10 Biggest Questions Facing Top 25 Teams Heading into Week 4
Week 4 of the college football season, similar to Week 2, doesn't have many marquee games on paper. However, what Week 4 does have is a heavy Pac-12 flavor. Three huge games out West will determine the early-season Pac-12 landscape: Utah at Oregon, USC at Arizona State and UCLA at Arizona.
Elsewhere, TCU hopes its attrition-plagued defense can withstand Texas Tech's high-powered offense. Ohio State still has to find its quarterback and a solution to its sluggish offense, and Georgia Tech looks to get back on the winning track against Duke.
What are the top 10 questions facing Associated Press Top 25 teams heading into Week 4? We provide the answers based on last week's results, upcoming matchups and more.
10. Will Stanford Quarterback Kevin Hogan Be Availabile vs. Oregon State?
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Of the Pac-12's quarterback questions heading into Week 4—more on them later in this piece—Stanford's would appear to be the most dire. Kevin Hogan sustained an ankle injury in last week's win over USC, and his availability for Friday's game at Oregon State is iffy. The good news for the Cardinal is...it's Oregon State.
"He probably won't practice until late in the week," Stanford head coach David Shaw said via Andy Drukarev of CardinalSports.com.
The ankle sprain isn't as bad as it could have been, Shaw added, but the fact Hogan played as well as he did on it against the Trojans speaks volumes. It wasn't his biggest game statistically, but Hogan was exceptional in the passing game and effective in the run game.
If Hogan can't go, Shaw will rely on "some combination" of Keller Chryst and Ryan Burns. It shouldn't be a problem against Oregon State in theory, but we've already seen "Good Stanford" and "Bad Stanford" within a matter of weeks.
9. Can Utah Establish a Passing Game Against Oregon?
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The availability of Utah quarterback Travis Wilson is up in the air for the Utes' road game at Oregon. Wilson sustained a sprained shoulder in the Week 2 win over Utah State, allowing for Kendal Thompson to start against Fresno State last week.
Whoever starts for the Utes, the question becomes whether they can establish a passing game. Running back Devontae Booker is a sure thing, but so, too, has been the Ducks' porous passing defense. Oregon ranks last in the Pac-12 in passing yards allowed—and is .1 yards behind Cal for last place in yards per pass attempt—and passing touchdowns allowed.
Ironically, Oregon played its best game against the pass against Michigan State, limiting the Spartans to under 200 yards through the air. Eastern Washington is as good a FCS team as you'll find, so it's not a huge surprise that Oregon gave up 438 yards to the Eagles. However, it is curious that Oregon allowed Georgia State to throw for 318 yards.
Can Utah take advantage and balance out the offense to complement Booker? That might be the key to an upset.
8. Will Alabama Stick with Jake Coker Against Louisiana-Monroe?
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Alabama's quarterback "controversy" isn't actually that much of a controversy—or, at least, it feels like it shouldn't be. Yet, head coach Nick Saban was tentative on naming Jake Coker the starter heading into the game against Louisiana-Monroe.
"At this point, providing he does the things he has to do, I think we'll start him in this game," Saban said (via Michael Casagrande, AL.com). Per John Talty of AL.com, Coker looked solid in the media's limited viewing of practice.
Saban threw a wrench in the quarterback pecking order by having Cooper Bateman trot on to the field first last week against Ole Miss, though Bateman was eventually replaced by Coker. Something unpredictable like that is about the only thing that should prevent Coker from being the presumed starter for Louisiana-Monroe.
Assuming Coker is the starter, will Saban stick with him for good?
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Can USC's Pass Rush Get to Arizona State QB Mike Bercovici?
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Though he was sacked three times by USC in Week 3, Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan had a generally clean pocket from which to throw. The result was an effective passing game that skewered the Trojans defense.
In order to avoid an 0-2 start in Pac-12 play, USC has do a better job of getting to Arizona State quarterback Mike Bercovici. The majority of USC's pass rush has come from the linebacker level, which is what you'd expect with a playmaker like Su'a Cravens at that level. However, what kind of push can USC get with its defensive front? Youth and injuries plagued USC along its D-line this offseason and it's shown up in a big way so far.
We know USC can score with anyone in the country, but the concerning part about this team is how easily its been pushed around in the trenches at times. The last thing USC should want is to give Bercovici time to find dynamic weapon D.J. Foster.
6. Can TCU's Short-Handed Defense Hold Up Against Texas Tech?
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Among the teams to be ravaged by injuries and general attrition this year is TCU. Ahead of their road trip to Texas Tech, the Frogs have been without the following defensive players: linebacker Sammy Douglas, safety Kenny Iloka, cornerback Ranthony Texada, defensive end James McFarland, defensive tackle Davion Pierson, linebacker Mike Freeze, defensive lineman Terrell Lathan and defensive end Mike Tuaua.
Anyone want to suit up for TCU? Anyone? Anyone?
The Frogs, with all their new defensive starters, will face one of the top offenses in the Big 12. Red Raiders quarterback Patrick Mahomes II has been a machine, averaging 386 yards of total offense per game. That ranks third in the Big 12 and is one spot ahead of TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin, of all people.
Don't be surprised if a shootout breaks loose in Lubbock. The question is whether TCU's defense make at least a few key stops.
5. How Has Oregon Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. Recovered from His Finger Injury?
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Utah won't be the only team in Eugene, Oregon with quarterback questions. Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. sat out last week's game against Georgia State with a broken index finger. The Ducks won 61-28, so no harm there. This Saturday's game against Utah is obviously a different story.
Adams told Andrew Greif of the Oregonian that his finger is "80 percent" healthy, which would lead one to believe that he'll start against the Utes. But don't try getting an answer out of Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich.
"He looks very similar to last week, so how's that?" Helfrich told Greif. "It's going to be similar to last week in it will be right up until the end of the week before we make that call."
If Adams does play, the focus will be on his throwing accuracy. The first-year starter for the Ducks was excellent against Michigan State, but he had a few inaccurate throws that may have been a result of his injury.
4. Will Oklahoma State's Defense Be Able to Defend Texas QB Jerrod Heard?
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Texas quarterback Jerrod Heard accounted for a school-record 527 yards of offense against Cal. Suddenly, new life has been injected into the Longhorns ahead of Saturday's home game against Oklahoma State. Can the Cowboys do what the Golden Bears could not and corral Heard?
As Cal coach Sonny Dykes put simply, Heard is "really, really fast." (H/t Larry Brown Sports.)
Keeping Heard in the pocket and forcing him to make plays with his arm is Oklahoma State's best chance at stifling Texas' suddenly potent offense. Heard doesn't have the strongest arm, and chunk yardage gains through the air against Cal were largely either jump balls or to wide-open receivers.
The Cowboys have an experienced defense and the strength of this team is in the D-line. If this defense is going to contain Heard, it starts with that front four.
3. Can UCLA's Defense Overcome Injuries Against Arizona?
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TCU isn't the only defense plagued by injuries. UCLA has lost three key members of its defense to injuries as well: defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes (knee), cornerback Fabian Moreau (foot) and now linebacker Myles Jack (knee). Bruins head coach confirmed Jack's injury to reporters on Wednesday.
UCLA's next game is a tough road trip to Arizona and the Wildcats currently have the top scoring offense in the Pac-12 at 54.3 points per game. Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports writes that juniors Jayon Brown and Cameron Judge are in line to replace Jack at linebacker, but there's no replacing Jack's athleticism, instincts and leadership.
The Bruins are banged up at all three levels of the defense. Jack's season-ending injury is the most devastating, but all three are bad in their own right. The silver lining is that cornerback Ish Adams, previously suspended for an accusation of theft, was reinstated this week.
The development of freshman quarterback Josh Rosen was the biggest storyline coming into the season and his rough performance against BYU leaves some room for growth. But the primary concern now has to be how UCLA's defense handles Arizona.
2. What Type of Impact Will Arizona Linebacker Scooby Wright III Have vs. UCLA?
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The last time we saw Arizona's unanimous All-American linebacker Scooby Wright III in pads, he was on the training table getting his knee examined in the season opener. That injury was later reported by Brian Hamilton of Sports Illustrated to be a torn meniscus for which he had surgery.
The good news for Arizona is that Wright is going to return this season—perhaps as soon as Saturday night against UCLA. A report from the ESPN.com stated Wright was planning to practice this week. The original timeline for his recovery was three to four weeks.
If Wright is able to play, what kind of impact will he have? What's his speed like? Will the coaching staff try to limit his game action in an attempt not to re-injure the knee? Wright vs. the Bruins run game, led by Paul Perkins, will be the matchup to watch if Wright does take the field.
With UCLA so banged up on defense, it would be a huge boost for Arizona to get its top defender back.
1. Will Ohio State's Offense Get Back on Track Against Western Michigan?
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Here's what we know about Ohio State's game against Western Michigan, courtesy of B/R colleague Ben Axelrod: Cardale Jones will be the starting quarterback. Head coach Urban Meyer made that announcement on Wednesday, adding that Jones hasn't been beaten out by anyone else (i.e. J.T. Barrett) in practice.
Here's what we don't know: whether Jones will show any noticeable improvement—he's averaging 111 passing yards per game with two touchdowns and three picks—or if the offense will get out of its current rut. This is a team that was turnover-plagued and recorded less than 300 yards of offense against Northern Illinois in Week 3.
And here's betting Western Michigan won't be nearly as conservative as NIU was.
So, Jones is the starter. However, the Big Ten Network's Tom Dienhart asks the question on everyone's mind: If Jones struggles, does Meyer quickly pull the trigger in favor of Barrett again?
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
