College football Week 4 winners, losers, overreactions
College football Week 4 winners, losers, overreactions. One word from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to Provo, Utah, brings chills down spines: college kickers. Two college kickers missed crucial attempts on Saturday, instantly changing the fate of four SEC clubs.
To repeat as champions over Texas A&M, Arkansas needed to kick a field goal from 42 yards out.
Arkansas outgained Texas A&M by 80 yards and only needed one rushing touchdown to keep their top-10 ranking. It was a doink unlike any in recent college football history when Cam Little’s punt miraculously rebounded off the top of the upright.
Missouri’s Harrison Mevis, an All-American kicker, only needed 26 yards to kick a game-winning field goal.
The question is, “How hard can it be?” Mevis kicked 20 of 22 field goals in the previous season, including three from beyond 50 yards.
Kicking a 26-yard field goal is a piece of cake, but Mevis shanked the attempt to the right against Auburn on the Plains, sending the game into overtime.
After Nathaniel Peat muffed a sure touchdown near the goal line, the momentum went back the other way. The Tigers have yet to secure their first victory over a team from the Power Five.
Highlights from Week 4 of NFL activity around the country include more wins, losers, and overreactions.
Winners
Let the Jalon Daniels for Heisman campaign for Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels begin. Through the Jayhawks’ undefeated start, he has been outrageously good.
Daniels led the team to a 35-27 victory over unbeaten Duke by completing 83% of his throw attempts for 324 yards, adding 83 yards on the ground, and five touchdowns of his own.
The Lawndale, California, native and junior has been the driving force behind Kansas’s four-win season, the first in 13 years. He should get most of the credit for what happened on the field.
Tennessee: The Vols allowed Florida to make things interesting in the final five minutes with two quick touchdown drives, but their performance was more impressive than the final score of 38-33 indicates.
Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker, who made his debut with 349 passing yards, 112 rushing yards, and three touchdowns in a win over Florida, had a breakout game.
This was only Tennessee’s second victory against Florida since 2004, and it should give the Volunteers a boost into the AP top 10 this coming Sunday.
Losers
Coach Mario Cristobal of the University of Miami The Hurricanes started off well by beating teams that were perceived as easy targets, but they have struggled mightily over the past two weeks.
In their game against Texas A&M, Miami set a record by accumulating 27 first downs without scoring a touchdown. A 45–31 drubbing at the hands of Middle Tennessee on Saturday derailed any Miami hype train that could have been riding high before.
Tyler Van Dyke, the once-promising quarterback, was benched after two interceptions, but the team’s performance against Middle Tennessee was a disaster nonetheless, with the rushing offense averaging less than two yards per carry and the passing offense giving up 500 yards.
Cristobal can’t put the blame on skill for that kind of defeat; it’s the coaching.
Houston: With only five minutes left on the clock, the Cougars needed 10 consecutive points to hold off a late rally by Rice (2-2). For most of the game, Rice was ahead because the Coogs made 10 turnovers and committed 10 penalties. Houston’s head coach Dana Holgorsen vented his anger to the Houston Chronicle after the loss.
“I’ve had enough with having to yell at them. I’m sick of trying to inspire them. I’m sick of hearing about it, “This is what Holgorsen stated.
Avoiding a 1-3 start by a hair isn’t exactly inspiring confidence in a club that was once considered a legitimate threat for the New Year’s Six.
Week 4 Overreactions
Despite the Sooners’ meteoric rise in the polls thanks to their dominance against weaker opponents like Nebraska, Kent State, and UTEP, Oklahoma will not win the Big 12 Conference.
In contrast, the first game in Big 12 play against Kansas State was an unpleasant awakening. The Sooners’ season total of 30 points allowed was surpassed by the Wildcats’ 41 thanks to a five-touchdown performance by Nebraska transfer quarterback Adrian Martinez.
After annihilating their rivals, the Cornhuskers, Brent Venables’ job in Norman looks a lot less routine than before. There are no more cakewalks when considering the Big 12’s strength in depth during the preseason.
There is a difference in the tiebreakers favoring Kansas State over Oklahoma.
The roads could be dangerous on the way to TCU, Iowa State, and Texas Tech. Challenging games remain against Texas, Baylor, and Oklahoma State. If this is the Oklahoma we get in 2022, the Sooners will never make it to Arlington.
While the Badgers were among the most consistent programs in NCAA football from 2004 through 2017, that era is long gone. In 16 seasons, the Badgers scored 141-45 and finished in the rankings 13 times, including five in the top five.
Although a loss to No. 3 Ohio State had to be expected, the Buckeyes’ lack of effort in a 52-21 loss that dropped them to 2-2 raises some profound problems.
Under Paul Chryst’s watch at Wisconsin, the Badgers have only finished in the top 25 in the last five seasons.
Since today’s loss, the Badgers’ remaining schedule has no teams in the top 25. It’s highly improbable that they’ll be able to mount a comeback in the polls.
Also, since 2012, Wisconsin has only had one Rose Bowl appearance. There was a time when this program’s effectiveness was determined by how often participants visited Pasadena.
In his first three years as head coach, Chryst led the team to a 34-7 record. His 33-18 record since the start of 2017 is good, but it doesn’t cut it in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin already has one of the most desirable coaching candidates in the country, defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
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