So what did week four in college football provide us?
We saw a junior quarterback complete a walk-off laser throw to keep his #4 Penn State Nittany Lions undefeated. In the Big 12, one of the more highly regarded teams in the nation saw themselves get thoroughly beat on their home field. We saw an SEC East team quite possibly cement themselves as the biggest competition to #1 Alabama for the SEC crown. Speaking of Alabama, we also witnessed a clear cut beatdown by Alabama on the road against Vanderbilt. On to the observations for this past week in college football.
- The Florida State Seminoles are in unexpected territory. They are 0-2, without their leader at quarterback in redshirt sophomore Deondre Francois, have a raw, true freshman quarterback in place in James Blackman, and only have 144 total rushing yards in two games . Remaining on the schedule for the Noles are home games against #14 Miami and #17 Louisville and road contests against #2 Clemson and #20 Florida. The talent in Tallahassee is enough to keep the faithful still well, faithful in a turnaround. But an 0-2 start with tough teams still on the schedule is a difficult hole.
- Thanks to an epic game-winning drive that took up 12-plays, 65 yards, and only a minute and 42 seconds, #4 Penn State remains undefeated at 4-0 and may be the best team in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions got 305 total yards by their star running back Saquan Barkley but the story of the night was quarterback Trace McSorley and his calmness in crunch time. It took grit for the Nittany Lions to get a win against Iowa on the road but Penn State is in the driver seat at the moment for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
- I was somewhat tentative about placing #24 Mississippi State on a particular pedestal after their 37-7 win over LSU in week three. While it was a great win, it still raised a few amount of questions here and there. Their 31-3 loss to #7 Georgia probably answered a few more questions than their big win. The program is improving under nine-year head coach Dan Mullen but maybe this proved that they still have a ways to go until they are on a certain level within the SEC.
- Baylor football head coach Matt Rhule has serious issues on hand in Waco, Texas. His team is 0-4, and the program has very little sunny days on it’s horizon thanks to the ugliness of NCAA sexual assault allegations recently. Losses to Liberty, UT-San Antonio, Duke, and #3 Oklahoma has painted a picture that the Baylor Bears are a sinking ship as a program at the moment. Hopefully, Rhule is patient, because he will definitely need it.
- Want a sneaky good, possible College Football Playoff team? Try Georgia. The Bulldogs are now 7th in the AP Poll, ranked eighth in scoring defense, 16th in total defense, and average 223.3 rushing yards per game. Their toughest road game for the rest of the season is a mid-November date with #15 Auburn. Along with their annual battle with Florida in late October, the Bulldogs will be favored in every game the rest of the schedule which does not include Alabama, Texas A&M, or LSU. Freshman quarterback Jake Fromm has played very well and is backed by plenty of veteran leadership on both sides of the ball. The Bulldogs are for real.
