We’ve been treated to some absolute mayhem to begin the 2022 college football season.
By comparison, Week 4 wasn’t necessarily the most memorable. But if you look beyond the top five — all of which won, despite a couple of close calls — there were some wild results.
A pair of top-10 teams losing undefeated status, a couple of highly improbable comebacks and yet another Power Five job opening up headlined a week that featured plenty of intrigue once you get past the chalk of the elite tier.
Without further ado, here are the winners and losers from the fourth week of college football action.
Winner: Clemson's elite offense?
A shootout against Wake Forest’s high-powered offense was the worst-case scenario for a Clemson team that has struggled to put things together on offense the last two seasons. But when the Tigers’ defense failed it, the offense shined. Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei had a career game, tossing five touchdown passes and 371 yards as Clemson overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to win in double overtime. Wake’s defense might not be very good, and NC State next week will tell us a lot more about how far the offense has come. But if the Tigers can keep this up, they feel like the ACC shoo-in.
Still can’t get over this conversion by DJ. pic.twitter.com/hj84R4ueew
— ClemsonSportsNetwork (@ClemsonSportNet) September 24, 2022
Loser: Wake Forest's missed opportunity
This one was simply heartbreaking for the Demon Deacons, there’s no way around it. They had a top-five team right where they wanted it, and they just couldn’t quite close it out despite a six-touchdown performance from quarterback Sam Hartman. Make no mistake, this is still an overachieving program. But beating Clemson for the first time since 2008 would have been a major step forward.
Winner: Tennessee getting over the hump
There have been few rivalries as lopsided over the last two decades as the one between the Gators and Vols, but Tennessee ended a five-game losing streak with a 38-33 win — just its second in the series since 2004. The Volunteers led by 17 in the fourth before allowing things to get interesting at the end, but a tremendous offensive performance proved too much for Florida to overcome. There’s a lot to work on defensively, and the Gators may just not be very good. But with LSU and Alabama coming up after a bye, we’ll soon have our questions about this team answered.
#Vols OL Gerald Mincey waived the flag following Tennessee's win over his former team. 🤠 pic.twitter.com/HUSPXOZZvN
— Kellyanne Stitts (@KellyanneStitts) September 24, 2022
Loser: Oklahoma and its Kryptonite
The lone top-10 team to fall on Saturday, Oklahoma had no answer for Kansas State’s quarterback run game with Adrian Martinez, who scored four times with his legs and five times in total. The Sooners were great on offense, per usual, but they found themselves playing catch-up most of the way before suffering a loss at home to an unranked opponent. Wildcats coach Chris Klieman is now 3-1 against OU.
Winner: Texas Tech's early returns
Texas Tech had a clear strategy in mind when it hired Joey McGuire this offseason. A former assistant at Baylor and longtime Texas high school head coach, McGuire is an elite recruiter and has seen immediate success in that regard. The on-field results haven’t been half-bad, either. The Red Raiders knocked off Texas in overtime, their first win over a ranked Longhorns team since 2008. TTU is 3-1 with the lone loss coming on the road to a good NC State team. This rebuild may not be very deep, especially with the Big 12 set to be fairly wide-open in the next few years.
TEXAS TECH HITS THE FIELD GOAL TO BEAT TEXAS!!! pic.twitter.com/JvDhMgGUrW
— Brian Y (@byysports) September 24, 2022
Loser: A new low for Miami
The Hurricanes have had some rough moments during their fall into mediocrity. Their 58-0 loss to Clemson, 48-0 to Virginia to close out the Orange Bowl, losing to Florida International. Saturday’s 45-31 loss to Middle Tennessee rivals those. The Blue Raiders are a bad Group of Five team, and they could have won by even more as Miami needed a 91-yard kick return touchdown to bring the final score within three touchdowns. The overall trajectory of the program still seems to be positive under Mario Cristobal, but this one is hard to explain.
Winner: Minnesota, Big Ten West favorite?
In one of the more surprising results of the day, Minnesota absolutely dominated Michigan State in East Lansing to the tune of 34-7. This Spartans team is likely Not Very Good, but the Golden Gophers are now 4-0. With a favorable schedule, Purdue and Wisconsin failing to inspire and Iowa being… Iowa, there’s no reason to think PJ Fleck’s team couldn’t come out on top in the West. Row the boat!
Loser: Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz
I honestly don’t even know where to start with this one. The contest between Auburn and Missouri was ridiculous, but it didn’t have to be. First, Drinkwitz played for a field goal at the three-yard line in a tie game with 45 seconds left despite the fact that Auburn hadn’t scored since the first quarter. The Mizzou kicker subsequently missed a 26-yard field goal, sending the game to overtime.
Missouri still should have won this game, but running back Nathaniel Peat fumbled on a sure touchdown when he extended his arm for the goal line. Just a preposterous way to lose a football game, and it likely saved Bryan Harsin’s job, at least for another week. Meanwhile, there aren’t too many remaining SEC games that look winnable for Mizzou.
MISSOURI LOSES IN THE MOST MISSOURI WAY POSSIBLE! LMAOOOO pic.twitter.com/XxXLwtQRiW
— 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 @𝗙𝗧𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱𝟳 (@FTBeard7) September 24, 2022
Winner: James Madison's epic comeback
Appalachian State’s season has been off the rails, but it ran out of magic on Saturday. Instead, it was on James Madison’s side as the Dukes overcame a 28-3 deficit to earn a road win in its first Sun Belt game. JMU is new to FBS this fall, but it was a powerhouse at the FCS level and could be poised to immediately become a machine in the G5.
Loser: Arkansas' hopes of competing in the division
The Razorbacks were a slight underdog Saturday despite ranking in the top 10, but they squandered a winnable game and missed a potential go-ahead kick with less than two minutes to go. Texas A&M is not a great team, and losing this one puts Arkansas’ slim chances of competing in the SEC West on ice. Those hopes will be likely all but dead after Alabama comes to town on Saturday.
Loser: Geoff Collins out at Georgia Tech
After yet another loss, this time in 27-10 fashion on the road against UCF, Georgia Tech fired fourth-year coach Geoff Collins on Monday. The athletics director who hired him, Todd Stansbury, was also shown the door. The Yellow Jackets are 1-3 on the year, and Collins finished with a 10-28 record in Atlanta. After the abject failure of the move away from the triple option, one has to wonder if the program will reverse course with the next hire.
Quick Hitters
- Winner: Ohio State. The Buckeyes looked sluggish to open the season, but they looked to be in midseason form on Saturday, obliterating Wisconsin 52-21.
- Loser: Virginia Tech. The Hokies lost at home on Thursday night to a West Virginia team that could be the worst in the Big 12. Justin Fuente left new coach Brent Pry in a tough spot, and this rebuild might take some time.
- Winner: Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers beat Florida International 73-0, a beatdown the likes of which you rarely see between G5 opponents as quarterback Austin Reed threw one fewer touchdown (5) than he had incompletions.
- Loser: Iowa State. The Cyclones played from behind at home most of the game against Baylor, and it was a mostly uninspiring performance. Coach Matt Campbell also wasted a timeout to chew out a ref. Not exactly what you want to do if you’re interested in a certain nearby Big Ten opening…
- Winner: Texas A&M. It wasn’t the prettiest win, but the Aggies at least got something going on offense with the ground game. This team still isn’t great, but the loss to Appalachian State doesn’t necessarily mean its season is over. At least, not until it faces Alabama in two weeks.
- Loser: Colorado. Running total scoring margin during the Buffs’ 0-4 start: 173-47. I can’t even think of much to say about this team. It’s the worst in the Power Five, and a winless campaign is absolutely in play as things only get tougher from here. CU will close out the season against four ranked opponents.
- Winner: Notre Dame. Praising the Fighting Irish for beating North Carolina feels hollow, given the state of the Tar Heels defense (hello, Gene Chizik). Still, winning on the road beats not winning on the road. Maybe Marcus Freeman has some momentum going.
- Loser: Indiana. The Hoosiers’ 3-0 start always felt like fool’s gold, and it proved to be on Saturday when they were eviscerated by Cincinnati 45-24. On the one hand, IU has already exceeded last year’s win total. On the other, it plays in the toughest division in college football and doesn’t seem to have a very high ceiling.
- Winner: Kent State. I officially grant the Golden Flashes permission to take a moral victory here. They lost to Georgia 39-22 but were within 10 in the fourth quarter. This may actually prove to be the toughest anyone plays the Bulldogs until the SEC Championship.
- Loser: Colorado State. If the Rams played the Buffaloes this year, the planet might implode. CSU is among the worst teams in FBS, and it suffered another embarrassing loss at home on Saturday. This time, it came by 31 points to FCS Sacramento State.
- Winner: Stephen F. Austin. The Lumberjacks won 98-0 against an overmatched NAIA opponent in Warner. SFA scored on every possession with the exception of the final kneel-down, and it could have scored 100 if it hadn’t taken a knee out of mercy on a two-point conversion.
- Loser: Boise State. The Broncos suffered a bad loss to UTEP, which resulted in a change at offensive coordinator. Former NFL head coach Dirk Koetter, a former Boise assistant and current analyst, is now calling plays. We’ll see if that can save a program quickly fading from relevance.
- Loser: The polls. Rank Kansas, you cowards.
RANK KANSAShttps://t.co/JPOkDrH8YO
— For The Win (@ForTheWin) September 24, 2022
