College Football: Week 4 Recap, Pick Results and Final Thought

Week 4 of the college football season consisted of the nation's Top Five teams making critical plays to avoid being upset. 

A big upset occurred at Death Valley, as Dak Prescott and the Mississippi State Bulldogs knocked off LSU, 34-29, for the first time since 1999.

Arizona scored an unanswered 19 points with three minutes and 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter and defeated Cal 49-45 on an incredible Hail Mary pass as time expired. 

No. 1 Florida State got all it could handle from rival No. 22 Clemson on Saturday night. The Seminoles, who were without Jameis Winston, held on for dear life as they tried to keep their national championship hopes alive. Two missed field goals by Clemson kicker Ammon Lakip hurt the Tigers, but it was a late fumble in the fourth quarter that was the real heartbreaker for Dabo Swinney’s squad. 

With about two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Florida State quarterback Sean Maguire threw an interception that appeared to be the dagger for the Seminoles. Two plays later, though, Clemson running back C.J. Davidson fumbled on the Florida State 14-yard line, and the ball was recovered by the Seminoles. The fumble caused the game to go into overtime.  

Swinney opted to go for 4th-and-1 on the first possession in overtime, and the Tigers were unable to get a first down. The Seminoles took advantage of Clemson’s missed opportunity, and running back Karlos Williams ran in for a 12-yard touchdown to give the Seminoles a 23-17 victory.  

While No. 1 barely survived, the No. 2-ranked Oregon Ducks were in for a surprise on the road at Washington State. The Ducks headed into Pullman on a seven-game winning streak against the Cougars, but Mike Leach had his offense ready to go.

Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday passed for an impressive 436 yards and four touchdowns against the Ducks defense and was in position to pull off the big-time upset. The Cougars came up just short, though, as Halliday was sacked on fourth down by Oregon linebacker Tony Washington with 3:34 remaining in the fourth quarter. It was good enough for the Ducks to escape with a 38-31 win. 

Heisman front-runner Marcus Mariota completed 21 of 25 passes for 329 yards and five touchdowns in Oregon's win.   

Nick Saban’s No. 3-ranked Crimson Tide outlasted Florida 42-21 in Tuscaloosa, while No. 4 Oklahoma defeated Big 12 foe West Virginia on the road 45-33. Auburn also hung on to defeat a tough Kansas State team 20-14 on Thursday night. 

BYU and East Carolina continued to improve on their impressive seasons thus far with big wins over ACC opponents. The Cougars improved to 4-0 behind quarterback Taysom Hill with a 41-33 home win over Virginia. After losing at South Carolina 33-23 on Sept. 6, the Pirates defeated Virginia Tech and North Carolina in back-to-back weeks. Quarterback Shane Carden led the East Carolina offense to a school-record 789 yards and defeated the in-state Tar Heels by an unexpected 70-41 score. 

Games Attended

No. 5 Auburn 20 at No. 20 Kansas State 14

Kansas State had more than enough chances to upset No. 5 Auburn on Thursday night. An Auburn interception that bounced off Wildcat wide receiver Tyler Lockett's shoulder pads and ended up in Tiger defensive back Jonathan Jones' hands in the end zone during the first quarter along with three missed field goals were the deciding factors in Bill Snyder’s team dropping to 2-1 on the season.

The Kansas State defense contained quarterback Nick Marshall for a majority of the game, but Marshall's pass on third down to wide receiver D’haquille Williams with about two minutes left in the fourth quarter sealed Auburn's 20-14 win. 

Miami (Fla) 31 at No. 24 Nebraska 41

Photo Credit: Josh Sachnoff

It was a matchup between two programs that have faced off in four Orange Bowls and one BCS title game in the Rose Bowl. True freshman Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya had a career-high 359 passing yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Hurricanes hung around and were driving down the field to tie or take the lead late in the third quarter after a Tommy Armstrong interception, but a fumble by Duke Johnson, which was returned for a 57-yard touchdown by cornerback Josh Mitchell, seemed to be the turning point in the game.

Nebraska star running back Ameer Abdullah had Heisman-like numbers, as he rushed for 229 yards and scored three touchdowns. Abdullah also passed Heisman winner Johnny Rodgers as Nebraska’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards with 5,760 yards. 

In a chippy second half, the Huskers eventually put away the Hurricanes 41-31. 

Pick Results

Overall Record: 12-8

Week 4 Record:  4-1

Note: Team in bold indicates author’s pick

Prediction: Auburn 35, Kansas State 27

Result: Auburn 20, Kansas State 14

Prediction: Alabama 34, Florida 18

Result: Alabama 42, Florida 21

Prediction: LSU 42, Mississippi State 28

Result: Mississippi State 34, LSU 29

Prediction: Florida State 31, Clemson 17

Result: Florida State 23, Clemson 17

Prediction: Nebraska 38, Miami (Fla) 20

Result: Nebraska 41, Miami (Fla) 31  

Final Thought

Mississippi State had arguably its best win under sixth-year head coach Dan Mullen on Saturday night. It was the first time the Bulldogs had defeated the Tigers on the road since 1991. Junior dual-threat quarterback Dak Prescott proved to the nation that he is the real deal, as he completed 15 of 24 passes for two touchdowns. Prescott also rushed for 105 yards and one touchdown. 

Despite the defense giving up 19 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, it held the LSU rush attack to just 89 yards and allowed the Tigers only two first downs on 13 third-down attempts. 

Mullen’s squad defeated its first Top 10 team on the road since 1986. It had not defeated a ranked team since winning at Florida in 2010. 

In the toughest division in football, which consists of currently undefeated Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M and Ole Miss, is Mississippi State a dark-horse contender to win the SEC West?  

The Bulldogs will get a bye week before hosting highly ranked Texas A&M and Auburn in back-to-back weeks. Big wins over the Aggies and the Tigers could give them a chance to be undefeated when traveling to Alabama, where they haven't won since 2006.