close
close

CFB Recap: Week 4 Biggest Game Takeaways

College Football Wrap-Up recaps the biggest developments in the day’s action and examines the importance of moving them forward.

Uiagalelei ignites Clemson’s offense

After bursting onto the scene with a pair of brilliant performances as a freshman, quarterback DJ Uiagalelei’s poor play stopped Clemson last season. The Tigers ranked 103rd in the country in passing attack last year and ranked 76th in that stat before playing at Wake Forest on Saturday. It’s safe to say that number will look significantly better after a dramatic victory against the Demon Deacons.

The California native threw for a whopping 371 yards and five touchdowns on the road, including the game-winning throw in double overtime for the Tigers. He also added a crucial 54 rushing yards, often extending drives by converting with his rushing ability.

Uiagalelei’s breakout performance came just when Dabo Swinney’s team needed it, as Sam Hartman tore through Clemson’s secondary throughout the contest Saturday with six touchdown passes of his own.

If the junior quarterback can maintain the form we saw against Wake Forest for the rest of the season, Clemson is a legitimate contender for the national title and the favorite to win the ACC.

Stroud is coming for the Heisman

Sportswire Icon / Sportswire Icon / Getty

CJ Stroud can probably go ahead and book his accommodations in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony in December. The Ohio State quarterback continued his incredible start to the season on Saturday with his second consecutive five-touchdown performance, this time against Wisconsin and one of the best passing defenses in the nation.

The redshirt sophomore has a whopping 16 touchdown passes on the campaign with just one interception. Stroud has thrown at least five scores in five of the last nine contests going back to last season. He threw for 44 touchdowns in 12 games last season, which means he’s slightly ahead of that pace through the first month of 2022.

Kansas State runs over Oklahoma

Brent Venables is no longer perfect as a head coach in Oklahoma. And the way the Sooners handled the loss is sure to make the former defensive coordinator saltier. Kansas State came to Norman on Saturday night and crushed the No. 6-ranked team in the country with a dominant running game from Adrian Martinez and Deuce Vaughn.

Martinez led the attack from the quarterback position, racking up 148 yards and four rushing touchdowns, while the electric Vaughn had 116 yards of his own. Martinez also threw for 234 yards and a touchdown as the Wildcats finished with more than 500 yards of total offense. Despite Oklahoma’s recent success on the national stage, Kansas State’s victory is the program’s fourth in its last six trips to Norman.

The Sooners’ setback means the Kansas Jayhawks surprisingly sit atop the Big 12 standings after four weeks into the season.

Michigan survives first real test

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images Sport/Getty

With a combined score of 166-17 through three games, Michigan has looked as dominant as any other program in the country this season. While the Wolverines are undoubtedly a strong team, having one of the easiest schedules in college football thus far has certainly helped that performance. Michigan’s first real test came Saturday at home against Maryland, and it’s safe to say Blake Corum was up for the challenge.

The Wolverines running back completely shredded the Terrapins defense for 243 yards and two rushing touchdowns. JJ McCarthy looked shaky at times, but he gave up two touchdown passes and finished with an eye-popping 12.9 yards per completion. That ability to play big is what led Jim Harbaugh to start at second-year quarterback over Cade McNamara.

Michigan now hits the road for the first time this season, with back-to-back games in Iowa and Indiana before hosting Penn State and Michigan State to close out the month of October.

The honeymoon for Cristóbal in Miami is over

Just four games after his return home to Miami, the honeymoon is officially over for Mario Cristóbal. It was a huge blow for the Hurricanes to convince the former player to leave Oregon and return to South Florida, but Saturday’s shocking home loss to Middle Tennessee State will no doubt set off alarm bells in Miami.

The defense should take a lot of flak for giving up 45 points to a non-Power 5 program, but perhaps the most puzzling development since Cristobal took over is Tyler Van Dyke’s play. The redshirt quarterback and sophomore entered the season surrounded by excitement for the NFL draft after a season in which he averaged 325 yards per game while throwing for 25 touchdowns versus just six interceptions. Van Dyke is averaging just 202 receiving yards and has just four touchdowns to three interceptions in four games this year. Cristobal opted to bench the star quarterback in the second half of Saturday’s loss.

Miami now enters a bye week before its ACC schedule begins against North Carolina on Oct. 8. Hurricanes fans will surely be eager to see if Cristobal can address the many issues plaguing his team during the break in the game.

No solution to Michigan State’s defensive problems

Mike Mulholland/Getty Images Sport/Getty

Michigan State’s Mel Tucker signed a 10-year, $95 million contract toward the end of last season. Through four games of 2022, it’s probably safe to say there’s a bit of buyer’s remorse in East Lansing. After getting crushed in Washington last week, the Spartans returned home only to be beaten by Minnesota 34-7.

There are areas of concern throughout the Spartans’ roster, but Tucker’s inability to improve his defensive unit is particularly alarming. Last week, Michigan State allowed 503 yards of total offense and 9.9 yards passing against the Huskies. On Saturday, the Golden Gophers put up 510 yards of offense and more than 10 passing yards while scoring on six of eight drives.

The Spartans will face Maryland, Ohio State and Wisconsin for the next four weeks before closing out October with the rivalry contest in Michigan. Things are likely to get a lot worse before they get better for Sparty.

Bo Nix’s big day

The Bo Nix era in Oregon got off to a rocky start against Georgia, but the quarterback bounced back with three straight games of exceptional play for the Ducks. Saturday saw the best passing game of his career, with the Auburn transfer throwing for 428 yards and three touchdowns in a big comeback win at Washington State. The pivotal play for Oregon came in the closing minutes of action, when Nix found Troy Franklin for a 50-yard touchdown run to put the Ducks in front.

Since the opening loss to the Bulldogs, Nix has thrown for 10 touchdowns against just one interception in his last three games and also added three rushing touchdowns in last week’s win over BYU. Nix’s problems at Auburn came down to his inconsistent play and questionable decision-making, but it seems the move to the Pac-12 has eradicated most of those problems.

Tennessee’s offense can challenge anyone

Donald Page/Getty Images Sport/Getty

Tennessee’s offense finished seventh in the country in scoring last year, but it could be even better in its second season under Josh Heupel. The Volunteers’ latest casualty was No. 20 Florida on Saturday, when the offense racked up nearly 600 yards in a 38-33 victory. It was an important win for Tennessee as the team beat the Gators for the second time in the last 18 meetings. It also marked the first 4-0 start for the program since 2016 and snapped a six-game losing streak at home against ranked opponents.

Hendon Hooker once again noted that he is among the best quarterbacks in the nation, as the Virginia Tech transfer threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns and added 112 yards and a rushing touchdown. The standout passer led scoring drives on six of nine possessions, with two fumbles and one attempted turnover, the only time the Vols didn’t score points.

Texas hates double digit clues

One of the biggest problems in Steve Sarkisian’s first season with Texas was his habit of blowing double-digit leads. That happened on three of those occasions last year, leading to crushing losses in a 5-7 campaign to begin the coach’s tenure. After a solid start to the 2022 campaign, that problem reared its ugly head again at Texas Tech on Saturday.

Texas led 31-17 with 4:27 left in the third quarter, but allowed 17 straight points to fall behind 34-31. While the Longhorns were able to go almost the entire length of the field in the final 21 seconds to tie the contest with a field goal, the eventual overtime loss would give the Red Raiders bragging rights for the rivalry in the state.

The main issue in the second half was the offense’s inability to move the ball. Outside of the two scoring drives in those final 30 minutes, Texas had the ball on five other drives, rushing just 19 plays for just 26 total yards during that time.

Kansas has a star in Jalon Daniels

Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images Sport/Getty

It’s September 24 and Kansas Football already has four wins on the campaign. To put how abnormal that is into perspective, consider that the Jayhawks haven’t won four games. in a whole season since 2009. Lance Leipold is already working his magic on Lawrence, with quarterback Jalon Daniels’ breakup game the main reason behind the trade.

Kansas was the only Power 5 program to offer the junior quarterback a scholarship out of high school, and he’s quickly paying off that faith with a month to remember his junior year. Daniels broke out for 324 passing yards and four touchdowns while adding 83 yards and a rushing touchdown against undefeated Duke on Saturday, facilitating five touchdowns for the second straight game with the high-scoring Jayhawks.

The meat of the Kansas schedule still awaits, with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Baylor in three straight, but it’s impossible to ignore what Daniels and the Jayhawks have accomplished so far.

Leave a Comment