On a day when the top four teams in the country each won by
two touchdowns or more, Saturday night's contests at least provided us with
thrilling entertainment.
Old Dominion, a 29-point underdog that had lost to Liberty,
Florida International and Charlotte to start the season, stunned Virginia Tech
49-35. And the Monarchs did it behind their backup quarterback, Blake LaRussa.
Army, which hadn't beaten a top-five opponent in 56 years,
nearly knocked off Oklahoma, before falling 28-21 in overtime.
The Hokies weren't the only ranked team to fall on the road
on Saturday. Mississippi State, TCU and Boston College also lost away from home,
causing a shakeup in ESPN's Power Rankings.
Remember, the Power Rankings are about how you look and who
you play each week. Forget the body of work or the brand name. These rankings
drip with recency bias.
HERE ARE MY RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 4:
1. ALABAMA
Week 4 result: Defeated Texas A&M 45-23
What's next: vs. Louisiana (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, SECN)
The Crimson Tide blasted a team that nearly beat Clemson two
weeks ago, but coach Nick Saban can find things to correct. The Tide ran for
only 109 yards, surrendered 23 points and committed nine penalties -- and still
won by more than three touchdowns. Quarterback Tua
Tagovailoa was fantastic again, completing 22 of 30 passes for
387 yards with four scores.
2. OHIO STATE
Week 4 result: Defeated Tulane 49-6
What's next: at Penn State (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
The Buckeyes welcomed back coach Urban Meyer, who was
suspended from coaching in the first three games, with a 43-point waxing of the
Green Wave. Quarterback Dwayne
Haskins was nearly perfect on Saturday, completing 21 of 24
passes for 304 yards with five touchdowns -- in the first half.
3. GEORGIA
Week 4 results: Defeated Missouri 43-29
What's next: vs. Tennessee (Saturday, TBD)
Georgia's young defense continued to suffer growing pains,
but the Bulldogs forced three turnovers and held Tigers quarterback Drew Lockwithout
a touchdown pass for the first time in 14 games. UGA scored more than 40 points
for the fourth consecutive game and pulled away with a flurry of big pass plays
in the second half.
4. CLEMSON
Week 4 result: Defeated Georgia Tech 49-21
What's next: vs. Syracuse (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, ABC)
The Tigers picked up a road victory and might have found
themselves a new starting quarterback. Freshman Trevor
Lawrence completed 13 of 18 passes for 176 yards with four
touchdowns against the Yellow Jackets. He has nine touchdown passes through
four games; former Tigers star Deshaun Watson had 10 through the first four
games of his freshman season.
5. STANFORD
Week 4 result: Defeated Oregon 38-31
What's next: at Notre Dame (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
The Cardinal came back from 17 points down at the half to
stun the Ducks in overtime. It was Stanford's largest comeback under coach
David Shaw and the biggest in school history since at least 1996. Stanford
trailed 31-21 with 4:39 to go in regulation, but scored 10 points in the final
3:10 to send the game into overtime. The Cardinal will face another stiff road
test at Notre Dame next week.
6. LSU
Week 4 result: Defeated Louisiana Tech 38-21
What's next: vs. Ole Miss (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
A week after winning at Auburn, the Tigers survived an
intrastate game that was pretty close late in the fourth quarter, until they
scored two touchdowns in the final 8:06. It was another so-so performance for
quarterback Joe Burrow,
who completed 16 of 28 passes for 191 yards with no touchdowns.
7. NOTRE DAME
Week 4 results: Defeated Wake Forest 56-27
What's next: vs. Stanford (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
Why did Brian Kelly wait this long to start
quarterback Ian Book?
With Book making his second start in place of Brandon
Wimbush, who was benched after a couple of below-average games, the
Irish piled up 566 yards of offense. They averaged 23.3 points and 365 yards in
their first three games. Book completed 25 of 34 passes for 325 yards with two
touchdowns.
8. PENN STATE
Week 4 results: Defeated Illinois
What's next: vs. Ohio State (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
The Nittany Lions are rolling after their Week 1 clunker,
scoring more than 50 points for the third consecutive game heading into next
week's showdown against the Buckeyes. Running back Miles Sanders,
who had the unenviable task of replacing Saquon Barkley, broke out with 200
rushing yards and three touchdowns against the Illini.
9. OKLAHOMA
Week 4 result: Defeated Army 28-21
What's next: vs. Baylor (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
The Sooners needed overtime to defeat the Knights, who
hadn't beaten a top-five opponent since 1962. OU's defense didn't have an
answer for Army's triple-option offense, which helped it run for 339 yards and
go 13-for-21 on third down. Amazingly, the Knights controlled the ball for more
than 44 minutes. The good news for the Sooners: They don't play Georgia Tech or
Navy during the regular season.
10. WEST VIRGINIA
Week 4 result: Defeated Kansas State 35-6
What's next: at Texas Tech (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, TV TBA)
The Mountaineers shook off the rust from a two-week hiatus
and rolled past the Wildcats in their Big 12 opener. Quarterback Will Grier threw
five touchdowns, including an 82-yarder to Marcus Simms and
a 62-yarder to Tevin Bush.
Grier has thrown five touchdowns in a game five times during his career, which
is fifth most in Big 12 history.
11. MICHIGAN
Week 4 results: Defeated Nebraska 56-10
What's next: at Northwestern (Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
The Wolverines walloped the Cornhuskers in the Big House to
win their third game in a row. The Cornhuskers have dropped their first three
games under new coach Scott Frost, falling to 0-3 for the first time since
1945. Michigan's quarterbacks have thrown nine touchdowns in four games,
matching their total from the entire 2017 season.
12. AUBURN
Week 4 result: Defeated Arkansas 34-3
What's next: vs. Southern Miss (Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, SECN)
The Tigers used their special teams to roll past SEC
punching bag Arkansas, scoring on a 96-yard kickoff return and after a
partially blocked punt. The Tigers still seemed to be suffering from a post-LSU
hangover, running for only 91 yards and finishing with only 225 yards overall.
The Tigers will have to improve mightily to keep pace with Alabama and LSU in
the SEC West.
13. WASHINGTON
Week 4 result: Defeated Arizona State 27-20
What's next: vs. BYU (Saturday, TBA)
The Huskies continued to claw back from their season-opening
loss to Auburn in Atlanta by knocking off Arizona State for their third
straight victory on Saturday night. It seems that nothing is going to come easy
for Washington, which picked up a tough road victory at Utah last week. The
Huskies will get another challenge from surprising BYU next week.
14. WISCONSIN
Week 4 result: Defeated Iowa 28-17
What's next: vs. Nebraska (Oct. 6, TBA)
The Badgers bounced back from their stunning home loss to
BYU a week ago by scoring two touchdowns in the final 57 seconds to knock off
Iowa on the road. With Wisconsin trailing 17-14, Alex
Hornibrook threw a 17-yard touchdown to A.J. Taylor with
57 seconds to play. Then the Badgers picked off a pass, and Alec Ingold ran
33 yards for a touchdown three plays later. The good news for the Badgers: The
winner of this game has represented the Big Ten West in the conference
championship game in each of the previous four seasons.
15. UCF
Week 4 results: Defeated Florida Atlantic 56-36
What's next: vs. Pittsburgh (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, TBA)
The Knights blew open Friday night's game against the Owls
with 35 points in the second half. Star quarterback McKenzie
Milton (306 passing yards with three touchdowns) and led UCF to
its 16th consecutive victory, the longest current streak in the FBS and a
record for an American Athletic Conference team.
16. MIAMI
Week 4 result: Defeated Florida International
31-17
What's next: vs. North Carolina (Thursday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
The Hurricanes survived a lackluster two-touchdown win over
the Panthers, and coach Mark Richt might have a difficult quarterback decision
to make. N'Kosi Perry came off the bench to complete his first 10 passes in
place of starter Malik Rosier,
following his two scoreless possessions. Perry finished 17-for-25 with 224
yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
17. TEXAS
Week 4 result: Defeated TCU 31-16
What's next: at Kansas State (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, FS1)
It's still too early to declare the Longhorns back, but they
might have finally turned the corner under second-year coach Tom Herman. UT
defeated AP top-25 opponents in back-to-back games for the first time since
knocking off No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 11 Missouri and No. 7 Oklahoma State in three
straight games during the 2008 regular season. They were 15-31 against top-25
opponents since winning three in a row 10 years ago.
18. OREGON
Week 4 result: Lost to Stanford 38-31 (OT)
What's next: at California (Saturday, TBA)
The Ducks blew a 17-point halftime lead and seemed to have
the game won until inexplicably losing a fumble in the final minute of
regulation. It was their third straight loss to Stanford. Oregon wasted a
stellar performance from quarterback Justin
Herbert, who completed 26 of 33 passes for 346 yards with one
touchdown. He misfired on only two attempts in regulation, then went only
1-for-5 in overtime, including an interception on the final play.
19. KENTUCKY
Week 4 result: Defeated Mississippi State 28-7
What's next: vs. South Carolina (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, SECN)
With their first 4-0 start since 2008, the Wildcats are
among the country's most surprising teams -- and UK tailback Benny Snell
Jr. might be the country's most underrated player. Snell ran for 165
yards with four touchdowns, becoming the first UK player with more than one
game with four rushing touchdowns. Something you probably wouldn't have heard
in July: The Wildcats host No. 2 Georgia on Nov. 3 in a game that might go a
long way in deciding the SEC East title.
20. MISSISSIPPI
STATE
Week 4 result: Lost to Kentucky 28-7
What's next: vs. Florida (Saturday, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead's honeymoon came to a
screeching halt Saturday night, as the Bulldogs lost to an unranked Kentucky
team for only the second time in school history (the first time was in 1953,
which was Bear Bryant's last season as the Wildcats' coach). MSU could muster
only 201 yards of offense, including 56 rushing, and 11 first downs.
21. COLORADO
Week 4 results: Open week
What's next: vs. UCLA (Friday, 9 p.m. ET, FS1)
The Buffaloes, off to a 3-0 start for the second straight
season, should have a good chance to go to 4-0 in Friday night's against the
Bruins, who are 0-3 under first-year coach Chip Kelly.
22. SYRACUSE
Week 4 result: Defeated UConn 51-21
What's next: at Clemson (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, ABC)
Don't look now, but the Orange are 4-0 for the first time
since 1991 and only the fourth time since the end of World War II. Syracuse
scored 50 points or more in three of its four games -- and blasted Florida
State 30-7 in the other. The Orange will find out how far they've come under third-year
coach Dino Babers, whose teams went 4-8 in each of his first two seasons, in
next week's trip to Clemson.
23. DUKE
Week 4 result: Defeated North Carolina Central
55-13
What's next: vs. Virginia Tech (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, TV TBA)
The Blue Devils improved to 4-0 in back-to-back seasons for
the first time since 1952-53, but they'll need a quarterback to get healthy to
improve to 5-0. Quarterback Quentin
Harris, making his second start in place of injured Daniel Jones,
threw for 202 yards with three touchdowns before injuring his left leg. Jones
is still sidelined with a broken clavicle.
24. MICHIGAN STATE
Week 4 result: Defeated Indiana 35-21
What's next: vs. Central Michigan (Saturday, TBA)
The Spartans haven't looked like anything special so far
this season, but they recovered from a three-point loss at Arizona State two
weeks ago to beat the Hoosiers on the road. MSU is about to face a difficult
three-game stretch, starting with next week's home game against Northwestern,
followed by Penn State (road) and Michigan (home).
25. BYU
Week 4 result: Defeated McNeese 30-3
What's next: at Washington (Saturday, TBA)
The Cougars' remarkable turnaround continued on Saturday
with a 27-point drubbing of an overmatched FCS foe. After going 4-9 in coach
Kalani Sitake's second season in 2017, they've also won at Arizona and
Wisconsin and lost to Cal at home. After taking a 24-3 lead over the Cowboys at
the half, BYU shut it down in the second half, kicking two field goals. They'll
have to play four quarters at Washington next week.
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