College Football Week 4 Wrap up
Estimated 11 minute read
Weekly round up featuring rankings, media, and analysis from this week in college football.
Week 4 is a wrap! Let’s look back on this exciting weekend of action.
Games of the Week
Washington State Cougars 54
San Jose State Spartans 52 (2 OT)
One of three Friday night thrillers, this face-off between two undefeated squads proved to be a barn burner. San Jose State QB Emmett Brown and WR Nick Nash continued to be the most productive passing duo in the nation. Brown threw for 375 yards and 4 touchdowns, of which Nash collected 152 and 2 each. Nash, a 2 star prospect out of high school, withdrew from the transfer portal to remain with the Spartans in January. He leads the nation in catches (50), receiving yards (637), and receiving touchdowns (8) after Week 4. For Washington State, quarterback John Mateer also continued his run of remarkable play, passing for 390 yards and 4 touchdowns and adding 111 yards and a touchdown with his legs. Mateer is 15th in the nation in passing yards (1,102) and 14th in rush yards (425) - the most among FBS quarterbacks - for the 4-0 Cougars. Through three quarters, San Jose State led 38-24. Washington State scored 3 touchdowns in 8:15 minutes to claim a 43-38 lead. Brown tossed a 20 yard touchdown to TreyShun Hurry and a Two-Point conversion to Nash to claim a three point lead with 26 seconds to go in regulation. Mateer completed a 32 yard pass and an 8 yard run to see up a 52 yard field goal by Dean Janikowski - no relation to former NFL Pro Bowl kicker Sebastian Janikowski. Brown and Mateer traded interceptions in overtime. Washington State took the ball first in the second OT, scoring a touchdown on a Dylasn Paine touchdown and the required Two-Point Conversion on a Mateer run. Knowing what they needed, Brown threw a touchdown to Nash before fumbling on the two point attempt to send the game to a 3rd OT. This content had so many highlights, it feels like the video should be the entire game.
Colorado Buffaloes 38
Baylor Bears 31 (OT)
Yes, Colorado still can’t protect the quarterback (8 sacks against Baylor) and doesn’t get enough production from the run game. Yet Coach Prime’s team sits at 3-1 (1-0 in Big 12 play) after escaping against Baylor. Shedeur Sanders completed a Hail Mary to receiver LaJohntay Wester to send this one to overtime - a play after a would-be touchdown was dropped by Will Sheppard. Colorado sent the offense on the field first, scoring on a 1 yard plunge by Micah Welch. It looked like Baylor was going to answer with a touchdown when Travis Hunter (7 catches for 130 yards) forced a fumble right before Baylor RB Dominic Richardson crossed the goal line. Colorado fans stormed the field prematurely while the fumble was under review, a call that was upheld to end the game.
No. 18 Michigan Wolverines 27
No. 11 USC Trojans 24
Michigan and USC squared off in the Big House trending in opposite directions. USC finally showed signs of life on defense while remaining efficient on offense, having defeated LSU in their season opener and blanking Utah State. Michigan, on the other hand, was fresh off of a lackluster performance against Arkansas State and two weeks removed from an embarrassing home loss to Texas. The Wolverines controlled most of the game, leading 14-3 at halftime. USC quarterback Miller Moss threw 3 second half touchdowns, but also a pick six to star CB Will Johnson. Michigan RB Kalel Mullings continued to outperform Donovan Edwards for the Wolverines, rushing for 159 yards on 17 attempts and 2 touchdowns. New starter Alex Orji generated nearly nothing in the pass game, mustering 32 yards on 7/12 passing. Still, Michigan’s rushing attack combined with a score on defense spoiled USC’s attempt at their first ever Big Ten victory.
Stanford 26
Syracuse 24
Stanford earned their first ever ACC win by defeating Syracuse on Friday night. Cardinal receiver Elic Ayomanor caught 7 passes for 87 yards, including a ridiculous first quarter touchdown and 3 on the game winning drive, and Stanford outgained the Orange 173-26 on the ground. Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord threw for 339 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 13 yard touchdown pass with 3:13 left to give Syracuse a 24-23 lead but 2 second half interceptions, one of which was returned for a Cardinal touchdown. Emmet Kenney connected on his 39 yard attempt as the clock hit 0:00 - a try made slightly difficult by a false start after timeouts by both teams. Syracuse was the only P4 California team to win, as UCLA, USC, and Cal all dropped road games.
Week 4 Heisman Top 5
Ashton Jeanty, RB Boise State Broncos: 56 carries, 586 yards, 10.5 ypc, 9 TDs,
Travis Hunter, WR/CB Colorado Buffaloes: 37 catchers, 472 yards, 12.8 ypc, 5 TDs, 14 tackles, 2 PDs, 1 Int, 1 FF
Cam Ward, QB Miami: 89/123 72.4% 1,439 yards, 14 TDs, 2 ints, 89 yards rushing, 1 TD
Jaxson Dart, QB Ole Miss: 95/119 79.8%, 12 TDs, 2 ints, 90 yards rushing 2 TDs
Jalen Milroe, QB Alabama: 35/52 67.3% 8 TDs, 0 ints, 156 yards rushing 6 TDs
Week 4 Players of the Week
Offensive: Blake Horvath, QB Navy - 9/12 192 yards, 2 TDs, 12 carries, 211 yards, 4 TDs vs Memphis
Defensive: Josaiah Stewart, DE Michigan - 4 tackles, 3 TFLs, 2 Sacks, FF vs No. 11 USC vs Utah State
Special Teams: Maddux Trujillo, K Temple - 1/1 FGs long of 64 (8th longest in history) vs Utah State
Week 4 Trending Up
Florida P4 Teams
Florida State finally got into the win column with a 14-9 win over new conference foe Cal. Maybe Cal was battling jet lag. Florida bounced back from a loss to Texas A&M by defeating Mississippi State 45-28, not quite matching Toledo’s margin of victory over the Bulldogs from the previous week. Miami trailed USF 15-14 late in the second before ripping off 36 consecutive points to claim a 50-14 win. UCF is sitting at 3-0 and enjoyed a bye week before facing Colorado next weekend.
Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee traveled to Norman in coach Josh Heupel’s homecoming to the program he guided to a national championship and let him go as offensive coordinator in 2015. Tennessee has absolutely dominated this season. The Volunteers look especially dangerous because of their legitimate defense and ability to possess the football. The defense is clicking despite James Pearce Jr posting 3 tackles and .5 sacks to this point. Tennessee is off this weekend and should be favored against Arkansas and Florida before welcoming Alabama to Knoxville.
James Madison Dukes
After JMU lost star QB Jordan McCloud to Texas State, the Dukes were not considered contenders for the Sun Belt title and, by extension, a berth in the CFP. Now, after dropping 70 on North Carolina and with App State struggling, JMU is now the betting favorite to win the East Division (the Sun Belt is the only FBS conference that still divides via divisions) and second to win the conference overall behind Texas State, who poached McCloud in the offseason. With G5 contenders suffering body blows last weekend, James Madison’s standing has vastly improved from the preseason.
Week 4 G5 Power Rankings
3 newcomers to the top 5 after losses by Memphis, Toledo, and Northern Illinois.
UNLV Rebels 3-0, next: vs Fresno State
Army Black Knights, 3-0 next: @ Temple
Navy Midshipmen, 3-0, next: @ UAB
James Madison Dukes, 3-0, next vs Ball State
Boise State Broncos, 2-1, next vs Washington State
Week 4 Most Miserable
Florida G5 Teams
USF was the victim of Miami’s 36-0 scoring barrage, FAU lost to UConn 48-14 as the betting favorite, and FIU lost at home to FCS Monmouth in the school’s second game in newly renamed Pitbull Stadium.
North Carolina Tar Heels Fans
With the retirement of Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh’s exodus to the NFL, only 3 active head coaches have won a national championship: Kirby Smart, Dabo Swinney, and Mack Brown. North Carolina fans probably don’t remember either Brown’s championship with the Texas Longhorns, or his first stint with the Tar Heels. After two 1-10 seasons to begin his initial tenure with UNC, Brown went 67-26-1 with 3 bowl wins and 5 ranked finishes. Now, fans are looking forward to basketball season, hoping they aren’t on the losing end of 70-50 finals.
Houston Cougars Fans
After 30 seasons as a head coach at every possible level, new head man at Houston Willie Fritz has finally made it to the P4. Fritz has a career long reputation as a program builder from Blinn College in the 90s to Tulane most recently. Houston presents a challenge that he has not faced yet. At Tulane, Fritz faced Houston when Houston was the class of the conference. Now, Houston is in the cellar of the Big 12. Week 1 saw Houston lose at home to UNLV, scoring their only points when the game was out of reach. Last week, Houston dropped a 34-0 game to Cincinnati, another school that jumped from the AAC to the Big 12. The road only gets tougher, with the Cougars welcoming No. 18 Iowa State to town.
Kent State Golden Flashes Football Program
Another week, another disaster. It almost feels wrong to put Kent State back on this list. The Golden Flashes are now the last ranked rushing offense, last in points allowed, second to last in points for and 5th to last in passing yards. They’ve lost multiple QBs to injury and are 14 point underdogs to Eastern Michigan this week. Kent State last scored a touchdown against an FBS team in the 3rd quarter of Week 1 against Pittsburgh. The Golden Flashes are on pace to be one of the most used teams in EA Sports College Football 26.
Week 4 Most Anxious
G5 Playoff Contenders
After a banner Week 3, for the most part Week 4 was a bummer for most G5 contenders. Memphis, Toledo, Northern Illinois, who all hold road wins over P4 teams, fell from the ranks of the unbeaten. UNLV, owners of two P4 road wins, saw their QB quit the team. The G5 also suffered from losses by their P4 opponents. Oklahoma, Kansas State, Houston, Kansas, and Mississippi all dropped games this weekend. Florida State finally joined the win club, and Liberty’s toughest opponent - G5 App State - was blown out for the second time in three weeks, losing to Southern Alabama 48-14. FPI still has the Mountaineers favored while Vegas favors the Flames by a field goal. The teams with the best weekend were JMU, who moved to 3-0 after beating North Carolina, and Army and Navy, who are both undefeated and own two AAC wins. All 15 current AAC programs announced a continuing commitment to the conference this week after news broke that the reviving Pac-12 was looking to add programs from the conference.
