College Football Week 4 Recap

My Overall Record: 25-15
My record in Week 4: 6-4   losses: Oregon State over UCLA, Rutgers over Arkansas,
                                                       Notre Dame over Michigan, Kansas State over Oklahoma

Best Game from Week 4: Miami (FL) 42, Georgia Tech 36 (OT)

I want to first start out by saying that I originally picked Kansas State to beat Oklahoma, but felt that was way to risky of a pick. Turns out I was wrong, and FOX had their third upset in three weeks. Texas better watch out for Oklahoma State this upcoming weekend, because the FOX network is dangerous for highly ranked teams. Kansas State is officially in the national picture now and Collin Klein has officially entered into the Heisman discussion. Notre Dame's fierce defense converted five interceptions, four of which were passes by Denard Robinson. The Irish finally beat the Wolverines after four years 13-6. #2 LSU was in a barnburner with a 1-2 Auburn team and had to win it on the last play of the game. LSU won 12-10. The #4 Florida State Seminoles won in a high scoring affair with the #10 Clemson Tigers 49-37. The #3 Oregon Ducks put on one of their best defensive performances in years, as they held the #22 Arizona Wildcats out of the end zone six times when they were in the redzone and won 49-0. It was the first time the Ducks had shutout the Wildcats since 1964. Lastly, SEC East Division teams Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina won convincingly over Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Missouri.

What we learned from Week 3: 

The Big Ten may have a team with four losses in the Rose Bowl this season.

- The Big Ten is so weak this season, and I can't even imagine what is going to happen when conference play begins this upcoming weekend. Michigan looked terrible against Notre Dame this past weekend giving up six turnovers. Iowa lost to Central Michigan in dramatic fashion by giving up nine points in a matter of 42 seconds. The Chippewas kicked a 42 yard field goal with three seconds remaining to upset the Hawkeyes 32-31. Louisiana Tech went into Champaign and put a licking on the Fighting Illini 52-24. Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State all struggled to beat non-automatic qualifier teams. What does this tell us about the Big Ten? The conference is completely up for grabs. There is a possibility that everyone will beat up on each other as the season goes on.

Don't overlook the Oregon State Beavers.

- The Beavers have only played two games, but have defeated two ranked teams. Wisconsin and UCLA may not be some of the best teams in the country, but this is huge for a team that wasn't projected to do anything this season. The Beaver defense has looked tough in both games. The defense held UCLA's Johnathan Franklin to just 45 rushing yards this past weekend. The offense consisting of quarterback Sean Mannion and wide receivers Markus Wheaton and Brandin Cooks has been good too. Mannion passed for 379 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception against the Bruins. Wheaton had nine receptions for 150 yards and one touchdown. Cook's speed also killed the Bruins, as he had six receptions for 175 yards and one touchdown. Beware of the Beavers this season. Oregon State will travel to Tucson this upcoming weekend to take on Arizona.

Arkansas's season is officially over.

- Arkansas was playing well and was up 10-0 after the first quarter, then it fell apart. Quarterback Tyler Wilson passed for an impressive 419 yards and three touchdown receptions, but threw two interceptions. Between losing three games and interim head coach John L. Smith's off the field issues with his $25.6 million debt, the season has turned into a nightmare for the Razorbacks. Arkansas now begins SEC play and will travel to take on old Southwest Conference rival Texas A&M this Saturday. The Razorbacks could potentially lose their last five of eight games this season.

The Oregon Duck's defense showed what it can do.

- The Ducks dismantled Arizona 49-0 Saturday night. The Duck defense looked shaky at times this season, as they gave up a combined 73 points to Arkansas State, Fresno State, and Tennessee Tech. The defense looked great against Arizona as they held the Wildcats to no points in all six of their  redzone possessions. They also had four interceptions with two resulting in touchdowns. Sophomore cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu had two of the interceptions with one going for a touchdown and senior linebacker Kiko Alonso had one interception and nine total tackles. This is the first time the Ducks have had a conference game shutout since 2003.

An SEC East Division is going to contend for the conference title.

- Everyone was downplaying the talent level of the SEC East Division and simply focused on the always difficult West Division. The SEC East looks stronger then ever after this past weekend with South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia winning big over SEC opponents. The team that has impressed me the most are the Florida Gators. Their defense has been solid all season long and now the offense is starting to click. The Gators have joined the Bulldogs and Gamecocks for the SEC East Division title run.

Florida State is for real.

- The Seminoles won a very important game this past weekend against Clemson 49-37. Seminole quarterback EJ Manuel was impressive passing for 380 yards and two touchdowns. Manuel also rushed for 102 yards. One of the breakout players this season has been senior running back Chris Thompson. Thompson had 15 carries for 150 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday night. The Noles should be in good shape to win the ACC now. Their only other difficult conference game is at Virginia Tech on November 8th. The Noles do play their last game of the season at home against in-state rival Florida, and that could be important for national title implications.

Kansas State is officially in the hunt for the Big 12 title.

- Kansas State proved that they are in it to win it this season. Kansas State upset Oklahoma on the road 24-19. The Wildcats don't play exciting football , but they know how to win ball games. Quarterback Collin Klein is so valuable to his team and is taking this team to a new level. Running back John Hubert was a force to be reckoned with on Saturday night as he rushed for 130 yards and the game winning touchdown. The passing game is also improved as Klein was 13 of 20 for 149 yards. The Wildcat defense held Oklahoma to just 88 rushing yards and forced three turnovers with one resulting in a touchdown. What makes Kansas State such a dangerous team is that they don't give the ball away and are able to control the tempo of the ballgame. In four games this season, the Wildcats have only turned the ball over three times, none of which were against Oklahoma on Saturday night.

Last Thought: 

- I know Notre Dame fans are not going to like to hear this, but the Irish are not as talented as everyone is making them out to be. They were given six turnovers against Michigan and only put up 13 total points. Yes, Manti Te'o and the defense are good, but the offense is not very talented. Quarterback Tommy Rees looks to be back at the helm and we will find out in the next few weeks if he can keep his team in the top ten. The Irish's next four games are against Miami (FL), Stanford, BYU, and Oklahoma. We will find out if this Irish team is for real after this slate of games.