Week 4 takeaways: Coaches talking smack, Texas playing defense and
A crammed Week 4 slate, consisting of six ranked-versus-ranked matchups figured to reveal a lot about the 2023 college football season.Oregon and Washington State earned huge home wins, the ACC kept rolling thanks to some unlikely unbeatens, and Alabama bounced back in a big method against Ole Miss.Our press reporters break down what we found out in another wild week. The ACC is prospering There have been lots of narratives surrounding the ACC over the course of the previous couple of years: No playoff appearances, prominent football brand has a hard time and couple of marquee nonconference wins hurt the method football was viewed.Add to that questions around conference adjustment and whether league groups might complete facing a major income space with the
SEC and Big 10, and well, all of it served to develop the understanding that the league was just hardly hanging on.But appearance what has taken place to start 2023: The ACC has 6 undefeated groups, tied with the 2012 SEC for the most teams in a Power 5 conference
to begin 4-0 in a single season in the AP Poll age(given that 1936 ). North Carolina is 4-0 for the first time since 1997, with 2 nonconference wins over Power 5 opponents. What might be most unexpected of all, though, is who else is unbeaten, too.With Clemson off to a 2-2 start, the hot ACC teams have actually made the Tigers’seeming elimination from playoff contention practically feel like an afterthought. Duke, which handed the Tigers an opening weekend defeat
, is likewise 4-0 and will host “College GameDay “for the very first time in school history this Saturday for its huge home game versus Notre Dame.In fact, Duke and North Carolina are 4-0 in football at the very same time for the first time because … 1971. Syracuse is 4-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time considering that 1959-60. Louisville, at 4-0 for the very first time given that 2016, has used its prolific
offense and great ranging from Jawhar Jordan(No. 8 in the country in hurrying yards )as native boy Jeff Brohm has actually measured up to the hype.And 4-0 Miami is providing a year after Mario Cristobal also returned house– with an offense that is enabling Tyler Van Dyke to flourish when again. Van Dyke ranks No. 4 in the nation in quarterback rating– completing 74.7%of his passes with 16 goals to simply two interceptions.
“Whether you like it or not the narrative begins to get set with how you play in the nonconference. I’m truly proud of how we’ve begun the season with more chances left,”ACC commissioner Jim Phillips stated.– Andrea Adelson Alabama freshman steps up Much has been made about the Crimson Tide’s quarterback circumstance through the very first four weeks, as the offense has actually been last in the SEC in overall offense at 364.8 lawns per game.Jalen Hale came into the program this fall from Longview High School(Texas)as one of 13 top-50 potential customers in a recruiting class that completed atop the 2023 rankings. Hale caught 12 touchdown passes as a senior in high school, however it was his first collegiate score– a 33-yard reception from Jalen Milroe midway through the third quarter Saturday– that provided Alabama the breathing room it needed to pull away from Lane Kiffin and 15th-ranked Ole Miss in a 24-10 triumph. With Saban now fully behind Milroe in the quarterback competitors that likewise saw Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson see time under center, the focus now turns to who can step up and end up being the latest to hold up the program’s legacy at pass receiver. If Saturday is any harbinger, Hale bears enjoying.– Blake Baumgartner A different sort of coachspeak Perhaps it’s the advent of Prime Time on a Power 5 phase that has actually released some coaches up. Possibly it’s the fact that coaches have been forced to progressively end up being more online as their players have actually now grown up living there. Perhaps it’s just that they are looking for motivation at every turn, TV program or tweet. Whatever the case, Saturday was a banner day for coaches speaking their
minds.In the quotes of Ryan Day, Dan Lanning and Sanders, among others, there were far less coach clichés, far less”both teams played difficult” and even more pointed comments at former coaches, current coaches, broadcasters and anybody who might have stated something to besmirch their team. In turn, players like Oregon’s protective lineman Brandon Dorlus took cues from their coaches, giving voice to the disrespect they felt by ordinary things such as players walking over midfield logos. “They came in the other day, stepped on our O,”Dorlus stated, referring to a video the Buffs posted of them walking around Autzen Stadium the day previously.”That’s the result you get.”Oregon wide receiver Troy Franklin concurred.” Pregame I didn’t actually comprehend why they were on our half of the field, things like that,”he stated.”They just weren’t type of respectful.”Viewed disrespect or actual disrespect fuels much of this sport for much better or for even worse, and while some may feel like random overreactions(taking a look at you, Ryan Day ), if it suggests players and coaches will speak their mind as try to use anything from an off-handed remark to a forecast in order to craft an”
us versus the world”mindset and offer themselves an edge, I, for one, welcome it.– Paolo Uggetti Chris Jones/USA TODAY Sports Texas ‘defense may be the Big 12 distinction No. 3 Texas started its last Big 12 quest by making fast work of Baylor with a 38-6 win in Waco, where the Longhorns had actually lost in their previous two trips.Texas hasn’t won the Huge 12 because 2009, which is difficult to think. It also hasn’t been this high in the surveys because that season.Steve Sarkisian stated all offseason that repairing the deep death game was among the biggest
priorities. So far, it’s been far better, though QB Quinn Ewers had his resist Wyoming. But thus far this year, Ewers has 11 completions of 30-plus lawns this season, according to ESPN Stats & Details research. Ewers had just 10 such completions all last season.The Horns haven’t started 4-0 since 2012. They have an opportunity to do that today with Kansas pertaining to Austin. And while all the spotlight has
been on those offensive stars along with Sarkisian’s reputation as a playcaller, the Texas defense may be the unheralded star of the show.Texas has actually held each of its previous nine opponents under 30 points, tied with Penn State and Kentucky for the longest current streak in FBS. It has allowed simply 50 points in the first 4 games of this year( a stretch that includes a trip to Tuscaloosa versus Alabama )and has actually held
challengers to 10 points or fewer in the very first half in 10 games considering that in 2015, a lot of in the Big 12. Sarkisian said it’s been a long procedure, but it’s revealing.” It’s been three years in the making of putting a staff together, putting a plan together, making adjustments to that scheme,”Sarkisian stated Saturday night.”I think we have actually added depth to that roster on the protective side of the ball on all 3 levels. I believe we have truly good veteran management on defense from front to back. Then what comes with that is self-confidence.”The outcome– along with a greatly improved Oklahoma defense– is that early returns appear like a Longhorns-Sooners clash in Dallas on Oct. 7 for Huge 12 supremacy. In the two schools’final season in the league, that is most likely fitting, albeit unpleasant for league leadership.– Dave Wilson Ohio State-Notre Dame fallout puts both coaches in the spotlight After Ohio State’s remarkable win over Notre Dame, the focus quickly shifted to both coaches– for very various reasons. I have actually known Ryan Day since 2017 and have actually never ever seen him so animated after a game, both as he pumped his fist and pumped up the fans huddled around the Buckeyes ‘tunnel, and then in his news conference.Day might
have been set off by the remarks from previous Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz on “The Pat McAfee Show,”but Holtz’s bottom line, that Day’s teams aren’t tough enough, was something Day plainly has actually heard for a while. When I talked with him before last year’s CFP, he used the word”calloused”to describe how he dealt with the criticism that came from dropping successive games to Michigan. Still, Holtz plainly selected open the scab.The question is whether Day’s feeling, and the way Ohio State won, can springboard the group to beat and out-tough its staying challengers, particularly Penn State and Michigan. Day coached with comparable emotion in the CFP semifinal against Georgia and his team responded well, largely beating the ultimate nationwide champions. But too much feeling from a coach, bordering on unhinged, can work versus a group.”That’s absolutely the most animated I’ve ever seen him, and truly so, “quarterback Kyle McCord stated after a huge efficiency down the stretch.”People were taking shots at him, taking shots at the team, that weren’t real. … I think we showed a lot of individuals wrong, but the larger thing is: Can you show yourself right?” Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, on the other hand, has reached a crossroads early in his tenure. Freeman’s group mostly beat Ohio State and could have protected one of its most significant wins in years. However then a series of mistakes happened– passing on second-and-15 rather than requiring Ohio State to burn its final timeout, and then having only 10 defenders on the field for consecutive goal-line plays, in spite of taking a timeout in between– that cost Freeman and the Irish.Freeman is just in his 2nd year as a coach and has a reasonably young staff, however every mistake is magnified, specifically untenable ones like 10 males on the field. Instead of a 5-0 start, Notre Dame left the field sad and now gets in a very tough stretch against Duke (road ), Louisville( roadway) and USC (house).”We use every game to make us much better, but particularly this one, right?” Freeman said.”
How do you find a way to make your team much better through a challenging loss? And we’ll do that. I know our coaches and our players will.”What takes place next will reveal a lot about Notre Dame and its young coach.– Adam Rittenberg Is Georgia really No. 1? Putting Georgia at the top of your survey– any poll– is the simple escape. No one, not even Kirby Smart, understands if Georgia is the best group in the nation, because it hasn’t done anything this season to prove it.Wins versus UT Martin, Ball State, South Carolina and UAB– 4
straight house games– should not be enough to declare the Bulldogs No. 1, even if they are two-time safeguarding national champs. Not when Texas won in Tuscaloosa. Ohio State won in South Bend. Florida State won in Death Valley and beat LSU in Orlando.And let’s be sincere– Washington has appeared like the most complete group in the country.There will be time for Georgia to reassert itself at the top of the playoff pyramid. September isn’t it.– Heather Dinich Who is playing better than WSU QB Cam Ward?Against an Oregon State defense that had actually been– by every important metric– a minimum of a top-two defense in the Pac-12 for the previous 2 seasons, Washington State quarterback Cam Ward turned in a signature efficiency Saturday night. It wasn’t simply the backyards(404)or the conclusion percentage(82.4)or deep tosses that left a favorable impression. It was that under brand-new offensive planner Ben Arbuckle, Ward looked in total control at practically every minute. For a person that went from zero-star hire in a run-heavy high school offense to where he is now– among just three FBS players (together with Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman and USC’s Caleb Williams)with a minimum of 13 touchdown passes and no interceptions)– is an exceptional rise.Ward was solid in 2015 for the Cougars after moving from FCS Incarnate Word, however his year-over-year improvement is among the most excellent in college football, and NFL scouts have taken notification.
In a conference loaded with future professional quarterbacks, Ward has actually still stuck out. His production is right there with Washington ‘s Michael Penix Jr. and
Williams, perhaps the 2 Heisman Trophy front-runners
.– Kyle Bonagura