College Football's All-Week 4 1st Team: Top Performers at Every Position

Week 4 looked great on paper. It was even better on the field.

The fun started Thursday evening (Auburn's miraculous escape at Kansas State) and continued through the wee hours of Sunday morning (Arizona's really miraculous Hail Mary to beat Cal), and much of what happened in-between was just as good. It was the best week of a season in which none have been bad.

Predictably, a week with so many good games meant a number of striking individual performances. Constructing this list is never easy, but it is rarely as hard as it was for Week 4.

Ultimately—as always—the main criteria went beyond raw statistics. Big numbers matter, but they matter more against a good opponent than a bad one. They also matter more when they take place in clutch game situations, something that had a big effect on the Week 4 first-team defense (see: defensive tackle and cornerback).

Chime in below and let me know whom I missed.

Quarterback

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Dak Prescott, Mississippi State 

15-of-24, 268 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT; 22 carries, 105 yards, 1 TD

Dak Prescott led Mississippi State to a 34-10 lead and deceptively one-sided 34-29 win at LSU Saturday night, combining for 373 yards of offense and three touchdowns.

His numbers were not as gaudy as those of Kenny Hill in Week 1, but Prescott, like Hill, broke out with a road win over a supposed Top 10 team in the country (and in a venue that we know to be daunting). His offensive line and running back (Josh Robinson, 197 rushing yards) looked equally good, but when the Bulldogs most needed a play, it was Prescott who delivered.

Never was that more true than in the third quarter, when, leading 17-10, Prescott took a QB draw on 3rd-and-7 for 56 yards and a touchdown. Seven plays later, he scrambled out of pressure, rolled left and hit Jameon Lewis on a 74-yard broken-play touchdown that Bleacher Report’s Barrett Sallee called his "Heisman moment."

The one glaring mistake Prescott made—an ill-advised shovel pass that was almost intercepted (and returned for a score) by Tre’Davious White in the second quarter—was dropped by the defense and did not end up hurting the team.

Saturday was that kind of night.

Second Team: Blake Sims, Alabama

23-of-33, 445 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT; 8 carries, 12 yards

Blake Sims cemented his place as the Alabama starting quarterback, throwing for 445 yards in a 42-21 over Florida. No Nick Saban-coached QB has ever thrown for more. A bad fumble and interception kept Sims from beating out Prescott, but aside from those mistakes, he was sharp and confident from start to finish, using his legs when he needed to but primarily carving up the Gators from the pocket.

Running Back

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Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin

13 carries, 253 yards, 5 TD; 1 reception, 5 yards

Melvin Gordon started the day on a low note. He fumbled for the first time of his career on his first carry, a run for no gain.

On his next 12 carries, he had 253 yards and five touchdowns.

Suffice it to say things got better.

Bowling Green's run defense is leaky, but Gordon was good enough to earn this spot despite poor competition. Even against a scout-team defense, runs such as his 21-yard touchdown in the second quarter are beyond the realm of supposed plausibility.

Gordon has now gained 2,759 yards on 321 career carries, an average of 8.6 yards per rush. According to Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports, that vaults him ahead of the NCAA record (8.26) set by Army fullback Doc Blanchard in the mid-1940s.

For that, he deserves the top billing.

Second Team: Samaje Perine, Oklahoma

34 carries, 242 yards, 4 TD 

No Keith Ford? No problem. Oklahoma's true freshman backup was a load against West Virginia, picking up steam as the game went on and plowing through the Mountaineers defense. At 5'11", 243 pounds, he is a true ball-possession running back, the type who should do wonders for a team with a national-title-caliber defense. He may not have Ford's speed or quickness, but he can be just as useful of a weapon.

Honorable Mention: Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska

35 carries, 229 yards, 2 TD; 1 reception, 3 yards, 1 TD

It was a stacked week for the running back position, but it would be remiss not to at least mention Ameer Abdullah, who once again made an opponent—this time Miami—look slow and out of sorts. He finished the 41-31 Nebraska win with 35 carries, 229 yards and two rushing touchdowns and is firmly in the thick of the Heisman discussion.

Wide Receiver

Amari Cooper, Alabama

10 receptions, 201 yards, 3 TD

Amari Cooper starred once again in an Alabama victory, helping Alabama's offense outgain Florida by 445 yards (645-200) in Tuscaloosa.

The one-on-one matchup billed before the game was Cooper vs. Vernon Hargreaves III, and while VHIII didn’t struggle as badly as Cooper’s numbers might suggest, he definitely got the worse of their battles on the outside.

To wit, most of Cooper’s production came from a 79-yard touchdown on a blown coverage in the first quarter and against zone coverage later on, but even when he was matched up on an island with Hargreaves, he got open and made plays.

The shining example of this would be his four-yard touchdown grab to give Alabama its first two-score lead of the game, where he leaped between double coverage (Hargreaves included) to snare the ball in the corner of the end zone.

For the season, Cooper now has 43 catches for 655 yards, both of which are tops in the country. He is the runaway Biletnikoff Award favorite and, according to Sallee, a legitimate Heisman candidate.

Second Team: D'haquille Williams, Auburn

8 receptions, 110 yards, 1 TD

The other top-dog receiver in the state of Alabama, D'haquille Williams, helped bail Auburn out of a wild game at Kansas State. He caught what proved to be the game-winning touchdown pass at the start of the fourth quarter and sealed the win with a 39-yard streak on 3rd-and-9 when the Wildcats needed a stop to get the ball back.

Tight End

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Clive Walford, Miami

7 receptions, 80 yards, 1 TD

Miami couldn't finish the job against Nebraska, losing 41-31, but it got another solid performance from senior tight end Clive Walford.

Having an experienced receiving threat such as Walford has been great for the development of true freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya, who relied on Walford early in a hostile environment. Walford caught two passes for 13 yards on the Hurricanes' first offensive possession and two more for 23 yards and a touchdown on their fourth.

He's the ideal safety net for a young (but promising) QB.

Second Team: Nick O'Leary, Florida State

6 receptions, 77 yards, 0 TD

Like Walford, Nick O'Leary was playing with a young quarterback—at least in terms of real-game experience. And like Walford, he did a great job in that role. Sean Maguire didn't spread the ball around the same way Jameis Winston has, targeting mostly Rashad Greene and O'Leary when it mattered most. If you're going to hone in on the same two guys in crunch time, they are not a bad pair of options to have.

Offensive Line

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RT Daryl Williams, Oklahoma

Perine did a great job finding and hitting holes and breaking tackles against West Virginia, but his offensive line deserves just as much credit for the Sooners' success on the ground.

Daryl Williams more so than anyone.

The hulking right tackle (6'6", 329 lbs) paved the way for Perine and Co. to run through the Mountaineers, using what Kevin Weidl of ESPN called "natural inline power" to move defenders off their spots. He is looking like the latest in a long line of great OU run-blockers.

Second Team: Mississippi State's Guards and Tackles

Center Dillon Day deserves a suspension (and a lengthy one) for his multi-chest-stomp outburst, and his backup, Archie Muniz, airmailed a snap that almost cost Mississippi State the game.

But ignoring that (for the time being), the Bulldogs' offensive line was among the most impressive units on Saturday. It's hard to single out any one player who was better than the rest, but the whole group—in the words of left guard Ben Beckwith—"absolutely dominated [LSU] all day," per David Murray of DawgsBite.com.

Defensive End

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Xavier Cooper, Washington State*

5 tackles (2 TFL), 1.5 sacks, 1 fumble forced 

Washington State exploited Oregon's biggest weakness, the offensive line, and no player found more success than Xavier Cooper.

Rushing from all over the line, Washington State's defensive leader made his presence known in the Ducks' backfield, even getting into a few heated jousts with quarterback Marcus Mariota.

At 6'4", 299 pounds, Cooper is big enough to occupy two running gaps, but he's also explosive enough to rush the passer. He and the Cougars' well-drawn-up scheme were almost enough to pull the biggest upset of the season, but alas, they fell just short.

Second Team: Preston Smith, Mississippi State

5 tackles (2 TFL), 1 sack

The three-time reigning SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week, Preston Smith, made a strong case to earn those honors again. He was in the LSU backfield making plays all night, helping to hold a young Tigers offense to little success until a furious late-game rally. Every point counted for Mississippi State on Saturday, and Smith helped earn it a big enough buffer to survive what happened in the fourth quarter.

*Technically, the position Cooper plays is called "tackle," but we've counted him as an end because he plays on the outside of a 3-4 defense. It's the position that best describes what he does, although he is versatile enough to play wherever the team decides to put him.

Defensive Tackle

Credit: 247Sports

Eddie Goldman, Florida State

2 tackles (1 TFL), 1 sack, 1 fumble forced

It was a team effort to keep Florida State undefeated despite Winston's suspension, but no one player was more responsible for the win than defensive tackle Eddie Goldman.

With the game tied at 17-17 and less than three minutes left to play, Clemson's Jadar Johnson picked off Sean Maguire and returned it to the FSU 26-yard line. Deshaun Watson rushed for eight yards on the following play, setting up the Tigers inside the red zone.

But instead of moving forward toward the end zone or setting up a field goal, Clemson running back C.J. Davidson was stripped by the massive Goldman, and the fumble was recovered by Florida State. Without that play, it's likely Clemson would have won in regulation.

But Goldman wasn't done quite yet.

On 4th-and-1 in the overtime period, he got good penetration up the middle, forced Clemson running back Adam Choice off his line and set up what proved to be the game-winning tackle.

Karlos Williams ended the game with a touchdown run two plays later, and FSU lived another day.

Second Team: Maliek Collins, Nebraska

2 tackles (2 TFL), 2 QB hurries

Nebraska's defensive line is more than a one-man show. Last week, Vincent Valentine had three tackles for loss against Fresno State, and this week, Maliek Collins had his way up front with Miami. Collins is 6'2", 300 pounds but moves like a defensive end. Playing beside Randy Gregory, an All-American candidate, he has helped Nebraska make up for a succession of defensive injuries elsewhere.

Outside Linebacker

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Tank Jakes, Memphis

7 tackles (3 TFL), 2 sacks, 1 INT, 1 fumble forced

Tank Jakes had two sacks and four tackles for loss against UCLA, and he proved he wasn't a one-game wonder on Saturday.

Memphis' defensive leader stuffed the box score against Middle Tennessee, an underrated opponent, and led the Tigers to a 36-17 win. He was around the ball from start to finish, forcing negative plays (e.g. a first-quarter safety) and turnovers in a variety of ways.

With teammate Martin Ifedi—himself one of the best unknown defenders in the country—out ,nursing a leg injury, Jakes knew he needed a performance like the one he had. "I just stepped up as a leader, basically," he told Grant Milner of Memphis Roar. "I felt like it was time for me to make my arrival as a captain on this defense."

Consider him fully arrived.

Second Team: Quayshawn Nealy, Georgia Tech

8 tackles (2 TFL), 0.5 sack, 1 QB hurry

After a suspect start to the season, Georgia Tech came to play in its ACC opener, beating Virginia Tech on the road. And no player looked better than Quayshawn Nealy, the leading tackler on a plucky defense that held its own in Blacksburg. He's not quite Jeremiah Attaochu, last year's star linebacker, but Nealy is not far off. He's fast, reads plays well and moves with energy. And he stepped up in a big spot Saturday.

Inside Linebacker

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Stephone Anthony, Clemson

8 tackles (2 TFL), 1 sack, 1 pass breakup, 2 QB hurries

Vic Beasley made Cameron Erving look slow in the first half—and he himself came very close to making this list—but Stephone Anthony was Clemson's best defensive player against Florida State.

The stat line above speaks for itself, and the tape spoke even louder. Anthony times inside blitzes better than almost any middle linebacker in the country, and he's explosive and sound enough to make that timing count by finishing negative plays in the backfield.

Bleacher Report's Dan Hope called Saturday "the best I've ever seen [Anthony] play," even if it ended in defeat.

Second Team: Dakorey Johnson, Kansas State

6 tackles (2 TFL), 1 pass breakup, 1 INT

Dakorey Johnson made his first career start against an offense that—especially along the line and in the running game—is considered one of the two or three best in football. He responded by playing like the best defender on the field, looking smart and instinctive and forcing negative plays. Bonus points for playing Vlad Guerrero-style.*

*i.e., without gloves

Cornerback

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Greg Mabin, Iowa

5 tackles, 3 pass breakups

On most weeks, Greg Mabin plays second fiddle to Iowa's other sophomore cornerback, Desmond King. And King played well enough to merit consideration for this list as well. But the three plays Mabin made down the stretch were worthy of this honor.

Three times on Pittsburgh's final drive—during which it was trailing by four points—quarterback Chad Voytik targeted star receiver Tyler Boyd but had his pass broken up by Mabin.

The first came on a zone play, where Mabin reached to the sky and batted the ball away at the last second. The second two came in man-to-man coverage.

The latter pair also came on Pittsburgh's last two (meaningful) plays of the game: a 3rd-and-10 and 4th-and-10 in the red zone with less than two minutes to play. Both times, Voytik targeted one of the nation's best receivers, hoping he would make a game-winning play.

Both times, it was Mabin who did that instead.

Second Team: Will Likely, Maryland

9 tackles (1 TFL), 1 interception, 1 defensive TD

Will Likely has done a little bit of everything for Maryland this season. He returned a punt for a touchdown against West Virginia in Week 3, and he followed that up with an 88-yard interception return for a touchdown against Syracuse in Week 4. He also looked good in coverage—both zone and man—and tackled when he was asked to.

On a team known for its offensive playmakers, Likely is becoming a star on the other side of the ball.

Safety

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Brian Blechen, Utah

4 tackles, 3 pass breakups, 1 QB hurry, 1 INT

Brian Blechen did a little bit of everything for Utah's defense, which stymied a Michigan unit that's become an abject disaster.

The three pass breakups and one interception are a tangible sign of his performance, but much of what Blechen did went beyond the stat sheet. He did a great job tracking Devin Gardner outside the pocket on his lone QB hurry, and he lit up receiver Devin Funchess on a throw over the middle for one of those PBUs.

Utah's defense is not to be trifled with. Bad weather and incompetent offense be damned; it still pitched a gem in the Big House.

Second Team: Landon Collins, Alabama

5 tackles (0.5 TFL), 2 pass breakups, 1 INT

Landon Collins didn't light up the stat sheet on Saturday, but he was all over the field against the Gators. His presence could be felt in coverage and against the run, and his leadership played a big role in holding Jeff Driskel to another putrid showing. 247Sports named Collins the top defensive performer in the SEC for Week 4.