College Football Week 4 Recap

1. At least one of the top 5 4 teams in the AP poll goes down

There were several close games at the top, but no upsets.  Florida State squeaked by Clemson, 23 - 17 in overtime, after struggling all night without Jameis Winston. QB Marcus Mariota led Oregon past a tenacious Washington State, 38 - 31.  Alabama's first half mistakes kept Florida in it, but ultimately they pulled away in the second half with a strong performance by QB Blake Sims.  West Virginia matched Oklahoma point for point in the first half but were unable to keep up with the Sooners in the second half.

2. Miami upsets #24 Nebraska

Nebraska came to play, and running back Ameer Abdullah had a strong performance to notch a 41 - 31 victory.  The Cornhuskers racked up 343 yards on the ground and looked nothing like the squad that struggled to put away McNeese State a couple weeks prior.  Until further notice, this undefeated Nebraska team may be the team to beat in the Big Ten.  Circle the Oct 4 match-up with Michigan State; it's going to be a good one.

3. Virginia Tech continues free-fall with a loss to Georgia Tech

The Hokies took yet another loss, getting beat 27 - 24 by Georgia Tech.  You have to wonder if things would have turned out differently if the match-up with Ohio State was later in the season.  Would they still have had the juice to pull off the upset?  We will never know.  What we do know is that unless Virginia Tech gets their act together quickly, they may be headed for a long season.

4. Georgia running back Todd Gurley accumulates 100+ all-purpose yards in the first quarter vs Troy

Gurley only touched the ball six times through the entire game, so he did not even reach the 100 yard mark by the end.  The truth is, with a 66 - 0 beat-down of Troy, Georgia didn't need him to do much.  The Georgia running back took it easy this week, but will likely see more work next week as the Bulldogs start conference play against Tennessee.

5. Jameis Winston makes it through the weekend without getting into any more off-field trouble

This was actually almost a bust.  If my prediction had been that Winston would not do something stupid, I would have been wrong.  Because, despite the fact that Winston's suspension was extended to a full game, he came out for pre-game warm-ups in full pads, as if nothing had changed.  Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher sent him back to the locker room to change, but it left everyone a bit confused.  But, he didn't actual get into any real trouble, so this pick was accurate.

Week 4 record: 2 - 3
Overall record: 8 - 12

Other headlines from week 4:

B1G Rebound

A strong set of performances in the Big Ten this week won't erase the poor showings in the season thus far, but it may help with the league's image, at least a little bit.  The day was highlighted with Indiana upsetting 18th ranked Missouri and Nebraska's ten point win over Miami in prime-time.  Other impressive victories included Iowa over Pitt, Maryland over Syracuse, and Rutgers over Navy.  The conference held a 12-1 record for the week.  The one sore spot for the Big Ten was Michigan's collapse at home vs Utah.  Which brings me to my next point...

Pivotal Point for Michigan Wolverines

After an embarrassing home loss to Utah, Michigan is now 2-2, owns the nation's worst turnover margin at minus-10, and has not scored an offensive touchdown against their two toughest opponents.  Throw in the fact that they were shut out by Notre Dame and have seemingly gotten worse each year under head coach Brady Hoke, and many are calling for change.  If the Wolverines don't turn their season around right now with vastly improved play against Big Ten opponents, specifically in terms of offense and ball-security, you can be sure change will come.  At this point I think there are only two ways Hoke can keep his job: First, if he can beat Michigan State and/or Ohio State.  Losses to both these rivals, especially if they are blowout losses like the one against Notre Dame, may be enough to send Hoke packing.  Second, if he doesn't beat at least one of these two rivals he has to win every other remaining game on the schedule, including a bowl game.  That would make their final record 9-4, and an improvement from the last two seasons.  If neither of these goals are met, you can bet Michigan will have a new coach by the end of the year.

California Karma

Arizona trailed Cal 43 - 45 with only seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter, when Cal's official team shop sent out an email celebrating the win, announcing a sale on store merchandise because of the victory.  Moments later, Arizona's QB completed a game-winning 47-yard Hail Mary TD pass as the final seconds ticked off the clock. Whoops.  At least the store later confirmed that the sale was still on despite the snafu.