The fourth weekend of college football is in the books. Here are national columnist Mike Farrell's takeaways and weekly awards.
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WRONG CHOICE?
Wisconsin and Notre Dame were tied at 10-10 going into the fourth quarter and Wisconsin even pulled ahead 13-10 within the first minute. And then the Irish put up 31 unanswered points to close out the game, including back-to-back pick sixes thrown by Graham Mertz. It's time for the Badgers to really question if he's the starter going forward. He finally threw his first touchdown of the season in the third quarter of this one, but he also threw four interceptions, lost a fumble and was completely lost when the game got tight. It looks more and more every week like the Badgers should have just stuck with Jack Coan.
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BOUNCEBACK
After the whooping they received by Michigan State last week, the Miami Hurricanes were in need of a rebound, and playing Central Connecticut State at home did the trick. They won 69-0, and without D'Eriq King still passed for 417 yards and five TDs between Tyler Van Dyke and Jake Garcia. The 'Canes racked up 739 yards of total offense and held the FCS Blue Devils to under 200. While it might not make up for last week's loss it always feels good to put a beatdown on somebody.
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STEPPING UP
Utah got off to a 1-2 start with back-to-back losses to BYU and San Diego State coming into its Pac-12 opener. And with Charlie Brewer hitting the transfer portal and leaving unexpectedly, some people thought that this might be a big problem for the Utes. However, Oklahoma transfer RB TJ Pledger stepped up in a big way, leading Utah to 212 yards on the ground as a team while the defense picked off Washington State's Jarrett Guarantano three times, including a pick six by Clark Phillips.
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CLOUD OF DUST
Army got a huge game from Christian Anderson on the ground, as the QB ran for 236 yards and two TDs in the Black Knights' 23-10 victory over Miami (Ohio). What makes that even more impressive is that the Cadets didn't complete a single pass, as Anderson went 0-for-5. Maybe it's not the worst thing in the world to be one dimensional.
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RUN IT UP
After seeing how well Arkansas ran the ball against them a couple of weeks ago, the Texas Longhorns decided to take that same approach against Texas Tech, and amassed 336 yards and four scores on 52 carries in their 70-35 blowout of the in-state rival Red Raiders.
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HEISMAN HYPE
Bijan Robinson led the way for Texas with 137 yards, and Casey Thompson looked very crisp behind center, throwing for 303 yards and five TDs. Robinson has to be considered for some Heisman talk now as this is the Steve Sarkisian offense we were all expecting.
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MOREDECOASTER
SMU quarterback Tanner Mordecai had an absolutely wild game in the Battle for the Iron Skillet against TCU. Mordecai ended with four touchdowns and three interceptions and alternated between looking like a seasoned vet and a true freshman. The Mustangs pulled off the big upset both because of an in spite of Mordecai's play, thanks in large part to the play of RB Ulysses Bentley IV, who ran for 154 yards and a score.
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LETDOWN
After going in to Folsom Field and abusing Colorado last week, Minnesota should have had an easy tune-up for the rest of conference play against lowly Bowling Green, one of the worst Group of Five programs. But Tanner Morgan looked awful again and the Falcons made big plays on defense and made Treyson Potts work for every single yard on their way to a 14-10 upset.
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GAR-WHOA
B.C. and Missouri played one of the best games of the day in the early slate, and Pat Garwo III went off for the Eagles as he rushed for 175 yards and two scores against Mizzou. Without Phil Jurkovec we knew that someone was going to have to step up and shoulder the offensive load, and Garwo did just that today for B.C. in its big 41-34 win.
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BIG CHANCE
And speaking of Boston College, the Eagles will have a huge opportunity this Saturday when they travel to Death Valley to take on Clemson. The Tigers are reeling and nowhere near the team anyone expected coming into the 2021 season, so the Eagles have every chance to make a statement.
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BUTT BITTEN
Something has seemed off about Clemson all season, and it finally came to truly bite the Tigers in the butt this weekend. DJ Uiagelelei struggled again, completing less than 50% of his throws for only 4.3 yards per attempt, while Devin Leary played efficient football for NC State, throwing for four TDs and zero picks. This makes the Wolfpack's loss to Mississippi State seem even stranger, but they're now in the driver's seat for the Atlantic with Wake Forest and Boston College their biggest competition. Don't think many people had that one coming into the season.
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TRENCH TROUBLE
Clemson’s offensive line stinks and that’s a big reason why the tigers are 2-2, but let’s take a look at Oklahoma. Quarterback Spencer Rattler was on the run and the running game was nonexistent in a narrow win over West Virginia. Clemson fans want Uiagalelei benched and Oklahoma fans were changing for backup QB Caleb Williams, but the bottom line is the offensive lines for both teams are a massive disappointment based on recruiting results.
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NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME
UNC played down to Virginia Tech in the opener and did the same this past weekend against a tough Georgia Tech team in a blowout loss. The Tar Heels haven’t replaced the running game, Sam Howell is struggling with fewer weapons and the defense isn’t consistent. Forget a run at the ACC title this season.
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LAYUP
When the Gators play the Vols just bet on a win for Florida. They routed Tennessee for their 16th win in the last 17 contests and clearly outplayed and outclassed a rebuilding program.
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HURRY UP
Oh, and by the way it doesn’t take five years to rebuild anything, so Vols fans have a right to be impatient. Just look at what Sam Pittman has done at Arkansas.
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HOW LOW?
Florida State is now 0-4 for the first time since the Gerald Ford administration, as the Seminoles lost to Louisville 31-23. This loss isn't quite as bad, per se, as the last second-one defeat against Jacksonville State a few weeks ago, but the situation is pretty dire in Tallahassee. Mike Norvell probably needs to polish his resume, because he's going to be out of a job very soon.
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BURKS BEATDOWN
Arkansas won an ugly one over No. 7 Texas A&M, in large part due to the play of Treylon Burks. The junior wide receiver had six of the Razorbacks' nine receptions on the day for 167 yards and a score. With the running game not as effective as it had been, Burks and a stout defense were able to come up big for Arkansas as it make its case as the No. 2 team in the SEC West.
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SLEIGHT OF HAND
Baylor beat Iowa State despite being outgained by almost 200 yards by the Cyclones and the Bears having 100 penalty yards of their own. The Bears were able to score early, capitalize on short fields, thanks to quality special teams, and come up with big stops when they were needed. Breece Hall finally got going late for Iowa State, but it wasn't enough.
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WINNING UGLY
Michigan got out to a quick start against Rutgers, scoring touchdowns on its first two drives, but after that it was a slugfest between the Wolverines and the Scarlet Knights. The Wolverines amassed 146 yards on those first two drives and only 129 for the rest of the game. Credit the defense for keeping Rutgers at bay in this hard-fought victory.
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RUN IT BACK
After their heartbreaking loss to Fresno State, UCLA realized that it needed to get back to work on the ground and the Bruins did it big time against Stanford, running for 304 yards at the Farm. Zach Charbonnet, who only had six carries in last week's affair, got a career-high 25 for 209 yards and a score, and added five catches in the Bruins' 35-24 victory. Stanford, on the other hand, couldn't get anything going on the ground, finishing the game with minus 63 yards rushing (yes, you're reading that correctly).
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LEFTY LOVE
Max Johnson threw for four TDss for LSU in its much-needed win against Mississippi State, including two to Kayshon Boutte. In the best game of his young career, Johnson looked more poised in the pocket than he had previously. Despite being outgained by 140 yards, LSU came up with a nice conference win and has something to build on in Johnson.
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SINCERELY YOURS
UTSA has had a renaissance under Jeff Traylor, and pulled off an upset at Memphis to move to 4-0, with wins over not only the Tigers but Illinois as well. Sincere McCormick is one of the best-kept secrets in the country at tailback, and he gashed Memphis for 184 yards and three touchdowns. The Roadrunners have a good chance of running the table, as they should be favored in every game going forward.
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CLINIC
One of the best stories on the young season had been Blake Anderson leading Utah State to a 3-0 start in his first season at the helm of the Aggies. But Mountain West stalwart Boise State rolled in to Logan and showed them why they're still the BMOC in the conference in the 27-3 win.
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CONFUSED
Just when USC seemed to have regained some confidence after a dominating win at Washington State, the Trojans returned home on Saturday night and get dominated by Oregon State. While the Beavers, and especially their offense, look like a team that may have been underestimated by most people coming into the season, there were no excuses for the Trojans in the loss.
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NO. 5?
Yes, Iowa is No. 5 in the country, but questions about its offense once again surfaced on Saturday night during a rather lethargic 24-14 victory at home against a below-average Colorado State team. The Hawkeyes have yet to score more than 34 points in any game this season as they head into a two-game stretch against undefeated Maryland on the road and undefeated Penn State at home. A great deal more will be discovered about Iowa by the time the game against the Nittany Lions is concluded on Oct. 9.
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SIMPLY THE WORST
The crown of the worst FBS team in the country seemed to solidly be in UConn’s hands after a disastrous 0-4 start. While the Huskies lost again, they showed some life during a 24-22 loss to undefeated Wyoming. While that was happening, Vanderbilt was down 35-0 at the end of the first quarter at Georgia. Yes, the Commodores did win an earlier season game at Colorado State (see above to give more concern for Iowa fans), but a 20-point loss to FCS East Tennessee State and a game like this week's may give UConn a run as to who is actually worse.
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ROCK BOTTOM
UGA came out and scored 35 in the first quarter against Vanderbilt on its way to a 62-0 rout over the Commodores. We didn't think that Clark Lea was going to lead them to a bowl game this season, but this is the kind of stuff that leads to coaches getting on a warm seat well before they should. It was so bad that Georgia was able to pull JT Daniels after one quarter and put in Stetson Bennett. Vandy really needs to re-evaluate its program from the top down to figure out just what it needs to do to even be remotely competitive in the SEC. Saturday the Commodores had 77 total yards and three turnovers in what can only be called an embarrassment to the university.
