The Biggest Winners and Losers From a Wild Week 4 of College Football
Week 4 showed just how shaky the ground is beneath college football’s biggest programs. One mistake, one call, or even one unlucky bounce was enough to change the course of a season. Fans turned on longtime stars, underdogs forced their way into the playoff picture, and a few quarterbacks either boosted or damaged their reputations in a single game. Some teams now head into October with momentum, while others are barely holding on.
Texas Tech’s Money Well Spent
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Jeff Tinnell
For months, the Red Raiders were the subject of jokes for their record-setting NIL spending, but the checks cleared in more ways than one. Texas Tech rolled into Salt Lake City, lined up against No. 16 Utah, and pushed the Utes around like a home scrimmage. A 34-10 win with a backup quarterback (Will Hammond threw two touchdowns after Behren Morton went down) gave Tech their first 4-0 start since 2013.
More impressive was how they did it. The Red Raiders forced four turnovers, dominated at the line, and outgained Utah by more than 200 yards.
Indiana Is For Real
Maybe the joke was on everyone who wondered if Indiana could sustain last year’s playoff run. The Hoosiers beat the ninth-ranked Illini in a 63-10 match. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza was nearly perfect, completing 21 of 23 passes for 267 yards and five touchdowns.
Indiana racked up 579 yards, with 312 on the ground, and shut Illinois down to just 3.6 yards per play. The game shifted Heisman conversations and forced poll voters to take a hard look at their ballots.
Oklahoma’s Defense Means Business
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Julie Lazalier Harvey
Oklahoma’s offense is still searching for consistency, but the defense just sent a message. Against Auburn, the Sooners racked up a school-record 10 sacks, hammering their former quarterback Jackson Arnold and sealing a 24-17 win in their first SEC test.
Defensive end R. Mason Thomas and linemate Jayden Jackson combined for 4.5 sacks, with seven different players getting at least one. Quarterback John Mateer kept things steady with 271 passing yards and a late touchdown run, but it was the pass rush that made sure Auburn left empty-handed.
Michigan Survives, Nebraska Wilts
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Peter R. Schlitt
Michigan is relentless. The Wolverines gashed Nebraska for 286 rushing yards at 8.7 per carry, including three touchdown runs of at least 37 yards. Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood threw for just 105 yards, but his legs and Kalel Mullings’ late heroics powered a 30-27 road win.
Nebraska, meanwhile, let another chance slip. Dylan Raiola passed for 308 yards and three touchdowns, but the Cornhuskers again collapsed in key spots, failing on fourth down, missing a field goal, and throwing an interception in the opening quarter. They’re now 4-11 in one-score games under Matt Rhule, with their last win over a ranked team still stuck in 2016.
Missouri’s Revenge Tour
The Tigers avenged last year’s gut-punch loss to South Carolina with a 29-20 victory, powered by a defense that racked up five sacks and held the Gamecocks to minus-nine rushing yards.
At 4-0, Missouri has positioned itself nicely with a favorable schedule ahead. A playoff push suddenly looks realistic, and with Alabama looming in October, the Tigers may have their biggest stage yet to show they belong.
Memphis Keeps Rising
Down late to Arkansas, Sutton Smith ripped off a 64-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers the lead, then the defense sealed it with a fumble recovery inside their own 10. A 32-31 upset of an SEC team puts Memphis firmly in the conversation as the top Group of Five playoff candidate.
With Tulane stumbling and the Tigers’ schedule breaking favorably, there’s no reason to rule out December chaos.
Coaches On The Hot Seat
Image via Wikimedia Commons/KT King
Not every sideline was full of smiles. Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy oversaw a historic low: a home loss to Tulsa for the first time since 1951. Fans booed him off the field.
At Wisconsin, chants of “Fire Fickell” rang out as Maryland handed the Badgers a 27-10 beating. Wisconsin managed just 1.5 yards per carry, gave up six sacks, and watched its home crowd thin before the fourth quarter.
Clemson’s fall might be the hardest to watch. A 34-21 loss to Syracuse dropped the Tigers to 1-3, their worst start since 2004. The playoff window that once felt automatic is slammed shut. Add North Carolina to the misery, too, with its 34-9 home loss to UCF under Bill Belichick.