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College Football Awards, Week 4 (2025) September 22, 2025

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Curt Cignetti, Indiana

Glad I’m not him: Hugh Freeze, Auburn

Lucky guy: Ryan Silverfield, Memphis

Poor guy: Sam Pittman, Arkansas

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Kyle Whittingham, Utah

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Locksley, Maryland

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Bret Bielema, Illinois

Desperately seeking … anything:  Dabo Swinney, Clemson

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Florida State (defeated Kent State 66-10)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: North Texas  (defeated Army 45-38)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Oregon State (lost to No. 6 Oregon 41-7)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Army (lost to North Texas 45-38)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Indiana (defeated No. 9 Illinois 63-10)  

Dang, they’re good: Oklahoma
Dang, they’re bad:  Oklahoma State

Can’t Stand Prosperity: Illinois

Did the season start?  Utah
Can the season end?  Clemson

Can the season never end? Indiana

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 11 Oklahoma 24, No. 22 Auburn 17

Play this again, too: No. 21 Michigan 30, Nebraska 27

Never play this again: No. 7 Florida State 63, Kent State 10

What?  Maryland 27, Wisconsin 10

Huh?  Memphis 32, Arkansas 31

Are you kidding me??  Tulsa 19, Oklahoma State 12

Oh – my – God:  No. 19 Indiana 63, No. 9 Illinois 10

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 5)
Ticket to die for:  No. 6 Oregon @ No. 2 Penn State

Hon. mention:  No. 4 LSU @ No. 13 Ole Miss

Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: N/A

Best non-Power Four matchup: Rice @ Navy

Upset alert: Arizona @ No. 12 Iowa State

Must win: Auburn @ No. 9 Texas A&M

Offensive explosion: (inconclusive)

Defensive struggle: Kentucky @ South Carolina

Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ Pittsburgh

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Bret Bielema of Illinois vs Lincoln Riley of USC

Who’s bringing the body bags?  South Alabama @ North Texas

Why are they playing? UMass @ No. 23 Missouri

Plenty of good seats remaining: UCLA @ Northwestern

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Lindenwood @ Miami (OH)

Week 4 Thoughts:

The Texas Tech-Utah game reminded us fans that one can have a defensive struggle for a game, and still enjoy an exciting contest.  That being said, the aforementioned defensive struggle lasted for three of the four quarters of the game.  Then in the 4th quarter, things finally clicked offensively for the Red Raiders, they opened up the game, and the Utes had no answer, hence the lopsided score in the end.

A random observation:  since the Utes elected to wear white helmets at home, how come Texas Tech could not wear their signature black helmets to further, and properly, differentiate themselves on the field?  Furthermore, do not get me started on the irony of how I predicted this game to be an offensive explosion, only for it to materialize as a defensive struggle instead…for three quarters, at least. 

That said, the best game of the week was definitely the showdown in Norman, Okla., between the Sooners and visiting Auburn.  Both teams had good talent; both fought hard throughout the game.  Underdog Auburn was certainly, and commendably, game for the fight, but in the end, did not quite have enough offense to overcome the favored home team.  But what a game.  This win should put the rest of the western half of the SEC on notice that the Sooners are not to be taken lightly.

Meanwhile, what was the “ticket to die for” on paper was at…Indiana University?  That’s right.  No. 9 Illinois came calling to play at No. 19 Indiana, on an NBC night game, no less.  In what was perhaps the most electric atmosphere ever in Bloomington, Ind., the Hoosiers threw down the gauntlet early when drawing first blood at 9:35 in the 1st quarter, off a blocked punt, no less.  While Illinois seemed to answer the challenge with their own score only 1:01 later, that answer proved anemic, as the Hoosiers then ripped off eight unanswered scores in what amounted to one of the biggest blowouts of the week.  All the Illini could muster within IU’s eight-score stretch was a sad field goal right before halftime.  Not exactly the expected performance of a No. 9-ranked team:  concurrently, can we acknowledge the possibility that this year’s IU squad is even better than last year’s surprise playoff team?

Random Thoughts:

Syracuse triumphed over Clemson, in [the other] Death Valley, 34-21.  A couple of weeks ago, this would be considered a massive upset.  But going into this game, the Orange was 2-1, while the Tigers were unranked at 1-2.  Given that context, is the Orange’s win even an upset?  Not to put a bad spin on Syracuse’s big win, but it came at the cost of an injury (the crutches-and-protective-boot kind) to their starting QB, Steve Angeli, meaning that this victory could prove to be Pyrrhic.

Where was Arkansas’ defense in the second half?  Their defense allowed for 18 answered points scored, in turn allowing for Memphis to pull off a stunning upset.

So, next week should be a monster one for the sport that we love.  In addition to Auburn and Texas A&M; LSU and Ole Miss; Alabama and Georgia; plus Oregon and Penn State knocking heads, plenty other interesting matchups abound.  TCU plays Arizona State; Notre Dame plays Arkansas; USC plays Illinois; Cincinnati plays Kansas; Louisville plays Pittsburgh; Indiana plays Iowa; Tennessee plays undefeated Mississippi State; Arizona plays Iowa State; Ohio State plays Washington; and BYU takes on Colorado.  To express things another way, for once, there is a dearth of body bag games this week (potentially two, and that is it).  Let us give thanks to the Lord our God, and buckle up, buckaroos.