Winners and Losers from Week 4 of College Football
Week 4 featured less drama than the first three weeks, but a couple of big results still moved the needle.
Besides, from a "Winner and Losers" perspective, lopsided games are just as good as close ones. Especially when they take place between ranked opponents—and they did this week in East Lansing, Michigan, and Oxford, Mississippi—they leave a trail of takeaways for both teams.
Of particular note in Week 4 were big-name coaches who needed strong performances and failed to get them. The fallout from this weekend will play out over the week to come.
There were, however, positives to outweigh those negatives.
Let's take a look at what we learned.
Note: This post will be updated as new scores go final.
Winner: Clemson's Playoff Hopes
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Welcome, Clemson Tigers, to the 2016 season.
After winning a low-scoring slugfest at Auburn and struggling to put away Troy, the defending national runner-ups finally played well against FBS competition, beating Georgia Tech on the road, 26-7.
That margin might not look huge, but this game was never competitive. After the first quarter, Clemson led the yardage battle 174 to minus-1, and the defense hardly let up from there.
Yellow Jackets head coach Paul Johnson entered 5-0 at home against ranked opponents when his team was unranked, per Chip Patterson of CBS Sports. The roster has regressed from the 2014 Orange Bowl version, but it's still a quality team, especially at home.
Clemson should feel great about this performance. If and when the offense clicks, it's scary to think how good this team can be.
Loser: Michigan State's Playoff Hopes
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Another one of last year's playoff teams, Michigan State, basically ensured that it would not be back this season.
One week after upsetting Notre Dame in South Bend, the Spartans laid an egg on their home field and lost 30-6 to Wisconsin. The Badgers deserve more credit than the Spartans deserve blame, but this was still an ugly way to go down.
"People have been saying some good things about us," head coach Mark Dantonio said after the game, per Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal. "Now we'll take some shots."
And yes, if Michigan State wins out, it can still make the playoff. The problem is winning out seems highly unlikely. Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and BYU all loom on the schedule, and the Spartans no longer have any margin for error.
Last week's game disguised it, but the preseason signs of regression turned out to be real.
It had to happen sooner or later, right?
Winner: Alex Hornibrook
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So many players and coaches deserve credit for Wisconsin's performance, but quarterback Alex Hornibrook stands out.
The redshirt freshman made his first career start on the road against a Top 10 opponent and looked completely at ease. He showed great command of the pocket, trusted his rock-solid protection and stood in to make big throw after big throw.
Wisconsin converted 44 percent of its third downs, including seven of its first 12. The highlight was a deep corner throw from Hornibrook to Jazz Peavy in the third quarter, which prompted ESPN.com's Travis Haney to say that "Hornibrook [is] showing something Badgers haven't had at QB since…Russell Wilson."
Wilson comparisons might be premature—Hornibrook finished with just 195 passing yards—but it's hard not to get excited. Head coach Paul Chryst was the offensive coordinator in 2011, when Wilson set the FBS record for single-season passer rating, and Saturday's game plan ranks among the best he's ever devised.
Add this newfound offense to a defense that, despite losing coordinator Dave Aranda, appears to be one of the best in college football, and Wisconsin is a bona fide playoff contender. Wins over LSU and Michigan State will look great on its final resume.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Loser: Clay Helton
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USC showed signs of improvement in a 31-27 loss at Utah, but a loss is a still a loss, and 1-3 is still 1-3.
It's the first time the Trojans have started this poorly since 2001—Pete Carroll's first season. And while yes, one could spin that into Clay Helton following in Carroll's footsteps, doing so requires Simone Biles-level mental gymnastics.
It's the only way Helton has reminded fans of Carroll.
Add that to the bizarre week of message board rumors—freshman offensive lineman E.J. Price might not have punched Helton, but he is transferring out of the program, per Yahoo Sports—and the fact the current athletic director, Lynn Swann, is not the one who hired Helton, and you have a first-year coach who's undeniably on the hot seat.
The middle part of the schedule is easier (vs. Arizona State, vs. Colorado, at Arizona, vs. Cal), but the Trojans have no margin for error. They need to sweep those games, get up to 5-3 and build momentum before a difficult last four matchups (vs. Oregon, at Washington, at UCLA and vs. Notre Dame).
If they enter that stretch with four losses, there's a real chance they don't go bowling. If that happens, Helton is toast.
Winner: Dalvin Cook
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It was nice to see Dalvin Cook—and in a broader sense, Florida State—rebound and play as well as we expected all offseason.
The electric junior running back gained 64 yards on 17 touches in last week's loss at Louisville and hadn't rushed for 100 yards all season. But on Saturday, against a near-Top 25 South Florida team, he rushed for more than 100 yards in the first quarter.
He finished the game with 267 rushing yards and 62 receiving yards—career highs on the ground and in yards from scrimmage. It was the most yards from scrimmage by a Power Five player since 2014, when Oklahoma's Samaje Perine broke the FBS single-game rushing record against Kansas.
Florida State comfortably rode Cook to a 55-35 victory and appears to be back on track after last week's debacle.
Head coach Jimbo Fisher sounded angry in his postgame press conference, per Corey Clark of the Tallahassee Democrat, but if not for Cook, he would have been through the roof.
Loser: Brian VanGorder
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After losing 38-35 against Duke, someone's head needs to roll at Notre Dame.
There's a good chance that someone is Brian VanGorder.
The third-year defensive coordinator was already on the hot seat after Texas and Michigan State carved holes in his defense, and Saturday's first-half performance, where Duke scored more points (28) than it had in eight quarters against Northwestern and Wake Forest combined (27), was worse than either of those.
According to Angelo Di Carlo of WNDU-TV, reports from the field heard the student section chanting "Fire VanGorder" by the second quarter.
Things did get better in the third quarter, when Notre Dame shut Duke out, but the Blue Devils responded with two fourth-quarter scoring drives to erase a seven-point deficit. They finished with 498 well-distributed yards of offense: 290 passing and 208 on the ground.
It also doesn't help that Michigan State, as discussed earlier, managed two paltry field goals on its home field against Wisconsin. That was the offense that hung 36 points in South Bend, just as Duke's was the offense that scored 13 points last week against Northwestern.
VanGorder might not make it to next weekend.
Winner: Tennessee
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After one half, Tennessee looked lost.
The offense couldn't catch, the defense allowed big plays, the coaches had no answer. Thirty minutes from losing its 12th straight game to Florida, it ran into its locker room to the deafening sound of boos.
But from the moment the second half kicked, the game was different. The Vols turned a 21-3 deficit into a 38-21 lead and eventual 38-28 win, adjusting to what they saw and clicking in all three phases. At one point in the second half, they'd outgained the Gators 319 yards to 11.
Head coach Butch Jones and quarterback Joshua Dobbs did the most to improve their legacies, transforming from goats to heroes in front of our eyes. Jones proved he could make significant adjustments, while Dobbs overcame early drops to post career highs in passing yards (319) and passing touchdowns (four).
Between this and Florida and Georgia both losing (as we'll get to in a second), Tennessee now has a leg up in the SEC East.
Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee, who was high on the Vols all offseason, can enjoy a piping hot mug of frog tea.
Loser: Georgia
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The inevitable finally happened to Georgia, which entered Week 4 undefeated but uninspiring, then lost in decisive fashion.
"Decisive" might actually be an understatement. After 37 minutes, Ole Miss led 45-0 and had gained 453 yards of offense. Georgia scored two touchdowns to make the final score (45-14) more respectable, but 31 points is a deceptive margin.
Ole Miss could have easily won by 50.
This isn't an indictment of Kirby Smart's long-term potential. It's fine for a first-year head coach with a true freshman quarterback to lose a road game against a preseason Top 15 team. When you think about it, the deck was stacked against him.
This is, however, an indictment of Smart's debut season. It frames the first three weeks in a totally different light and begs the question of how far this team might fall.
This isn't a very good football team, which could never be said of Mark Richt's squads. It doesn't help that Richt is doing so well at Miami.
Rest assured it will be a fun week on Georgia talk radio.
Winners: Mitch Trubisky and Ryan Switzer
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Mitch Trubiksy and Ryan Switzer put up video game numbers against Pittsburgh, leading North Carolina to a 37-36 win.
Trubisky completed 35 of 46 passes for 453 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions, while Switzer had 16 receptions for 208 yards and one score.
The Tar Heels saved the best for last, too, driving 63 yards on 17 plays to score the game-winning touchdown. If that seems like an enormous number of plays, it's because the Tar Heels converted three fourth downs.
Two of those conversions went from Trubisky to Switzer, including the last and most important one on 4th-and-9 from Pittsburgh's 26-yard line. Five plays later, in the final two seconds, Trubisky found Bug Howard for the game-winning score.
After squandering a prime chance to beat Georgia in Week 1, Trubisky and UNC's offense have bounced back in a big way.
It's going to be tough to dethrone them in the ACC Coastal.
Loser: Pittsburgh's Pass Defense
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For the second straight week, a quarterback-receiver tandem has made our "Winners" list against Pittsburgh.
Trubisky and Switzer did it this week after Mason Rudolph (540 passing yards) and James Washington (296 receiving yards) of Oklahoma State did it last week.
Both times, Pitt scored 36-plus points and lost.
This wouldn't be as brutal if not for head coach Pat Narduzzi's defensive pedigree. He came to Pitt from Michigan State, where he served as defensive coordinator of a unit deemed the "No Fly Zone." That 2013 Spartans secondary was one of the best in recent memory.
Pitt is on the right track long-term, but this unit is nowhere near that.
In fact, it appears to be the opposite.
Winner: Colorado at Michigan
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Every year, early games look decent in the moment but far better when viewed in hindsight.
This year, Colorado at Michigan qualifies.
The Wolverines bounced back after struggling—or appearing to struggle—against Colorado in Week 3 by crushing Penn State, 49-10. They won the yardage battle 515-191, almost doubling Penn State's total yards (191) with just rushing yards (326).
Meanwhile, up in Eugene, Colorado scored a statement win over Oregon, 41-38. Even without starting quarterback Sefo Liufau—whose injury cost the Buffaloes any chance of beating Michigan—it gained 593 yards against the Ducks' porous defense. Backup QB Steven Montez was a revelation, accounting for 468 of those yards on his own (333 through the air, 135 on the ground).
Combine those two outcomes, and last week looks even more impressive for both teams. Michigan should not feel embarrassed for trailing Colorado at halftime, and Colorado should feel encouraged for playing Michigan nose-to-nose.
Michigan is a serious playoff contender, and Colorado is a serious Pac-12 dark horse.
We just didn't know that for sure when they shared a field.
Loser: Mark Helfrich
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How far has Oregon fallen?
How far might it still have to fall?
Both are fair questions after Colorado beat the Ducks in Eugene. Last year's 62-20 loss to Utah was a nadir in its own right (and probably still more damaging), but Saturday's upset felt different.
It felt sort of…unremarkable.
That's how far the program has fallen since Chip Kelly left for the NFL. Mark Helfrich guided Kelly's leftovers to the CFP National Championship Game at the conclusion of the 2014 season, but since then—when the team has truly been his—it's been two straight disappointing outputs.
"Oregon lost at home to Colorado, and the Chip Kelly era feels a long, long time ago," Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated tweeted. "Two brutal weeks in a row for Mark Helfrich."
You can feel the hot seat warming up from here.
Winner: Wake Forest
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Wake Forest is 4-0!
I repeat: Wake Forest is 4-0!
The Deacons made it happen with a 33-28 win at Indiana, coming back despite losing the yardage battle, 611-352.
But there's no need to dive into "numbers." The only numbers that matter are four and zero. Wake Forest is 4-0, and one of the teams it beat, Duke, just upset Notre Dame in South Bend.
Not much else needs to be said here. Great work by head coach Dave Clawson, who finally appears to have this team making progress.
A bowl game this year would be massive for the program.
Loser: Les Miles
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This one was a given.
Whichever head coach lost Saturday's "Hot Seat Bowl" was guaranteed to end up on the "Loser" list.
It doesn't matter that LSU stayed close and even appeared, for a brief second, to have won on a last-second touchdown that was wiped off the board when the replay booth declared the ball was snapped after time had expired. It doesn't matter that Auburn is actually pretty good.
All that matters is that Les Miles, who entered on the hot seat, failed to guide his guys to 14 points against a team with a losing record, and that LSU lost because of it. The ending is what we'll talk about tomorrow, but the loss and Miles' future is what we'll talk about Monday through Friday.
This wasn't exactly a death knell, but it was a step in the wrong direction.
Winner: Memphis
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Bowling Green isn't what it used to be, but Memphis made it look like a Division III team, beating the Falcons 77-3.
It was 56-3 at halftime and 77-3 after 46 minutes and three seconds, both of which are jaw-dropping numbers. As Paul Myerberg of USA Today noted, Memphis once scored 173 points in a season under former head coach Larry Porter.
That wasn't in the 1940s. It was six years ago.
The loss of head coach Justin Fuente stung this winter, but Mike Norvell has come in and kept Memphis in tip-top shape. Norvell is an offensive mastermind in his own right, and Tennessee transfer Riley Ferguson has been comparable to Paxton Lynch at quarterback. On Saturday, he threw six touchdowns to six different receivers.
Memphis is now one of three teams, along with Boise State and San Diego State, that could challenge Houston for the Group of Five major bowl bid. If the Tigers play this well at Ole Miss next week, their case gets that much more interesting.
Loser: UCLA +3.5 Bettors
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UCLA held Stanford without a touchdown for 59 minutes, and even after allowing one (and the ensuing extra point) with 24 seconds to play, the Bruins were only three points behind. Bettors who picked the Bruins plus-3.5 were sitting pretty for a cover.
But then, they experienced the worst beat of the season…and one of the worst in recent college football history.
On the final play of the game, Bruins quarterback Josh Rosen dropped back for a Hail Mary. He held the ball as long as he could to let his receivers get near the end zone. Just before his throw, he was sacked from behind and the ball came flying out.
All Stanford had to do was jump on it, but defensive end Solomon Thomas caught it in stride, and running to the end zone was just as easy as going down. The worst part was the effort—or lack thereof—of UCLA's linemen, who clearly had no intention of intervening and allowed Thomas to run unimpeded to an across-the-board Stanford cover.
According to Odds Shark, the line ranged from plus-1.5 to plus-3.5, depending on the book (though most closed at plus-three), so this definitely had an impact out in the desert. It goes down on the same list of horrible beats as Northwestern plus-5.5 against Ohio State in 2013.
To anyone on the wrong side of it: Stay strong. We're all here for you.
It doesn't get much worse than this one.
Winner: The Big 12's Playoff Hopes
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The Big 12 entered Week 4 with two undefeated teams and will leave with two undefeated teams.
As far as it's concerned, that's a win.
Both Baylor and West Virginia took care of business against quality opponents, Oklahoma State and BYU, respectively. The Bears beat the Cowboys 35-24, scoring their first big win under head coach Jim Grobe, while the Mountaineers held on to beat a Cougars team that always plays close games, 35-32.
That's great news for the conference in the wake of Week 3, when Oklahoma suffered its second loss and Texas lost at Cal. The Longhorns and TCU still have an outside chance of making the playoff, but Baylor and West Virginia are at this point the Big 12's best shots.
Baylor's next two games are at Iowa State and against Kansas, so there's a good chance it advances to 6-0. West Virginia gets Kansas State at home and Texas Tech on the road, which bodes well for 5-0 also.
Neither team has a great chance to run the table, but the longer they stay undefeated, the longer the Big 12 can dream.
Week 4 moved it one step closer.
Loser: Arkansas…Again
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Texas A&M beat Arkansas for the fifth consecutive year, winning the battle of undefeated teams, 45-24.
This one didn't go to overtime like the past two, but it followed a similar script. Arkansas played better in the first half than the second, gave itself a realistic shot to win but couldn't make the plays that mattered most.
Specifically, it got stuffed on 4th-and-goal from the Aggies' 1-yard line when the game was tied 17-17. Instead of calling for a downhill run, head coach Bret Bielema abandoned his M.O. and ran a jet sweep, which the Aggies sniffed out for a five-yard loss.
On their second play after the turnover, quarterback Trevor Knight found receiver Josh Reynolds—a constant source of misery for the Razorbacks—for a 92-yard touchdown along the right sideline.
That's what set the wheels of the blowout in motion, as the Aggies scored touchdowns on their next three drives also and never looked back on the lead.
"At this point you have to wonder if Arkansas fans will stop buying tickets for this game," Zach Barnett of Football Scoop tweeted. "This is Charlie Brown and Lucy territory now."
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
