College Football Week Four Recap: Winners and Losers - jmik58's Blog

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College Football Week Four Recap: Winners and Losers Stuck

Posted on September 24, 2012 at 03:38 PM.

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Just when you think a once-big-name-program is about to cement its place on the map, the team finds a way to let down their fans even though they know to expect it.

The likes of Florida State and Notre Dame, however, decided to buck the trend in week four as they pulled out crucial victories while Oklahoma fell at home to the surging Wildcats of Kansas State. But sometimes a win isn't enough as the LSU Tigers found out Sunday with the release of the latest polls. Thanks to the performance of the Oregon Ducks and a close win against Auburn by the Tigers, fans in Eugene are sitting pretty while the folks in the Bayou are on the outside looking in.

Sometimes a win isn't a "win" -- and sometimes your coach goes for two despite the other team not scoring an offensive point all game. That's just college football, and that was week four.

Here are five winners and losers from week four of the college football season.

FIVE TEAMS ON THE RISE

#3 Oregon (4-0)
Week 4: #22 Arizona, won 49-0.
Week 5: Washington State (2-2)

It's important not to read too much into one dominating performance but the Ducks looked like the complete package against the Wildcats. For the number three team in the polls to play even better than their ranking it says a lot. Oregon can run of course (303.8 ypg), throw for over 260 yards a game, but more impressively is that they are home to the 36th ranked scoring defense in the land (18.3 ppg). After LSU's performance, the Ducks look to be the clear-cut favorite to lock down the number two spot in the polls.

#15 Kansas State (4-0)
Week 4: #6 Oklahoma, won 24-19.
Week 5: No Game

The Wildcats are clearly positioning themselves as this year's version of the Baylor Bears -- but even better. Naturally, Collin Klein at quarterback fills the slot as the RG3 for the 2012 season, even though Klein is more known for his bulldozing style of running the ball. As good as the linebacker-sized passer is for K-State, however, it's their defense that has impressed thus far allowing only 15.5 points per game (26th in the nation).

#11 Notre Dame (4-0)
Week 4: #18 Michigan, won 13-6.
Week 5: No Game

Make no mistake, the Irish definitely should have won this game, but it's the fact that they actually did win that sets them apart. Notre Dame will always have the players and will always have the tough schedule, but they haven't been able to win the big games. Unfortunately, Notre Dame will be forced to continue that trend the rest of the year as their season lineup never relents. The one area of pause for the Irish is their afinity for the close game at home, defeating Purdue by only three and now Michigan by six. Disappointment awaits in the future, but can Notre Dame fight it off until another year?

#5 Florida State (3-0)
Week 4: #10 Clemson, won 49-37.
Week 5: South Florida (2-2)

Like Notre Dame, the Seminoles had to win this game to prove their hype. It came as no surprise to me that they pulled it out, but based on FSU's recent history of disappointment it still speaks volumes to the program's ability to actually live up to their early-season potential. Everyone knew that Clemson was going to score points and that FSU would follow suit, but the way that the 'Noles took control in the second half sent a serious message as folks in Tallahassee can celebrate until the regular season finale matchup with #11 Florida.

Oregon State (2-0)
Week 4: #19 UCLA, won 27-20.
Week 5: Arizona (3-1)

If you're only going to play two games through the first four weeks of the season make sure they're both against ranked teams and you win. The Beavers seem to welcome that philosophy and have executed wonderfully. They haven't quite put together enough of a package to assess how serious they are over the long-haul, but victories of Wisconsin and now UCLA have the rest of the nation paying attention.

FIVE TEAMS ON THE DECLINE

BYU (2-2)
Week 4: #24 Boise State, lost 6-7.
Week 5: Hawaii (1-2)

The Cougars have been a bit of a disappointment this year at 2-2. Both of their losses have been by a combined four points and chaos or controversy have surrounded each contest. First it was Utah upsetting BYU despite multiple attempts at a game-tying field goal by the Cougars. Then it was the mediocre Boise State Broncos defeating BYU without scoring a single offensive point. To make matters worse, Cougars head coach Bronco Mendenhall went for two instead of sending the game to overtime even though the Broncos had zero offense or a serious field goal threat.

#2 LSU (4-0)
Week 4: Auburn, won 12-10.
Week 5: Towson

For the second straight week the second-ranked team in the nation finds a spot on my "Teams on the Decline" list. Last week it was USC after a loss to Stanford, but this week the Tigers make an appearance due to an underwhelming performance despite winning their contest over Auburn (see: Texas week three). The Tigers had built up quite a resume' over the first three weeks but the competition was lacking serious clout. The struggles of LSU against an flailing Auburn squad brings to question if the Bayou Bengals have the offensive fire-power to overcome a similar fate to that of 2011.

#22 Arizona (3-1)
Week 4: #3 Oregon, lost 0-49.
Week 5: #18 Oregon State (2-0)

A 3-0 start to the Rich Rodriguez era doesn't look quite as impressive after a horrible showing against the Ducks. The Wildcats' victory over a young Oklahoma State team in week two now looks more like a contest settled by inexperience and jet-lag than by dominating superiority. The 'Cats moved the ball at a respectable clip but a lack of efficiency and quality decision making at quarterback held them back. Arizona hopes that Oregon is really just that good or it could be a rough trip throught he PAC-12.

#6 Oklahoma (2-1)
Week 4: #15 Kansas State, lost 19-24.
Week 5: No Game

Since when do top-tier teams from the Big-12 play defense? Most knew that for the Wildcats to pull the upset they would need the exploits of Collin Klein to get it done. But few expected the Sooners offense to be held to nineteen points and only 88 yards rushing for the game. Conversely, K-State had little problem moving the ball on the ground, rushing for 213 yards in route to the victory. Big-Game Bob Stoops is losing his edge in Norman and must lead the Sooners to an undefeated run through the remainder of the season for a shot at the conference title.

#16 Ohio State (4-0)
Week 4: UAB, won 29-15.
Week 5: #20 Michigan State (3-1)

Just when you think the Buckeyes are starting to hit their stride as a national powerhouse they show a lack of focus by overlooking a struggling UAB squad. Perhaps Ohio State was looking ahead to their matchup with the Spartans, but this game was a perfect example of how hard it can be to predict athletic performances involving immature young men. The Buckeyes truly played down to the level of competition that the Blazers brought to town. OSU can't bank on an ability to just "turn it on" when necessary if they want to disrupt the national landscape. This week's game could seriously expose their youth and mental toughness as they travel to Lansing for a difficult road contest.

Sound Off: Who are your winners and losers from week four of the college football season?

Justin Mikels is a staff writer for Operation Sports. Follow him on Twitter: @long_snapper

Comments

# 1 CM Hooe @ Sep 24

I don't see how FSU beating Clemson can be dismissed as "no surprise". FSU was ranked lower going into the matchup and Clemson had won six of the last nine meetings between the two schools prior to this past weekend's matchup. Doesn't change the fact that it was a good win for the Seminoles, but the wording could be better.

# 2 CM Hooe @ Sep 24

EDIT: I'm confused, FSU was ranked higher.

I stand by the rest of my point, however.

# 3 Bmore Irish @ Sep 24

irish' schedule looks a little more manageable these days after some of the games by OU and USC. oregon st is def a surprise for me; i thought kansas state had it in them, but really impressive none the less. im a big klein fan, collin that is. LSU has my Towson Tigers coming into town next saturday. ill be watching on espnu at 7pm. they should smoke my boys, but if they dont make this an ugly loss for Towson, then im thinkin LSU is highly overrated.