Week 4 of the college football season began on Thursday, with #5 Auburn, marching into Manhattan, Kansas to face the #20 Kansas State Wildcats. This was a big chance for the Big 12 to make a statement win against the SEC. It was a great game throughout, but Auburn squeezed out a 20-14 victory, in front of a raucous crowd in Manhattan.
Saturday included many close upset calls, along with a few big upsets. First off in Columbia, Missouri, the unranked Indiana Hoosiers got a much needed showcase win for the BIG 10, by going into Mizzou, and coming out with 31-27 victory over the #18 Tigers. Another high ranked SEC team got beat at home, but this one was a big shocker. #8 LSU, at home, in Death Valley, at night, lost to the unranked, but now 4-0 Mississippi State Bulldogs. This was a huge win for the Bulldogs, as now they look like real contenders in the SEC.
In Morgantown, West Virginia, #4 Oklahoma got its biggest test of the year. The Sooners didn’t pull away until late, and they barely escaped the hostile Mountaineer crowd, with a 45-33 victory. Down in Nashville, another top class SEC team almost went down. #14 South Carolina got a very unexpected fight from the Vanderbilt Commodores. Vandy has not played well this year, but they came to play today. The Commodores were hanging on all game, and for a moment it looked like they could pull of the upset, but South Carolina came out on top, 48-34.
The late games on Saturday, were probably the best games of the week, if not year so far. In Tallahassee, all eyes were on #1 Florida State against #22 Clemson. After the Jameis Winston incident earlier this week, Florida State was forced to play without their Heisman QB. The 4th quarter was incredibly dramatic. A late interception by Clemson looked to seal their win, but they then fumbled the ball, sending the game to overtime. That is where Clemson turned it over on downs, and the Seminoles drove it to the endzone, sending Tallahassee into a frenzy.
Up in Pullman, #2 Oregon was expected to roll over Washington State(except by me because I had them on upset watch). The Cougars put up an amazing effort though. In front of a loud sold out crowd, WSU kept Oregon close until the very end. It wasn’t until the final play that Oregon could breathe again.
In perhaps the most amazing finish ever, Arizona capped off a 36 point 4th quarter, with a game winning Hail Mary. You heard that right. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Wildcats completed the pass sending Arizona Stadium into complete pandemonium. The ending sent students onto the field, while others just were going crazy in the stands, What a way to end by far the best week of this college football season.
Some key games to look forward to next week are: UCLA at Arizona State, Texas Tech at Oklahoma State, and Missouri at South Carolina. My possible upset games are: #1 Florida State at NC State. How does FSU respond after an emotional week with a tough conference road game. #7 Baylor travels to Ames to face Iowa State. Notre Dame at Syracuse, and Stanford at Washington.