Several teams began to get into the thick of the college football schedule in Week 4, as programs like Tennessee were tested against higher-level competition for the first time this season. The Volunteers remain undefeated after head coach Josh Heupel’s homecoming at Oklahoma went swimmingly with a 25-15 win over his former Sooners.
Michigan also got back to its sense of identity in a strong manner, coming out on the right side of a game that came down to the wire with a 27-24 win over USC.
Those weren’t the only things that stood out in another interesting weekend of action across the landscape, though.
Here’s a look into five things we took away from Week 4 of the college football season.
Related: Week 5 college football rankings
1. Tennessee is a true SEC contender
There were plenty of complaints that Tennessee may not be “for real” ahead of Week 4 because of the weak schedule the Volunteers had encountered up to that point. Despite the fact Oklahoma is having a rough welcome year to the Southeastern Conference and is playing up to true SEC standard, we got a chance to witness just what this team is made of against their first legitimate opposition this season.
Nico Iamaleava was not without some mistakes, but still proved he could put on a strong performance while playing behind a riddled offensive line. He finished the game 13-of-21 passing for 194 yards with one touchdown and 15 rushing yards.
Tennessee remains undefeated and will look to continue that streak as it faces Arkansas after the upcoming open date.
Related: 4 takeaways from Tennessee’s 25-15 win over Oklahoma
2. Michigan is still Michigan
Few teams were surrounded with as many questions as the Michigan Wolverines were heading into the fourth week of the season. The reigning national champions appeared nothing like they had before, looking like a completely different team with the loss of star quarterback J.J. McCarthy and head coach Jim Harbaugh. But this team got back to the identity that has been so associated with Michigan football, playing stingy, tough defense and rolling on offense through the ground game.
The Wolverines consistently brought pressure to the quarterback as Miller Moss could not catch a break all day long, with defensive back Jyaire Hill leading the charge on tackles with a total of six, four of which were solo. Michigan posted 290 yards of rushing offense, heavily leaning into that with just 32 passing yards.
3. Utah adjusts perfectly on the fly without Cam Rising
Utah starting quarterback Cam Rising is a name that has frequently been brought up on several potential breakout candidates lists ahead of the season, and there were questions as to just how solid the Utes offense would operate in his absence if he were to miss the matchup against Oklahoma State.
While there were some passes he’d like to have back, Isaac Wilson showed resiliency and got the job done as he connected on 17 of his 29 passing attempts for 207 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.
The Utes ran the ball efficiently against Oklahoma State in the 22-19 win over the Cowboys, putting up 249 rushing yards to Oklahoma State’s 48 rushing yards. 42 of those yards on the ground for the Cowboys came from standout running back Ollie Gordon II, who was limited in this game in a way he’s not been limited all season.
Related: Utah Utes snag 22-19 victory over Oklahoma State: 4 biggest takeaways from Utah’s latest win
4. UNC trouble brings about comments of resignation
Hello, James Madison University. The North Carolina Tar Heels suffered perhaps the most embarrassing loss of the season to the Dukes, who scored 70 points to the Tar Heels’ 50 points in what is one of the worst defensive showings we’ve seen out of UNC in the program’s history. In terms of pure numbers, these were the most points ever given up by the Tar Heels in program history.
This begs the question of what exactly went wrong, especially against JMU, which is deemed a “lesser opponent” for most programs.
UNC head coach Mack Brown blamed the issues entirely on himself, saying that he told his players he would resign if he couldn’t get things fixed. The Hall of Famer has no intention to currently do so, though.
“I’m not resigning. I’ll be back at work Monday,” Brown told ESPN.
Related: Winners, losers from College Football Week 4
5. Save your Miller Moss criticism
USC didn’t get the outcome it wanted in its loss to Michigan, but this was an extremely well-played game by both teams, and may just have been the best matchup of the entire weekend. There was criticism surrounding USC quarterback Miller Moss abound on social media during and after the game, some of which was deserved for an ill-advised interception that left everyone baffled. But, outside of that, the rest of the shortfalls were a product of the impregnable fortress that is the Michigan defensive line returning to and playing like itself.
The Trojans’ offensive line proved no match as Moss hardly had adequate time to throw and was put in the dirt almost too many times to count. Moss received praise from several for his toughness and resilience, giving USC a real chance to come back and win the game as he completed 28 of his 51 passing attempts for 283 yards through the air with three touchdowns and one interception.
Related: Heisman Watch 2024: Week 5 Heisman Trophy rankings, latest Heisman odds