Take a look at the latest news and notes in NCAA Football following Week 4:
Upsets Galore In Week Four
There were some big upsets in week four, including Texas Tech beating Oklahoma State (41-17), Purdue beating Boston College (30 to 13) and Texas beating TCU (31 to 16), but the biggest of the upsets had to have been Old Dominion beating Virginia Tech. The Monarchs of Old Dominion beat the Virginia Tech Hokies 49-34 behind stellar play from quarterback Blake LaRussa. He went 30 for 49 with 494 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. He also added another touchdown on the ground. Running back Jeremy Cox went for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns on 20 carries and Travis Fulgham (9 catches, 188 yards, 1 touchdown) and Jonathan Duhart (9 catches, 142 yards, 3 touchdowns) had huge days receiving. Crazily, for Old Dominion, it was just their first win of the season.
Alabama and Ohio State Keep Rolling
While others may have struggled, two teams that didn’t were Alabama and Ohio State. For Alabama, they rolled over number 22 Texas A&M, 45-23. Alabama got another great game from Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback. He went 22 of 30, for 387 yards and 4 touchdowns in the win. Tagovailoa also added 10 yards and a touchdown rushing the ball. For the Aggies, the best game was probably from Kellen Mond. He went for 196 yards, a touchdown and 2 interceptions through the air, but more impressive was his 98 yards and touchdown on the ground. His longest rush was for 54 yards.
For Ohio State, they took care of business against Tulane with a 49-6 win over the Green Wave. Dwayne Haskins went 21 of 24 with 304 yards and 5 touchdowns passing. Receiving, Parris Campbell stood out with 147 yards and 2 touchdowns on 8 receptions.
While teams like Georgia and Clemson will have something to say about it, Alabama and Ohio State certainly look like the cream of the crop.
Stanford Steals One On The Road
On Saturday, it may have been more of the fact that the Oregon Ducks gave the game away as opposed to the Stanford Cardinals won it. But, that’s what happened in Eugene on Saturday.
Controlling most of the game, the Ducks had the ball and a 3-point lead with under a minute to play. Rather than taking a knee, forcing Stanford to use its last timeout and then pointing with under 30 seconds left, they instead went for it and coughed up the ball when C.J. Verdell fumbled and Stanford took possession. After tying the game, the Cardinals then won in overtime, 38-31.
On the day, Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello had 327 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. Oregon’s quarterback, Justin Herbert, also had a nice day going 346 yards in the air, with a touchdown and one interception. Unfortunately for Verdell, his fumble late in the game overshadowed an otherwise solid start. He had 115 yards and a touchdown. Of all of the players, though, Dillon Mitchell of Oregon filled up the stat sheet the most. The wide receiver had 14 receptions for a whopping 239 yards. Still, unable to put the game away, all of those stats mean nothing since it was Stanford who came away with an unblemished record and is ranked number seven in the country.
Nick Bosa Still Out For Foreseeable Future
When healthy, Nick Bosa is the real deal. The defensive end has the tools to play at the next level, but his biggest obstacle now is his own body. Bosa suffered a major core muscle injury and will be out, at the minimum, a few more weeks. His father, John Bosa, described the injury to The Athletic as even more severe, possibly putting him out for a couple more months. With the number 4 Ohio State Buckeyes rolling, they have the depth to overcome the injury, but it will be interesting to see when and if Bosa is utilized again later this season. If he can come back completely healthy, it may make an Ohio State team, who is pushing to compete for a national championship, all the tougher.
Trevor Lawrence To Take Over QB Position At Clemson
To this point, Clemson has been fairly comfortable splitting time between senior Kelly Bryant and true freshman Trevor Lawrence. Starting on Saturday, it looks like there won’t be much of a time split. Trevor Lawrence will be taking over the reigns after have a far superior day than Bryant in last Saturday’s win over Georgia Tech. In the first two series, Bryant led Clemson to just one first down. The next four drives, Lawrence was put in the game, and Clemson scored on three of the four of them. When it was all said and done, Clemson beat Georgia Tech 49-21.
It is not that Bryant has played horrendously thus far this year. He has 461 yards, 2 touchdowns and just one interception. He has also rushed for 130 yards. The problem, though, is Trevor Lawrence has played better. He has 9 touchdowns and 600 yards passing. While he only has 24 yards rushing and has 2 interceptions, Clemson still feels like he gives them the best chance to win.
Now, in week 5, Lawrence will take the 3rd ranked Clemson Tigers (4-0) into battle with the Syracuse Orange (4-0). Last week, Syracuse won 51-21 over the University of Connecticut. In their first four games, Syracuse has not scored less than 30 points, and three times has scored 51 or more points.
