College Football Week 4 delivered a handful of exciting ranked versus ranked games that everyone couldn’t wait to see, including USC vs Michigan and Tennessee vs Oklahoma. Saturday’s action provides the nation with all of the entertainment they could ask for and more, leading to plenty of winners and losers from college football Week 4 to reflect on.
Winner: Luke Altmyer, QB, Illinois Fighting Illini
If the Illinois Fighting Illini weren’t generating national attention yet, Friday changed that. Quarterback Luke Altmyer went to Nebraska and threw 4 touchdown passes, including the game-winner in overtime. It’s not a gone-game outlier either. Illinois’s 6-foot-2 junior signal-caller now has a pair of four-touchdown games this season and his 10-0 TD-INT ratio is one of the biggest reasons why the Fighting Illini are 4-0 with two wins over ranked opponents.
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Loser: Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers
Entering Week 4, the UCLA Bruins combined for 26 total points and 207 passing yards per game against Hawai’i and Indiana. On the road in Baton Rouge, this LSU Tigers defense allowed 198 passing yards and 2 touchdowns with 17 points in the first half. We know recruiting isn’t LSU’s problem, so this is clearly a coaching issue. The Tigers are already on their second defensive coordinator and the results aren’t getting any better. At some point, Brian Kelly is going to leave LSU’s boosters with no other choice except one to fix the problem.
Winner: Drew Allar, QB, Penn State Nittany Lions
Drew Allar replicated his success from the season-opener against West Virginia, torching Kent State in Week 4 for 309 passing yards with 4 total touchdowns. Saturday marked Allar’s second game this season with a 90-plus ESPN QBR, a mark he reached just twice in 13 games last season. This is the exact version of Allar that Penn State needs next week against Illinois. If he can come close to it against the Fighting Illini defense, the Nittany Lions will have a much-needed big win over a top-20 opponent which is rare for James Franklin.
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Loser: Memphis Tigers
The Memphis Tigers defense has been dominant this season. Entering play on Saturday, Memphis ranked 11th in total yards per game allowed (224.7), yards per play allowed (3.87) and allowed just 1 touchdown per game. The Navy Midshipmen changed all of that in a hurry. Navy put up 35 points in three quarters on Memphis, with quarterback Blake Horvath throwing for 2 touchdowns and 192 passing yards on his first 9 completions. Plus, the Midshipmen rushed for over 200 yards. Evidently, the Tigers defense forgot to show up for Saturday’s game and it cost them dearly.
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Winner: Alonza Barnett, QB, James Madison Dukes
The North Carolina Tar Heels paid $500,000 to watch Alonza Barnett treat their defense like it was College Football 25 on freshman difficulty. James Madison dominated this game offensively, with Barnett racking up 388 passing yards on 22 completions with 5 touchdowns and tacking on 99 yards with 2 scores on the ground. Barnett is known nationally now and the James Madison Dukes deserves some love in the top 25 rankings, even if it’s just receiving more votes.
Loser: Missouri Tigers
We recognize the Vanderbilt Commodores are no longer the doormat of college football, at least not this season. However, the No. 7 Missouri Tigers entered college football Week 4 as an 18.5-point favorite over Vandy. Yet, Mizzou came out flat against Vanderbilt on Saturday. It also comes just a week after the Tigers escaped with a win at home against Boston College. With Texas A&M, Alabama, and Oklahoma still looming on the schedule, Missouri doesn’t look like a team anyone can trust.
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Winner: Quinshon Judkins, RB, Ohio State Buckeyes
Blowouts for the Ohio State Buckeyes have prevented the team from truly unleashing Quinshon Judkins. That changed on Saturday. At home against Marshall, the junior running back exploded for 173 yards, including an 86-yard run. Judkins finished the day with 187 scrimmage yards on only 16 touches, showing just how dangerous of an offensive weapon he can be.
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Loser: Oklahoma State Cowboys
The Utah Utes are going to be ranked as a top-10 team after Week 4, but there still aren’t many excuses here for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Not only did they play this one at home in front of an outstanding crowd, but the Utes once again had to roll with freshman Isaac Wilson, filling in for the second game at quarterback. Ollie Gordon didn’t show up for the Cowboys and Alan Bowman’s alarming ineffectiveness through the air – 16-for-33 with 2-2 TD-INT – cost Oklahoma State.
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Winner: Kalel Mullings, RB, Michigan Wolverines
This is Kalel Mullings’ team now. The senior entered the 2024 college football season with just 253 rushing yards to his name with many expecting Donovan Edwards to be the Michigan Wolverines top back this season. Instead, it’s the Kalel Mullings Show. The 6-foot-2 back tore through the USC Trojans defense, ripping off a 63-yard run and averaging 9.4 yards per carry on 17 carries. Michigan doesn’t win this game without Mullings and he’s going to be outstanding with this new-look run game following the change at quarterback.
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Loser: Northern Illinois’ Cinderella story
A lot needed to go right for Northern Illinois in Week 4, but there was at least a chance a few dominoes could fall for the Huskies to become a top-20 ranked team. Unfortunately, NIU quarterback Ethan Hampton had nearly as many incompletions (20) as completed passes (23) and running back Antario Brown was held to 3 yards per carry on 24 attempts. Just like that, with a loss to Buffalo, one of the feel-good stories of the 2024 season fades away and that loss looks even worse for Notre Dame.
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Winner: Bryson Daily, QB, Army Black Knights
On the same day when Navy upset Memphis, the Army Black Knights also put on an impressive display. Quarterback Bryson Daily had 107 passing yards and 2 touchdowns on 6 completions, tacking on 145 rushing yards and 3 scores in a blowout 37-14 win over Rice. It’s a 3-0 start for Army, the first for the Black Knights since 2019.
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Loser: Jackson Arnold, QB, Oklahoma Sooners
Confidence is critical for young quarterbacks and being benched on national television certainly isn’t going to help that for Jackson Darnold. However, the Oklahoma Sooners didn’t really have a choice. Darnold entered Week 4 having thrown for 170-plus yards just once this season and he had a 3-2 TD-INT ratio in the last two games. On Saturday night, the sophomore completed just 7-of-16 passes with 1 interception and a 3.4 yards per attempt average in the first half. A painful night for the Sooners, in terms of injuries, but an even rougher night for Arnold.
Winner: Tennessee Volunteers defensive line
Two years ago, the Tennessee Volunteers were a defense and a Hendon Hooker injury away from a College Football Playoff appearance. Heading into Saturday night, everyone wanted to see if this Vols defense was legitimate. Tennessee, especially its defensive line, overwhelmed the Sooners. In the first half alone, the Vols’ pass rush held Jackson Arnold to 7-of-16 with a 3.4 ypa and Oklahoma averaged just 1.5 yards per carry. Takeaways, defensive stops and one of the best offenses in college football. Big Orange is back.
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