College football takeaways: Travis Hunter’s triumph, Hugh Freeze’s battles and
Sep 23, 2024, 09:00 AM ET Week 4 remains in the books as we look back at unexpected efficiencies and essential stories from this weekend’s games.No.
1 Texas remained on top in the rankings with backup quarterback Arch Manning getting his very first profession start. As injuries affect multiple top-ranked teams this season, it reveals simply how crucial lineup depth is to be a real contender for the national title.Colorado’s overtime
victory over Baylor showcased yet another reason that college football fans ought to be watching Travis Hunter this season. After taping 130 getting backyards and requiring a game-clinching fumble for the Buffaloes, Hunter continues to reveal his elite playmaking abilities each week.Our college football experts break down key takeaways from Week 4
efficiencies. Real CFP competitors require depth to endure the season It’s not even October yet and multiple College Football Playoff contenders– including No. 1-ranked Texas and No. 10 Utah– have actually begun their inferior quarterbacks due to the fact that of injuries. In its historical Week 3 win at Purdue, Notre Dame lost starting linemen Ashton Craig and Jordan Botelho to season-ending injuries. Michigan tight end Colston Loveland– the Wolverines ‘top pass catcher– missed out on Saturday’s win versus USC with an undisclosed injury.These groups– and any others with hopes of winning the championship game in the era of the 12-team playoff– need to be built to last through Jan. 20.
As inclusive as the brand-new 12-team format is, the true competitors for the national title are the ones that have the depth to conquer injuries at crucial positions, and that’s a small swimming pool of candidates: Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Texas.The list isn’t too much longer. It’s the wealthiest programs with the resources to lure in enough offensive and protective linemen who can rotate through the national title game on Jan.
20. The groups whose No. 2 QB is as good as QB1. It’s now a game of attrition as much as it is a game of inches.– Heather Dinich Heupel makes his return to Norman A funny thing happened en route to what seemed another Tennessee offensive fireworks show in its 25-15 roadway win Saturday at Oklahoma. Coach Josh Heupel and the Vols actually went conservative in the second half after building a 22-3 lead.And no, he wasn’t sympathizing with his alma mater. In fact, far from it. He didn’t break away from his go-for-it offensive identity even if he had a huge lead. Rather, Heupel revealed that he has actually continued to grow as a head coach. He’s not just an offending expert.
He understands all the working parts of a football group and how they mesh depending on the circumstances.So, while some fans lamented that Heupel took his foot off the gas too early, the reality is he coached effectively and sensibly. He didn’t allow his pride to get in the way by trying to pile on points in what was clearly an emotional go back to the place where he was fired 10 years earlier
as offensive organizer. Most significantly, Heupel wasn’t going to take unneeded chances with two backup offensive takes on protecting quarterback Nico Iamaleava the majority of the night versus a really excellent Oklahoma defense.Editor’s Picks 2 Related Here’s what else Heupel knows: He has a better defense today than an offense, and when the scenario warrants, he’s going to play to a smothering defense that’s a prerequisite if you’re going to win a championship. Tim Banks’system is first nationally in total defense and 2nd in hurrying defense and
third-down defense.Some of the very best news for the Vols, who have their toughest 2 tests of the season meeting Alabama (Oct. 19) and Georgia(Nov. 16), is that they’re only going to get much better on offense with a quarterback who can make every toss and is ending up being more experienced weekly in his very first year as a starter.Tennessee is anything however a finished product and still has a lot to show
, but it has the most complete team Heupel has actually had in Knoxville and is playing with an edge.And it starts with the Vols ‘coach, who’s as content winning ugly as he is quite. “Our best football is still out there,” Heupel stated.– Chris Low Nobody is doing it like Travis Hunter Colorado’s Travis Hunter tape-recorded his fifth straight 100-yard receiving game against Baylor. Andrew Wevers/Getty Images As we witness Shohei Ohtani sew together among the most ludicrous seasons in MLB history (without even pitching this season), it is very important to acknowledge– even if it’s week after week– what Travis Hunter is performing in college football.On Saturday, he had his fifth straight game of 100 getting lawns or more– the longest such streak in the sport– and forced the fumble on defense that clinched the win for the Buffs.Hunter’s originality goes beyond playing both ways– it’s that he’s an elite playmaker on both sides of the ball.In four games this season, he has 472 receiving yards and 5 goals, averaging 12.8 yards per catch. On defense, he is almost halfway to his solo deals with overall(23)from last year, has one interception and that abovementioned forced fumble. There are a great deal of things that are off-kilter
about the Colorado experience, however Hunter is not one of them.In some methods, I think back to Ohtani and how he has had the ability to focus on simply being the best player (and baserunner)in the world this season.
It makes you wonder what Hunter might do if he simply played pass receiver or if he played just in the secondary. It would make him easier to compare to other players, much easier to measure his effect and perhaps simpler to appreciate.While the”what if” is an alluring thought experiment, I prefer to enjoy that the phenomenon of Hunter is that he has no peers.– Paolo Uggetti Issues on the Plains We’ve spent much of the past year worrying over coach Billy Napier’s status on the hot seat for his inability to right the ship at
Florida in a prompt sufficient fashion, but perhaps we’ve been concentrated on the incorrect SEC coach.Napier’s Gators went into cowbell nation Saturday and delivered an emphatic win over Mississippi State with nearly perfect QB play from Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway, who integrated to have just two incompletions.Meanwhile, Auburn lost in your home for the fourth time in its past six games– 24-14 to Arkansas– behind yet another miserable day of quarterbacking from Hank Brown and Payton Thorne.A quick accounting of how bad things are: Auburn is 0-2 versus Power 4 challengers this year Auburn is 6-19 in its previous 25 games versus
power conference enemies Auburn
has not beaten a Power 5 group that ended up the year with a winning record because Halloween weekend of 2021 For head coach Hugh Freeze, the numbers are just as damning. He completed his remain at Liberty by dropping 4 directly, consisting of a humiliating home loss to New Mexico State. He started his Auburn profession by dropping 10 of 16 games vs. FBS competitors, including an awkward home loss to New Mexico State.While Napier’s flagging Florida program a minimum of has a strong veteran
QB and a dynamic freshman to develop around, Auburn’s numbers at the position under Freeze because 2023 are a train wreck: 51.5 Overall QBR, finishing 59 %, 5.6 backyards per dropback, 29 goals and 19 turnovers.
Thorne was benched after throwing four choices in
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a loss to Cal 2 weeks back, just for Brown to be benched Saturday after throwing three against Arkansas.Making matters worse, among Freeze
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‘s previous quarterbacks, Bo Wallace, took to X in the waning minutes of Auburn’s newest loss to gleefully celebrate Freeze’s
failures, recommending the coach had actually abandoned him as soon as he could no longer help Freeze win games.Since the start of last season, Florida has one less win but a better record in conference play, is balancing more points per game, and has had noticeably better QB play (65.7 Overall QBR). So why is Napier on the hottest seat of them all?Auburn took a significant danger in working with Freeze, a coach whose on-field résumé had been extraordinary, but whose off-field reputation was typically troubling. It was a computed gamble to try to right the ship after years of unsteady training. It’s hard to see how the gamble could settle at the moment, and with its next three games coming against ranked SEC groups, it’s most likely to worsen before it gets any better.– David Hale Surprise! Look who is undefeated in the ACC Pop quiz, hotshot: Can you name the 4 undefeated groups left in the ACC? Miami might not be much of a surprise. Louisville, having played in the ACC national championship a year ago, need to not be a surprise, either. But how about Pitt and Duke beginning the season 4-0? Thinking about Duke was picked 11th in the preseason media survey and Pitt picked 13th, their hot starts have definitely drawn extra notice.But there is something all 4 teams have in common: They each hit on the quarterbacks they selected from the transfer portal. Web Cam Ward( Washington State) has the prolific Miami offense setting records, while Tyler Shough(Texas Tech) has actually elevated the Louisville offense into a genuine danger every week. Maalik Murphy (Texas )helped provide new Duke coach Manny Diaz instant reliability with his arrival on campus.But you might make a legitimate argument the most significant impact portal player might extremely well be Eli Holstein (Alabama ), who won the Pitt starting task in fall camp and has actually not looked back. His ascendancy has been so unexpected, Pitt brought presumed starter Nate Yarnell
to ACC Kickoff back in July. Holstein not only provides the Pitt offense some swag, he and offending coordinator Kade Bell have been an ideal suitable for the pace offense Bell brought with him from Western Carolina.Last year, Pitt may have been the poster child for portal quarterbacks who miss out on– the Panthers generated Phil Jurkovec but he never entered a groove, was benched as quarterback and transferred to tight end. Coach Pat Narduzzi enjoyed his offense slog through a 3-9 season and thought to himself, “We have to do something different.”
Get in Bell. The 2 had actually never previously collaborated, but as soon as Narduzzi– a defensive coach– started viewing what Bell was doing at Western Carolina he was sold. Pitt has now won more games than all of last season.All 4 quarterbacks rank in the leading 6 in goal passes included the ACC. Ward, Shough and Holstein rank in the leading five in quarterback effectiveness. Football is obviously an intricate sport, but when the quarterback is playing the method
these 4 are, success can be condensed in a basic method. Top-tier QB play=success.– Andrea Adelson Wolverines discover their offense Michigan’s offense found its rhythm under brand-new starting QB Alex Orji. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images Michigan had sputtered offensively through its first 3 games, especially in a loss to Texas in Week 2. However in a come-from-behind win over USC, the protecting national
champions finally discovered an offending identity. Led by senior running back Kalel Mullings, the Wolverines leaned all the method into the running game and pounded the Trojans on the ground.The Wolverines passed for just 32 backyards, their least in a game considering that 1987, according to ESPN Research study. But they ran for 290, consisting of 79 on the game-winning drive. Mullings finished with a career-high 159 backyards, getting all eight continues the final possession.Though he just finished seven passes, new starting quarterback Alex Orji gave Michigan an increase, with 43 rushing lawns. The Wolverines now rank last amongst Power 4 groups in passing
. However if they can keep running the way they did against USC, they could reemerge in the playoff discussion.– Jake Trotter Group of 5 CFP race adds more twists The best part of a broadened College Football Playoff is that more groups– and leagues– will have something to bet down the stretch. We know that a Group of 5 team will remain in the 12-team field, however who gets the golden ticket
? Week 4 provided some plot twists as 3
teams that had actually previously tape-recorded Power 4 wins– Northern Illinois, Toledo and Memphis– all lost. NIU’s overtime home defeat to Buffalo likely will sting the most as the Huskies have by far the most remarkable nonleague victory, over then-No. 5 Notre Dame on Sept. 7. Most attention justifiably is on UNLV, which currently has wins against 2 Big 12 groups(Houston and Kansas are a combined 2-6)and gets Syracuse on a Friday night in Las Vegas, following a crucial home game this week versus Fresno State
. The Rebels likewise will host Boise State, which has the most outstanding loss amongst Group of 5 competitors, a 37-34 defeat at Oregon.Could Liberty, which reached the Feast Bowl last year, make it to the CFP regardless of a schedule once again lacking much substance? James Madison might have gone into the mix after installing 70 points in a win against North Carolina. There’s a lot of season left, but the race for the Group of 5’s CFP area is forming up to be a wild trip.– Adam Rittenberg