TD, 0 INT

2. Cameron Ward(Washington St)- 37/49, 451 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

3. Michael Pennix Jr.(Washington)- 29/40, 450 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT

Rushing:

1. Kimani Vidal (Troy)- 25 carries, 248 yards, 0 TD

2. Jalen Buckley (WMU)- 30 carries, 194 yards, TD

3. Jadyn Ott (Cal)- 20 carries, 188 yards, 2 TD

Receiving:

1. Xavier Legette (South Carolina)- 9 catches, 178 yards, 0 TD

2. Erik Brooks (Fresno State)- 9 catches, 170 yards, 2 TD

3. Lincoln Victor (Washington State)- 11 catches, 168 yards, 0 TD

Defense:

Tackles- Tyrice Knight (UTEP)- 17 tackles

Sacks- Laiatu Latu (UCLA), David Bailey (Stanford)-3 sacks

Interceptions- Clayton Isbell (Coastal Carolina)- 3 interceptions

Scoring:

                                    Oregon mascot dead after doing 546 push-ups on Saturday.

Oregon- 81 (Portland State)

Oklahoma- 73 (Arkansas St)

Ole Miss- 73 (Mercer)

Bryan Golden Bears- 67 (Fairview)

Pool Poll Top 25 Results (* denotes FCS opponent)

1. Georgia (48-7 win over UT Martin*)

2. Michigan (30-3 over ECU)

3. Alabama (56-7 over Mid Tenn St)

4. Ohio St (23-3 over IU)

5. Penn State (38-15 over WVU)

6. Washington (56-19 over Boise St)

7. TCU (42-45 loss to Colorado)

8. Tennessee (49-13 over UVA)

9. Florida St (45-24 over LSU)

10. USC (wins over San Jose State and Nevada)

11. Clemson (Plays Duke on Monday)

12. LSU (24-45 loss to FSU)

13. Tulane (37-17 over USA)

14. Oregon (81-7 over Port St*)

15. Oregon St (42-17 over San Jose St)

16. Kansas St (45-0 over SEMOST*)

17. UTSA (14-17 loss to Houston)

18. Utah (24-11 over Florida)

19. Notre Dame (wins over Navy and Tenn St*)

20. Texas (37-10 over Rice)

21. UCLA (27-13 over Coastal Carolina)

22. Boise State (19-56 loss to Washington)

23. UNC (31-17 over South Carolina)

24. Duke (Plays Clemson on Monday)

25. Iowa (24-14 over Utah St)