We are left with 39 undefeated teams as we enter week four of competition in College Football.
Looking at some of the biggest matchups of the week to get things started.
10th Ranked Oregon vs 19th Ranked Colorado
The hype train is still a’rollin in Boulder after a double-OT thriller Saturday night that bled into Sunday morning for the Buffs. Their true test is this week on the road at Autzen Stadium. They will be without star athlete Travis Hunter, who suffered an injury after a late hit in Saturday’s win.
10th-ranked Oregon, led by Heisman hopeful Bo Nix, hung 81 on Portland State in week one and 55 against Hawaii last week. They did have a road scare against Texas Tech in week two but ultimately prevailed.
4th Ranked FSU vs Unranked Clemson
4th ranked Florida State had a scare of their own this past weekend on the road against Boston College. After running through LSU and steamrolling Southern Miss by 53, the Noles squeaked out a two-point win over the Golden Eagles of BC. Starting QB Jordan Travis went down with an injury at the end of the 1st half but ultimately returned, and coach Norvell said that he wasn’t worried about the injury. They face yet another road test, but this time, it’s at Death Valley to face the Clemson Tigers.
Clemson has had their woes early this season already. A week one loss to Duke had the whole college football world up in arms, looking for Dabo’s job and calling them eliminated from the Playoff. A win over the 4th ranked team in the country would certainly catapult the one-loss Tigers in the right direction against that notion and put them as the front runners to win the ACC again.
6th Ranked Ohio State vs 9th Ranked Notre Dame
The Buckeyes have allowed just 20 total points this season. Their smallest margin of victory has been 20 points against Indiana in week one. Last week, they beat Western Kentucky by 53.
Notre Dame has put a 40-burger on all four of their opponents this season. That’s right, four. Remember their trip to Ireland to start the season? No? Well, they waxed Navy 42-3. They followed that with a 53-point win over Towson, played with NC State in the first half, before taking home a three-touchdown win home over the Wolfpack. Then last week, the fireworks for transfer Sam Hartman and the Iris my continued with a 41-17 win over Central Michigan.
The winner of this one will find themselves in the Top 5 after this one, while the loser will sit just outside the Top 10.
21st Ranked Washington State vs 14th Ranked Oregon State
With the Beavers and the Wildcats the lone true two remaining teams in the Pac-12, this one should offer some more excitement! Especially for the announcers to talk about the Pac-12 Drama! Or just turn a blind eye. Either way, you’ve got two 3-0 teams coming into this one, with Washington State’s lone true test being Wisconsin, who they beat by 9. Oregon State is setup similarly, with this being their first true test of the season after racking wins against San Jose State, UC Davis, and San Diego State.
Stats Leaders Headed Into Week 4
Time to look at the QBs!
Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. sits atop the passing yards leaderboard this week with 1,332. He is followed by Colorado’s Sheduer Sanders with 1,251.
Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel leads the league in completion percentage, with an 82.5 percentage, completing 66 of 88 passes this season. He is followed right up with Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy with an 82.4%. He has completed 56 of 68 passes.
Sam Hartman from Notre Dame, with 13, leads the league in touchdowns thrown. However, as mentioned before, the Irish have played four games. Second, there is a tie at 12 between Penix Jr. And USC’s Caleb Williams.
Time to take a gander at the workhorses of the backfield, the running backs.
Notre Dame again has the top spot with their extra game advantage. Though in no way to discredit Audric Estime and his league-leading 521 rushing yards. He is followed suit by Appalachian States Nate Noel with 420 yards on the ground in just three games this season.
Getting the ball across the goal line is another set of leaders. Our top TD back is Marcus Carrol, out of Georgia State, with seven TDs. Michigan’s ground game comes in on the board second with Blake Corums six TDs. He is tied with North Carolina back Omarion Thompson.
Who has the hands? Wide-Out Leaders
Gage Larvadin had a huge game in Miami (OH)’s upset win over Cincinnati last week. He hauled in two catches for 96 yards to bring his season tally to a league-leading 449 yards receiving. Coming in second is the lone other 400+ yard receiver from Washington this season, Rome Odunze. The Husky has 419 yards, with 180 coming last week against Michigan State.
When it comes to receiving TDs, we have a tie. Michigan’s Rome Wilson and Vanderbilt’s Will Shepard both have six. However, please note that Vandy has played four games.
On The Defensive Side Of The Ball…
The tackle leaders top-five have all played four games, starting with the leader, Tyrice Knight from UTEP. Sitting in 6th is our first three-gamer, with Eastern Michigans
Joe Sparacio tallying 38 this season.
Getting To The QB…
Wake Forest holds the top two spots in this category. Jacob Roberts leads the league with five sacks, followed by Jasheen Davis with 4.5.
