Week four saw comebacks and surprises, here are my winners and losers.
Winners:
- Tennessee Volunteers: Down 21-3 at halftime, quarterback Josh Dobbs threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown as he rallied the Vols to a comeback win over the Florida Gators 38-28. It’s the Vols’ first win over the Gators since 2004.
- Wisconsin Badgers: In one of the most surprising games of the weekend, running back Corey Clement rushed for two touchdowns. The defense forced four turnovers including a fumble returned for a touchdown as the Badgers stunned the Michigan State Spartans 30-6. What a win for head coach Paul Chryst and the Badgers on the road.
- Ole Miss Rebels: Quarterback Chad Kelly threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown. Derrick Jones had a pick six as the Rebels defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 45-14. Great bounce back win for Ole Miss.
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons: The defense caught five interceptions and blocked a field goal in a win over the Indiana Hoosiers 33-28. It’s the Deacons’ first 4-0 start in a decade.
- Colorado Buffaloes: Quarterback Steven Montez threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start as the Buffs held off the Oregon Ducks 41-38. It’s their first win over the Ducks since 2011 when they joined the Pac-12. Buffs are looking good.
- West Virginia Mountaineers: The Mountaineers outdueled the BYU Cougars 35-32. At 3-0, the heat should be off head coach Dana Holgorsen, for now.
Losers:
- Florida Gators: It was a tale of two halves for the Gators, they were up 21-3 in the first, but were outscored 35-7 in the second in their loss to Tennessee.
- Michigan State Spartans: Despite having more first downs, turnovers including quarterback Tyler O’Connor’s three interceptions stalled drives in Sparty’s loss to Wisconsin.
- Georgia Bulldogs: Being 4 for 16 in third downs and their defense giving up too many big plays doomed the Bulldogs in their loss to Ole Miss.
- USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins: It wasn’t a good weekend for the L.A. area teams as both gave up game winning drives. Utah went down the field and quarterback Troy Williams’ go-ahead touchdown pass to wide receiver Tim Patrick with 16 seconds left, led the Utes to a win over the Trojans 31-27. As for the Bruins, good news they tamed Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey to just 167 total yards. Bad news, the Bruins gave up a game winning touchdown as quarterback Ryan Burns’ pass to wide receiver J.J. Arceda-Whiteside with 24 seconds left that helped the Cardinal avoid the upset 22-13.
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Despite outgaining the Duke Blue Devils, the defense gave up nearly 500 yards in their loss to the Blue Devils 38-35. They have since fired their defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder.
- LSU Tigers: LSU’s game-winning touchdown was wiped out as time had expired before quarterback Danny Etling snapped the ball losing to the Auburn Tigers 18-13. With LSU’s struggles on offense, both head coach Les Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron have since been fired. We’ll see where interim coach Ed Orgeron takes the Tigers from here.
Storylines Going Into Week Five:
A Friday night top ten clash in Seattle as Stanford faces Washington in the Pac 12 North. Utah goes to Barkley and face California.
In the SEC, Tennessee host Georgia.
In the Big 12, Texas faces Oklahoma State. Oklahoma plays TCU.
In the Big 10, Wisconsin battles Michigan at the Big House.
Some MAC action or MACtion, Western Michigan travels to Central Michigan
In the ACC, Miami visits Georgia Tech. Florida State hosts North Carolina. Lamar Jackson and Louisville travel to Clemson to meet Deshaun Watson and the Tigers.