We knew college football's Week 4 was going to be good with six matchups between ranked opponents. And it didn’t disappoint. We had the battle of the real UTs, a last-second stunner at the Big House, a shootout at the LA Coliseum and Florida moving to 4-0 for the first time in five years.
Kamario Taylor threw for 360 yards and three touchdowns and is making Mississippi State a dangerous team in the SEC, while Ohio State star Jeremiah Smith can’t stop scoring touchdowns. With that, here are our superlatives from another fun weekend of college football: Oregon went to Los Angeles and came away with an impressive 41-27 win over rival USC and is now back in the College Football Playoff discussion. Heisman Trophy candidate and quarterback Dante Moore left the game in an ambulance in the second quarter after a scary hit to the head, and he was replaced by backup Dylan Raiola, who came in and put on a strong performance for his teammate.
Raiola — who started two years at Nebraska before transferring to Oregon — went 19-of-25 for 289 yards and two touchdowns in the win. "Certainly [there was] an energy change when Dante got hurt," Ducks coach Dan Lanning said after the game. He also called USC linebacker Desman Stephens’ hit on his quarterback "a disgusting play." It led to some emotional post-game scenes in the bowels of the Coliseum with players from both teams jawing at each other.
The matchup was a huge opportunity for these programs, and the Ducks prevailed after getting off to a shaky start to this season. Lanning — who arrived at Oregon in 2022, which was the same season Lincoln Riley started at USC — is now 3-0 against the Trojans. USC, meanwhile, needs to salvage its season before things get any worse.
The Trojans may have hired Gary Patterson to revive its defense, but they struggled to put Rutgers away last week, gave up more than 500 yards to Oregon and still have to play Ohio State and Indiana. Iowa trailed Michigan 19-14 with 1:37 left to play when Hawkeyes quarterback Hank Brown led his offense on a 91-yard drive that was capped by a 16-yard touchdown by Reece Vander Zee as time expired to steal a 20-19 victory. Iowa had missed a 51-yard field goal attempt on its previous drive, and the game seemed all but over in Ann Arbor.
But the then-No. 18 Wolverines were forced to punt on their next possession, meaning the then-No. 17 Hawkeyes would get one final shot.
And they took advantage. "It wasn’t looking good there in the fourth quarter, certainly," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said after the game. "But one thing about these guys, though, they don’t quit.
They fight. It wasn’t perfect, but they don’t give up." Earlier in the game, Iowa’s Braeden Jackson returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to tie the game 7-7 at the end of the first quarter. Michigan went on to outplay Iowa, but failed to finish drives and had too many self-inflicted wounds, including eight penalties and a costly turnover in the red zone.
Iowa hosts No. 7 Ohio State next week. Jon Sumrall is 4-0 in his debut season as Florida’s head coach after the Gators crushed SEC foe Ole Miss, 52-28, at the Swamp.
Florida is 4-0 to start the season for the first time since 2019. Running back Jadan Baugh ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns, and Duke Clark added 126 yards and a 45-yard run for a touchdown as the then-No. 21 Gators flat out pounded the then-No.
4 Rebels on the ground. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who was a star last week against former coach Lane Kiffin and LSU, completed 25 of 34 passes for 298 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He helped lead a near-comeback after Ole Miss narrowed Florida’s lead to 17-14 in the third quarter, but Clark’s explosive run came on the next drive.
This was a huge letdown for the Rebels after an emotional victory over LSU and Kiffin a week ago. They didn’t have star running back Kewan Lacy, who was out with a shoulder injury sustained against the Tigers, and really could have used him. This one is a no-brainer: Texas Tech linebacker Austin Romaine returned two interceptions for touchdowns in less than a minute as the Red Raiders beat Sam Houston, 49-14.
How did this possibly happen, you ask? No. 11 Texas Tech led 7-0 after the first quarter.
At the start of the second, linebacker Brock Golwas deflected a pass by Sam Houston backup quarterback Brett Holloway and Romaine caught the ball and ran 15 yards for a touchdown. After the ensuing kickoff, starting quarterback Landyn Lock was back in the game, only for Romaine to intercept his first pass and run it back 31 yards for a touchdown to give the Red Raiders a quick 21-0 lead. "I was in disbelief that I did it twice in a row," Romaine told reporters later.
"It was crazy." It sure was. There were quite a few, actually. Here’s where some top teams' College Football Playoff status is after the first month of the season: Entering the season, analysts projected the SEC could get as many as five or six teams into the playoff.
And with the way this conference is likely to eat itself alive over the next several weeks, there should be plenty of one-loss — and perhaps even two-loss — teams making their cases for a spot. One of the most intriguing games in Week 5 will take place in Starkville, where Keelon Russell and No. 8 Alabama will visit Kamario Taylor and No.
24 Mississippi State. Even though kickoff is at noon (vs. at night), the atmosphere at Davis Wade Stadium will be electric, with Bulldogs fans ringing their cowbells. Both teams enter the matchup undefeated.
Mississippi State is coming off a historic 31-24 win over Missouri, its first SEC win under Jeff Lebby and the program’s first win over a ranked opponent since 2014; Alabama defeated South Carolina 49-18. The Bulldogs haven’t beaten the Crimson Tide since 2007 and have lost 16 consecutive games in the series since then. But this Mississippi State team is showing it can make noise in the SEC.
A win over Alabama would be a massive moment for Lebby — and further introduction to the rest of the country for Taylor.
