College football week 3 is in the books. After every week fans can take away things from what happened on the field. Here are 5 things learned from college football week 4.
Related: 5 Things to watch in college football week 4
There was a lot of talk this week about Texas struggling on the road last season. They needed overtime to beat Kentucky and Mississippi State on the road last season and those were games against team that finished below .500. In Week 4, Texas still didn’t play their greatest game, but they beat No. 14 Tennessee on the road 20-17. If they had cleaned up some penalties, they likely would’ve won by more.
Texas now has two of the best wins of the college football season with this one and the game against Ohio State. The Longhorns showing they can defeat better teams on the road this season should help them make the CFP. They still play at Missouri, at LSU and at Texas A&M. The Longhorns will be tested again, but this experience should aid them in the future.
In week 1 of the season, Michigan narrowly defeated Western Michigan with some controversy. The clock on the broadcast hit all zeroes, but a second was added and the Wolverines would convert a hail mary for the win. This week, against Iowa, the Wolverines were up by five. Iowa was driving down the field with the game nearing an end. They were aided by a penalty and a player injury that stopped the clock, but on the last play of the game, Hank Brown found Reece Vander Zee on a back-shoulder throw to win the game 20-19.
The Wolverines haven’t looked the best this season. They continually struggle to find consistency on offense and the defense has to carry a lot of the weight. Iowa was able to do just enough to get the win and inflict some karma on the Wolverines. The Hawkeyes now look like they could contend for a chance at the Big Ten Championship, while Michigan has some work to do.
A few weeks ago, it was noted that Ole Miss is in trouble. The defense gave up a lot of big plays to Louisville and there were signs that they could have some trouble. Although they survived LSU, they couldn’t get past Florida. The defense played terribly and Ole Miss lost 52-28.
If LSU had better offensive line play, they may have been able to create bigger plays against Ole Miss and the Rebels could be in a worse spot. Defensive-minded head coach Pete Golding will need to get better results from this unit and team overall if they are going to make a run to the playoff. The Rebels play four more teams that are currently ranked as of Saturday.
Oregon had played sluggishly through the first three games of the season, resulting in them being 2-1. They came into the year as one of the preseason favorites to win it all and they had not lived up to that billing. The Ducks were in a close game with no. 12 USC on the road when starting quarterback Dante Moore got knocked out of the game. Oregon inserted backup Dylan Raiola and they ended up winning 41-27.
After the Moore injury, Oregon rallied together to get the win. It probably still isn’t their best game, but it was good for them to beat a tough team on the road. Moore may be out for a while, but the Ducks have to be feeling good about Raiola’s performance after he transferred in with the plan to sit for the year. Oregon is off next week, which gives them more time to prep.
Kamario Taylor has played well this season and has done so against good competition. After an easier game against UL Monroe in the opener, he has led Mississippi State to wins over Minnesota and South Carolina heading into the week. In week 4, Taylor led the Bulldogs to a win over a ranked Missouri team by passing for 360 yards and three touchdowns.
This season, Taylor has passed for 1,192 yards, 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. He has also rushed for 185 yards and a touchdown. Mississippi State already has some impressive wins, but bigger games are ahead. Taylor has played well enough to set up the Bulldogs for success, but their next few games are: vs. no. 8 Alabama, at no. 10 LSU, vs. Oklahoma and at no. 1 Texas. With more quality play the Kamario Taylor hype can take off even more.
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