College Football Roundup Week 4: Upsets Continue
Mississippi, Penn State and California All Suffer Defeats in Week 4
Sep 29, 2009
#4 ranked Mississippi and #5 ranked Penn State both suffered defeats in the fourth weekend of College football action, meaning that the top five teams in any given week have yet to go undefeated so far this season. Sixth ranked California also lost as LSU, Boise State and Virginia Tech step up into the top six ahead of the fifth weekend.
The Rebels and Jevan Snead struggled to get anything going against South Carolina who played a strong defensive game; Spencer Lanning kicked three field goals as the Gamecocks claimed a 16-10 upset win. California’s suffered an even more severe drubbing as Jeremiah Masoli threw for 253 yards and 3 TD’s to lead the Oregon Ducks to a 42-3 victory. Iowa completed the trilogy of upsets with a Big Ten win over #5 Penn State. The Nittany Lions made far too many mistakes; Adrian Claydon scored a touchdown after a blocked punt to lead Iowa to a repeat their victory from last season, where they ended Penn State’s BCS ambitions.
Key Question: How Open is the BCS Game?
Many hopefuls have had their BCS ambitions dented by early defeats, but one defeat does not have as much significance in a season where there is such tremendous parity in College Football. Amongst the leading contenders Florida, Texas, Alabama, LSU, Boise State and TCU still all remain unbeaten, but with a long season ahead there will still be plenty of opportunity for some of the upset victims upsets to force their way back into contention.
Week 4 Roundup
Miami Florida’s excellent start to the season was ruined by a crushing defeat at the hands of an impressive Virginia Tech team. Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Williams enjoyed good offensive games as the Hokies put the Hurricanes star quarterback Jacory Harris under constant pressure in a 31-7 win. A key passage of play saw Miami Florida tight end Jimmy Graham drop two catches in the third quarter at a time where the Hurricanes looked poised to pull the score back to 21-14.
Georgia Tech recovered from the disappointment of their defeat last weekend to defeat #22 ranked North Carolina 24-7. Tech made defensive adjustments and QB Nesbitt ran for 97 yards as they regain a Top 25 ranking for the fifth weekend.
Elsewhere; Florida, Texas, Alabama, TCU, LSU and Boise State all won to remain perfect through the first four weekends. Ohio State defeated Illinois 30-0 to claim their second consecutive shutout while Nebraska, Oklahoma State and BYU were all able to claim comfortable victories starting their Conference play in confident fashion. USC were able to complete a bounce back win over Washington State ahead of their tough matchup against rivals California next weekend. Houston saw off Texas Tech 29-28, the Cougars trailed 21-10 at halftime but a second half comeback was completed when Case Keenum ran for a 4 yard touchdown with 49 seconds left on the clock. Last week’s upset heroes Washington suffered at the hands of Stanford 34-14 as Toby Gerhart ran for a career-high 200 yards.
Outside of the top 25, Jimmy Clausen completed a 2-yard touchdown pass with 24.8 seconds left on the clock to help Notre Dame secure a 24-21 win over Purdue, the final offensive drive started with 3:41 left to go in the fourth quarter. Turnovers cost Michigan State dearly in a high-scoring 38-30 loss against Wisconsin, quarterback Scott Tolzien threw for 243 yards and four touchdowns as the Badgers improve to 4-0. Florida State’s up and down season continued as they dropped to 2-2 after a 17-7 loss to South Florida. Freshman B.J. Daniels ran for 125 yards and threw two touchdown passes in his first career start for South Florida.
Week 5 Preview
Game to Watch
USC (7) vs California (24)
There is not much doubt about this being the pick of the fifth weekend’s contests and there is little need to explain the reasons. The California matchup was one of the much vaunted fixtures at the start of the season and in light of recent losses, now becomes even more significant. If Cal loses on Saturday, the Pac-10 title will be almost unattainable while USC can hardly afford another loss if their hopes for the season are to be maintained. Stakes are higher than ever and the running game both on offense and defense will be crucial for both teams, Jahvid Best’s performance will be particularly interesting after a notably quiet performance against Oregon.
Miami Florida continues their difficult schedule to start the season against Oklahoma, a match that should be an intriguing contest. Michigan State and Michigan compete in a potentially feisty affair, while the inconsistent Florida State takes on the surprising Boston College; the Eagles defeated Wake Forest in the fourth weekend to improve to 3-1. Notre Dame once again badly need to win against Washington, the Huskies were dealt a blow in a loss against Stanford after their remarkable USC upset.
Upset Pick
Georgia over #4 LSU
In some ways not a huge upset considering Georgia are themselves ranked #18, but if any of the top 5 are to be knocked off this weekend LSU would seem to be the most likely candidate. Georgia plays sound football and while the Tigers have been quietly very impressive this season, the first four weekends has proven that you truly cannot rule any upset out. Surely next week will see some order restored? Vanderbilt also have the ability to cause an upset when they face #21 Mississippi, Snead and the Rebels should be fired up after a disappointing loss last weekend, but they will need to bring their ‘A’ game against a potentially dangerous team.
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