Week Four College Football Winners And Losers

If you watched college football last weekend, you would know that four top ten teams lost, while two mid-major programs made major moves to stay alive in the BCS race.

Iowa beat Penn State at Beaver Stadium, Oregon straight up dominated Cal, and Virginia Tech humiliated Miami to take control of the ACC.  Boise St jumped up the rankings to the fifth spot, while Houston, another mid-major powerhouse, escaped with a win against Texas Tech, where Case Keenum further proved his Heisman legitimacy.

Here’s what else I learned throughout week four in college football.

The best conference race will definitely take place in the Pac-10

Heading into their game against Oregon in Eugene, the Cal Golden Bears seemed like a dominant team in the driver’s seat for the Pac-10 title.

However Cal dropped the ball, while the Ducks stomped them on all levels of play.

With both USC and Cal each owning one early loss, their showdown this weekend in Berkley will leave the loser in a very difficult situation.

Therefore the conference race between the Golden Bears, the Trojans, the Ducks and even Stanford will continue to be exciting throughout the entire year.

Iowa will contend for the Big-10 title

With unbelievable defense and a solid offense, the Hawkeyes have a great chance at competing for the Big Ten title and could have a chance at a Rose Bowl berth.

Against Penn State this weekend, Iowa held the Nittany Lions to less than 300 total yards while scoring 14 non-offensive points.

With a difficult schedule ahead, the Hawkeyes will not remain in the BCS title race, but it will be interesting to see how they finish in the conference race. Their trip to the Horseshoe in November should be an unbelievable battle on all levels.

Houston will go 12-0 and will play in a BCS game

The Cougars are 3-0, and if they had not had a bye in Week Two, you could make the case that so far Houston is a top five team.

While some schools like Florida have yet to play a team with any real talent, Case Keenum and his squad have two major wins against big conference teams.

Ranked 12^th in the country at this point, Houston will run the table throughout the year in Conference USA play. They will be on the road against Mississippi State in two weeks where they will yet again beat a major conference school.

Houston has a legitimate shot at going undefeated and should be taken seriously throughout the season.

Alabama is currently the best team in the country

With victories over Virginia Tech and Arkansas, the Crimson Tide are 4-0 and in my opinion have the best set of wins in the country.

Entering this season, Greg McElroy was the one question mark on Nick Saban’s team. The first year quarterback has played exceptionally well and proven to be a big time player.

The defense is relentless and will continue to pound any SEC school standing in their way.

Alabama will have no problem going 8-0 when they face off against LSU at home. Once they beat the Tigers, they will remain undefeated and eventually play Florida for the SEC title.

Cincinnati will impact the BCS race and VT is by far the best in the ACC

In two weeks, the Bearcats will be on the road against South Florida.

At this point in time, Cincinnati is clearly the best team in the Big East. If they can beat the Bulls on the road, they could win out during the second half of their season and will then put themselves in national title conversations.

On the other hand, Virginia Tech has fought their way back into the title race. After losing to Alabama in week one, the Hokies have stormed back by beating two top 25 teams in back-to-back wins.

After their domination of Miami, VT is clearly in a class of their own in the ACC, and it will be interesting to see how the rest of their season plays out.