College Football Awards, Week 4 (2024) September 23, 2024

Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.
Tags: Air Force, Akron, Alabama, Appalachian State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, BYU, Chris Klieman, Cincinnati, Clark Lea, college football, Eliah Drinkwitz, Georgia, Houston, Illinois, James Madison, Josh Heupel, Kalen DeBoer, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Kirby Smart, Lincoln Riley, Louisville, LSU, Mack Brown, Major Applewhite, Matt Rhule, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Mizzou, NC State, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Penn State, South Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC, Vanderbilt, Wyoming
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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Josh Heupel, Tennessee

Glad I’m not him: Lincoln Riley, USC

Lucky guy: Eliah Drinkwitz, Mizzou

Poor guy: Clark Lea, Vanderbilt

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Chris Klieman, Kansas State

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Major Applewhite, South Alabama

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Matt Rhule, Nebraska

Desperately seeking … anything:  Mack Brown, North Carolina

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Penn State (defeated Kent State 56-0)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Texas A&M (defeated Bowling Green 26-20)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Akron (lost to South Carolina 50-7)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  UCLA (lost to LSU 34-17)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Cincinnati (defeated Houston 34-0)  

Dang, they’re good: Miami (Fla.)
Dang, they’re bad:  Appalachian State

Can’t Stand Prosperity:  Kansas State

Did the season start?  Kansas
Can the season end?  North Carolina

Can the season never end? Tennessee

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 18 Michigan 27, No. 11 USC 24

Play this again, too: Utah 22, Oklahoma State 19

Never play this again: No. 9 Penn State 56, Kent State 0

What?  No. 24 Illinois 31, No. 22 Nebraska 24

Huh?  Buffalo 23, No. 23 Northern Illinois 20

Double-Huh?  No. 18 Michigan 27, No. 11 USC 24

Are you kidding me??  James Madison 70, North Carolina 50

Oh – my – God:  BYU 38, Kansas State 9

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 5)
Ticket to die for:  No. 2 Georgia @ No. 4 Alabama

Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: Northern Illinois @ NC State

Best non-Power Four matchup: Fresno State @ UNLV

Upset alert: No. 19 Illinois @ No. 9 Penn State

Must win: No. 15 Louisville @ No. 16 Notre Dame

Offensive explosion: South Alabama @ No. 14 LSU

Defensive struggle: Air Force @ Wyoming

Great game no one is talking about: No. 20 Oklahoma State @ No. 23 Kansas State

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Kalen DeBoer of Alabama vs Kirby Smart of Georgia

Who’s bringing the body bags? Mississippi State @ No. 1 Texas

Why are they playing?  Holy Cross @ Syracuse

Plenty of good seats remaining: New Mexico @ New Mexico State

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Wagner @ Florida Atlantic

Week 4 Thoughts:

Offensive explosions are usually the hardest game to predict.  No matter how one formulates the prediction, it has the least likelihood of coming true.  The reason I bring this up is because this past week did not give us only one, or two, but several.  Perhaps the most prominent – and inexplicable — was where James Madison beat North Carolina, 70-50, an outcome so embarrassing on the latter’s part that Mack Brown even suggested resigning after sustaining such a loss.  But the day had offensive explosions elsewhere, too, if not quite as egregious.  Clemson beat NC State, 59-35; Navy defeated Memphis 56-44; Monmouth upset Florida International, 45-42.  Finally, out on the west coast, Washington State held on in two overtimes to defeat San Jose State, 54-52.  Has there ever been such a horrible day to be a defensive coordinator?

USC @ Michigan

Typically when these two teams have played each other, it is in the Rose Bowl, and not just the stadium, but the actual “Granddaddy of Them All”.  This time, the Trojans ventured into Ann Arbor, Mich, to take on the Wolverines.  Such amazing new matchups in hitherto atypical settings are now a hallmarks of the newly expanded Big Ten.  USC caused everyone to take notice during their win over LSU at the beginning of the season.  The game lived up to its hype in every way, with Michigan pulling off the upset win.

Three takeaways from this game:  Michigan, despite rebuilding, still has a strong defense.  Granted, Texas made mincemeat of them a couple of weeks earlier, but now they are starting to play to form. 

Second, Michigan might be rebuilding to an extent.  Jim Harbaugh is no longer there.  But they have been wise to emulate Harbaugh’s winning business model of a run-oriented offense and gritty, disciplined defense.  Thus, they are in a position to continue to be a force in the conference foreseeably. Also, USC’s season is far from over.  They can still climb their way back into playoff contention, with a partly favorable schedule paired with enough very good teams at home (Penn State and Notre Dame) to appear credible in the eyes of the football pollsters.

Georgia Tech @ Louisville

The Yellowjackets proved they are a dangerous team with some of their previous wins this season.  That is why Louisville demonstrated – for now – that they deserve their current ranking of No. 15, despite a few unforced errors throughout the game.  But while their win over Georgia Tech was a nice one, they must work extra-hard to prevent such unforced errors this week, as they play Notre Dame in what could be one of the best games of Week 5.

Tennessee @ Oklahoma

The Volunteers proved that they are the real deal.  Not only did they win on the road in a hostile environment, but their winning score of 25-15 understates the way they gradually dominated as the game progressed.  The most decisive factor of the game was Tennessee’s dominant front seven, which shut down the Sooners’ running game (OU managed only 33 total yards on the ground).  While Tennessee’s rushing attack only added up to 59 yards, that is still better for one.  But for another, that left both teams to rely more on the pass, wherein the Vols proved to be more adept.

Key takeaways:  the fact that OU held Tennessee to only 25 points speaks well to their defensive talent and valiant efforts, and other teams in the conference should take notice, including Texas three weeks hence.

Also, the Volunteers passed a key test, but arguably tougher tests remain, as they are scheduled to play both Alabama and Georgia later in the year, giving us more memorable games to which to look forward.  But the potential is nevertheless there to be one of the greatest Volunteer teams ever, should they live up to it.

Looking ahead:

No. 20 Oklahoma State @ No. 23 Kansas State

Two good teams coming off losses now go head-to-head.  Nothing like two good teams butting heads who are hungry to avenge the previous week’s losses:  this could be a good one.

No. 15 Louisville @ No. 16 Notre Dame

Ironically, this could be Notre Dame’s biggest test yet, as Texas A&M proved to be a bit overrated as the season began. 

No. 2 Georgia @ No. 4 Alabama

Let’s be honest:  we live for matchups like these.  Adding additional intrigue is Georgia likely keen to avenge their loss to the Tide in the playoffs last year.