Remember Toledo’s big win at Mississippi State last week? How about Northern Illinois knocking off Notre Dame? Or Memphis downing Florida State?
All three Group of Five teams lost in a wild day of college football Saturday, possibly knocking them out of consideration for the grand prize. They may no longer control their own destiny in pursuit of the illustrious spot reserved for at least one of them in the College Football Playoff (the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion gets an automatic berth).
The Rockets, Huskies and Tigers followed big power conference wins with losses to Western Kentucky, Buffalo and Navy, respectively.
With Liberty still playing early in the wee hours of Sunday morning, there were four G5 unbeatens remaining: UNLV, Army, Navy and James Madison (Washington State is not eligible for the AQ as the Pac-12, at two teams, does not meet the eight-team requirement).
But enough about the G5. What else happened Saturday? Michigan stunned USC in the top-25 showdown in Ann Arbor despite passing for just 32 — yes, thirty-two — passing yards. Afterward, coach Sherrone Moore channeled his predecessor about that stat.
“I love it,” he told reporters. “It’s my dream.”
What a weird dream!
Nevertheless, USC is left searching for answers for its inconsistent offense and Michigan marches forward with a renewed hope for a Big Ten title (if it can unearth a passing game). In a late-night game in the Pac-12-turned-Big 12, Colorado beat Baylor in overtime after having to complete a Hail Mary. CU’s two-way player, Travis Hunter, forced a fumble at the goal line in overtime that won the Buffs the game.
In the other big ranked duel, Tennessee flexed its muscle in Norman, Oklahoma, rudely welcoming the Sooners to the SEC. Speaking of flexing muscle, since its season-opening loss to Georgia, Clemson has outscored its opponents 125-55 (it led NC State 28-0 after the first quarter on Saturday).
In the Iron Skillet rivalry game, SMU buried TCU and quite literally sent packing former coach Sonny Dykes, who was ejected from the game.
Dykes isn’t the only coach to have made news on Saturday. Mack Brown caused a stir after North Carolina’s 70-50 debacle of a loss to James Madison. During his post-game speech, he suggested to players that he might step down, according to 247Sports. Brown further clarified his comments to ESPN and said he will be back in the office working on Sunday.
At Texas, Arch Manning got his first career start in Year 3 in Austin. While he threw a pick during his opening series, the latest Manning settled in to throw for 258 yards and two scores.
It’s past time for the rankings. A reminder: We do not consider any preseason polls or any past season results. What happened in the past is in the past. It’s who you’ve beaten and how you’ve beaten them!
1. Tennessee Volunteers
This week: beat Oklahoma 25-15
Next week: Bye
A hardy welcome to the Vols, our new top-ranked team. Tennessee has a neutral site win over NC State and now a beatdown on the road in the SEC. It’s about as good of a resume as anyone. While much of the Rocky Top hype surrounds sophomore QB Nico Iamaleava (and he is good), the world got to see the Tennessee defense on Saturday – a downright nasty front seven. At one point, Oklahoma went 10 straight plays without gaining a single yard.
2. Georgia Bulldogs
This week: Bye
Next week: at Alabama
George W. Bush was president the last time that Georgia beat Alabama in a regular season game (2007). The Crimson Tide has won eight of the last nine heading into Saturday night’s top-5 collision in Tuscaloosa. Nick Saban owned Kirby Smart, his former protege, beating him five times of the six games, including three SEC championship games and the 2017 national title bout.
3. Texas Longhorns
This week: beat UL-Monroe 51-3
Next week: vs. Mississippi State
As mentioned above, Arch Manning shook off some rookie woes early to guide the Longhorns to the victory. It didn’t take much offense to win this one. Monroe finished with 111 yards of total offense. The Texas resume isn’t fantastic, but Steve Sarkisian’s group has arguably the best win of the season at Michigan (boosted by the Wolverines win over USC).
4. Utah Utes
This week: beat Oklahoma State 22-19
Next week: vs. Arizona
Even without Cam Rising (injured hand), the Utes found a way to win, mostly with that salty defense we’ve come to find with coach Kyle Wittingham’s teams. The Cowboys didn’t crack the 300-yard mark and had three points up until five minutes left in the game.
5. Miami Hurricanes
This week: beat South Florida 50-15
Next week: vs. Virginia Tech
Can you believe that USF led in this game, 15-14, late in the second quarter? The Bulls did in fact. Then the Hurricanes scored 36 unanswered points. QB Cam Ward threw for 404 yards and three scores. Miami appears to be the real deal, but have they been tested? Their only power conference win is at Florida.
6. Illinois Fighting Illini
This week: beat Nebraska 31-24
Next week: at Penn State
We were expecting to have Nebraska in this Top 10 after the Huskers took down Illinois in a Friday night Big Ten duel. Oh how silly of us! Bret Bielema’s boys walked into Lincoln and quieted the rowdy crowd with a beautiful overtime performance. Illini, trailing three separate times, got a stellar performance from QB Luke Altmyer (21 of 27 with four touchdowns). Their resume – wins over Kansas and now Nebraska – can get a lot stronger next week in Happy Valley.
7. Alabama Crimson Tide
This week: Bye
Next week: vs. Georgia
Kalen DeBoer’s first conference game as Alabama’s coach is none other than the two-time national champions, a program that for years now has threatened to, if not already has, replaced the Tide as the SEC’s premier program and championship dynasty. Can Bama strip such a mythical title away from Smart and Co.?
8. Iowa State Cyclones
This week: beat Arkansas State 52-7
Next week: at Houston
Is everyone sleeping on the Cyclones? The schedule hasn’t been the toughest (they’ve played just one power conference program – a win at Iowa), but still, they’ve allowed 29 points in three games. A middling Big 12 schedule sets up nicely for coach Matt Campbell’s crew to return back to that championship-type caliber we saw in 2020.
9. Washington State Cougars
This week: beat San Jose State 54-52 in 2OT
Next week: at Boise State
While we were all sleeping Friday night and into the wee hours of Saturday morning, the Cougars and Spartans played arguably the best game of Week 4. Each team had a 300-yard passer, 100-yard receiver and (almost) a 100-yard rusher. Each team also led by double digits at points during the first three quarters! The teams scored 10 points in the final 37 seconds of regulation with the Cougars needing a 52-yard field goal with 5 seconds left to send it to overtime!
10. Penn State Nittany Lions
This week: beat Kent State 56-0
Next week: vs. Illinois
Penn State out-gained KSU 718-67 – a 651-yard differential that marks a school record and is the highest in any game in the last decade, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The Nittany Lions haven’t played the toughest slate so far (only power conference win at West Virginia), but that is soon to change.
Dropped out: USC (2), Northern Illinois (9)