Week 4 of college football did not have as much anticipation as previous weeks but turned out to be an exciting week. Shocking endings and unusual high powered clashes brought by realignment highlighted this week.
1: Tennessee dominates Oklahoma on the road
Freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava and the Vols stepped into a packed Memorial Stadium for a realigned SEC clash. Both teams entered the game ranked in the top 15 and this earned college gameday for week four. For the Sooners this was their first marquee matchup as members of the SEC. Tennessee entered Saturday boasting one of the country’s top offenses and their defense proved to be the difference in this contest. Holding the Sooners to only 222 total yards of offense and forcing a safety. The Volunteer defense proved a lot of their skeptics wrong this Saturday and will look to build off of this performance. As for Oklahoma they have now decided to make a quarterback change and will face an uphill battle to satisfy their fans.
2: Utah emerges as the frontrunner in the Big 12
Even without star quarterback Cam Rising the Utes took down the 14th ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys on the road. The Utes are a physically well coached team led by Kyle Whittingham, and will impose their physicality on subpar Big 12 competition. If Utah can get healthy and stay healthy they have all the makings of a playoff team in the 12 team format. Whether or not how they would fare against a Sec or Big 10 team in the CFP is a different question. Micah Bernard at running back provides the Utes a reliable source of offense even without Rising at quarterback. There are CFP aspirations in Salt Lake City and I believe Kyle Whittingham’s squad has the potential to make it.
3: Michigan’s ground attack proves to be too much for USC
Michigan’s lack of aerial attack will prove to be their fatal flaw the rest of the season, but their ground game was enough to fend off the Trojans on Saturday. The Wolverines debuted Alex Orji giving him his first start of his career. Orji, being a primarily running quarterback, played a part in the Michigan ground and pound scheme. Orji threw for just 32 yards on 7-12 passing in the game, which was in large part due to Michigan’s 45 total rushing attempts. The Wolverines will not be able to sustain success without having a respectable passing offense but against teams with worse interior lineman they can have success.
4: Late-game brilliance lifts Colorado to a hard-fought victory
Coach Prime and the Buffaloes never fail to provide must watch entertainment. They hosted Baylor this past Saturday and trailed the majority of the game until the final moments. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw a Hail Mary touchdown to Leontay Wester to force overtime. Colorado got the ball first and punched in a touchdown then backed up against their own goal line Travis Hunter forced the game winning fumble. Hunter the two way superstar has taken the college football world by storm this season. The Buffaloes are not a playoff team or even a top 25 team, but they never fail to provide an entertaining game.
5: Arch Manning has up and down outing
Redshirt freshman Arch Manning started in the Longhorns clash against UL Monroe. Manning had a solid performance in Quinn Ewers outing throwing for 258 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Steve Sarkisianchas made it clear it is Ewers job when he returns but this stretch will be key in the development of Manning. Ewers’ injury, while unfortunate, could prove to be timed up perfectly and lead to Arch Manning improving significantly as a player. The Longhorns are national title contenders and having a reliable backup could prove to be key. Arch has the opportunity to grow significantly as a player in Ewers absence and can help the Longhorns stay on track.
