Week 4 College Football Recap

We got to watch six ranked matchups this week and they did not disappoint. This Saturday we found some real National Championship contenders and discovered a couple frauds on the way, and in our minds we have a clear Heisman frontrunner.

Oregon vs. USC

A top-20 Big Ten ranked matchup that didn’t follow the script at all. Desmond Stephens laid a late dirty hit to Dante Moore’s head as he was sliding down. For anyone watching Dante Moore’s reaction after the hit it looked eerily similar to Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion in late September of 2022. They both had a fencing response which is usually a sign in many cases of a significant brain injury. It is a very scary situation and we will keep Moore in our prayers here. For the rest of the game Dylan Raiola took over for the Ducks and proved to be one of the most impactful transfers this season. He threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns after taking over in the second quarter. This was the real bounce back game for the Ducks after their slip up against Oklahoma State. Last night proved why Oregon is still a serious contender for the National Championship.

LSU vs. Texas A&M

Bouncing back after an emotional loss in Oxford last week, the Tigers sent out a message to the rest of the SEC this weekend. LSU’s defense held the Aggies to 197 total yards, and stopped them on their only trip to the red zone. Yes, Marcel Reed is a below average quarterback, but the dominance of the Tigers’ defense should not be overlooked. Having a dominant defense takes pressure off the offense, and it showed with the confidence they played with yesterday. They put up a 35-point performance with 506 total yards. To put that into comparison, Miami had 572 total yards against Central Michigan. The Tigers’ dominant performance over the Aggies this weekend should not be overlooked, and by the end of the season they could construct one intimidating resume. 

Ole Miss vs. Florida

Vegas and the sportsbooks got this one right. Ole Miss went into this game as underdogs and many people were confused why, but our questions were answered quickly on Saturday. After an emotional win last week against LSU, the Rebels didn’t have much in the tank it looked like. Last week was Mississippi’s national championship and there weren't many places to go after that. The Gators ran the ball, racking up over 300 rushing yards. They say no one makes it out of the Swamp alive and after this 24-point victory against a top-five opponent, teams should be scared to go down to Gainesville.

Iowa vs. Michigan

This game warmed the hearts of college football fans around the country. With all the controversy going around with Michigan after their “win” over Western Michigan, this is exactly what we needed. It wasn’t a dominant performance by the Hawkeyes but they can thank their special teams for the 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the first quarter that tied the game and kept morale high for Iowa while playing away at Michigan in the Big House. Michigan came out on top in what seems like every stat category except for turnovers, and they still couldn’t pull off the win at home. Iowa won it on a 91-yard touchdown drive capped off by a 16-yard game-winning touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone. If there is one takeaway from watching Michigan in these first couple weeks, it's that the Big House isn’t as intimidating as it used to be. You have two teams come in there and beat you on your home turf (including Western Michigan). That stadium doesn’t affect opponents as much as it used to.