Real Kato Blog: College Football 2015: Week 4 Recap

More mayhem! This has been a crazy season.

Michigan 31, BYU 0
Well. This was a pasting I did not expect. Michigan held BYU to just 105 yards of offense. BYU had just put up 400 yards against UCLA a week before. But the Michigan cornerbacks were dominant against BYU's touted receivers, and Tanner Mangum was pressured all day. This Michigan defense is approaching elite levels of performance, and my expectations for the season have now jumped much higher.

On offense, meanwhile, Rudock was efficient and accurate, and Michigan continued to grind out yardage on the ground. Michigan still isn't checking out of run plays into stacked fronts, which could be a concern against higher-quality opponents. But it's hard to complain about 31 points and 448 yards of offense.

Michigan opens its Big Ten season against Maryland next week, a team that was vastly overrated at the beginning of the season.

NCSU 63, South Alabama 13
South Alabama. Nothing to get excited about.

Other Notable Games
#1 Ohio State cruised to a comfortable win against Western Michigan 38-12.

#2 Michigan State beat Central Michigan 30-10, but the game was close until the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, MSU lost star tackle Jack Conklin to a knee injury. If it's serious, that's a big loss for the Spartans.

#3 TCU got by Texas Tech in a wild 55-52 game, catching a tipped pass in the end zone with 23 seconds left to seal the win.

#8 LSU beat a tough Syracuse team on the road, winning 34-24. I don't know why LSU isn't ranked higher: their first two wins were against ranked opponents, and this one came against an undefeated team. They deserve to be in the top 3.

#9 UCLA demolished #16 Arizona 56-30. Arizona star quarterback Anu Solomon left the game with an injury, though it did not look to be season-ending.

#17 Northwestern got by Ball State 24-19.

#18 Utah absolutely crushed #13 Oregon 62-20. Perhaps Oregon wasn't as good as everyone thought, and maybe Utah is much better than everyone thought. Let's go through the mythical transitive property of football: Michigan = Utah - 7, Utah = Oregon + 42, Oregon = Michigan State - 3; therefore, Michigan = Michigan State + 32? Huh.

#19 USC pounded Arizona State 42-14.

Duke bounced back from its loss against Northwestern to upset #20 Georgia Tech 34-20. I'm thinking the Yellow Jackets probably did not deserve their high early ranking. It seems quite possible that next week's game against UNC will give them their third loss in a row.

#24 Oklahoma State beat Texas 27-24. The game looked to be headed to overtime until the Texas punter dropped the snap, and his hurried punt went only ten yards, setting up the game winning field goal for OSU. Texas is now 1-3 with games against TCU and Oklahoma approaching. After a 6-7 season last year, Charlie Strong might be looking at a quick exit as head coach if his team does not turn it around.

Kentucky upset #25 Missouri 21-13.

Penn State got by San Diego State 37-21.

Rutgers actually won a game, beating Kansas 27-14. That speaks volumes about how awful Kansas must be.

Nebraska managed to hang on to beat Southern Miss 36-28, surviving a late rally that had Nebraska fans remembering the BYU game.

Purdue lost to Bowling Green 35-28. The race for the bottom of the Big Ten is exciting, you guys.

Indiana beat Wake Forest 31-24. Indiana is improbably 4-0 but, barring a shocking turnaround, it should all come crashing down next week against #1 Ohio State.

Minnesota needed a last minute touchdown to beat the Ohio Bobcats 17-14. Minnesota is another team that received a lot of preseason hype. That balloon is deflating a bit. Its three wins against mediocre teams have all been by a field goal. This is your Ugly Win of the Week.

South Carolina lost to UCF. This is a pretty dismal sign for Spurrier's team.

Boston College beat Northern Illinois 17-14. It's a pretty good win for the Eagles and they might quietly put together a pretty good season behind redshirt freshman quarterback Troy Flutie, nephew of the famous BC alum Doug Flutie.

Boise State demolished Virginia 56-14. This is notable for the fact that BYU beat Boise State, and Michigan just demolished BYU. Again, by the mythical transitive property of football games, this means Michigan would be able to beat Virginia by 84 points.

West Virginia crushed Maryland 45-6. Maryland plays Michigan next.

East Carolina upset Virginia Tech 35-28, which should call into question how good Ohio State's win against VT was.

Florida rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat Tennessee 28-27. The Gators hadn't looked good despite their unbeaten record; meanwhile I'd thought Tennessee was looking at a promising season. So this outcome was a bit of surprise. The SEC East looks weak; either of these teams could still be in contention as the season goes on, especially if Georgia falters.

Ken's Top Ten
1. LSU
2. Notre Dame
3. Ole Miss
4. Ohio State
5. Utah
6. Michigan State
7. UCLA
8. Baylor
9. TCU
10. Texas A&M

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