Week four of the 2024 college football season is now officially behind us, and I gave you, the reader, an extra day in order to have this past weekend of action marinate a little more. So you’re welcome. No, but all kidding aside, can someone tell me how we’re already through four weeks of the season? I know it always seems to go by very quickly, but it seems that the process is speeding up more than usual this year.
Crazy stuff. Anyway, let’s get into some takeaways!
Illinois might actually be a really good team
Did I just say that?
Going into the season, let’s just say it like it is: I was not a big believer in Illinois. I was hesitant that Luke Altmyer could clean up his turnovers and take that next step. I was questioning the defense and if they’d be able to completely gel together and turn into a dominant unit.
Well, if this gutsy, impressive win over Nebraska in Lincoln was any indication, things just might be trending way up for the Fighting Illini. Altmyer was awesome throughout the night, throwing for 215 yards and four touchdowns. And he had a serious rapport with wide receiver Pat Bryant, who put up five catches for 74 yards and found the end zone twice, which was a big reason Illinois ended up winning this game.
But an equally big story from this one was the play of the defense, particularly late in the game. Nebraska freshman phenom Dylan Raiola did play well, as he threw for three touchdowns and just under 300 yards passing. However, Raiola did not look quite as sharp in the second half of the game as he did in the first, and the Illini defense was throwing all kinds of different looks at him. And the fact of the matter is that he didn’t know how to react to some of that. Throw in a game-clinching sack in overtime to seal the win for Illinois, and there are several plays that the Cornhuskers will absolutely want back.
But Illinois came into Lincoln, in front of an absolutely electric crowd at Memorial Stadium, and stole a conference win. All of a sudden, the Fighting Illini are 4-0. And all of a sudden, this team might just be a contender to make noise in the Big Ten this year.
Kansas State might also not be as good as we thought
On the other side of the coin, Kansas State’s performance this past weekend was, uh…bad. Like, really bad.
Ever hear of Murphy’s Law? Well, if you haven’t, it can be summed up in the phrase, “whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.” And that’s pretty much what happened to the Wildcats when they arrived in Provo, Utah to play BYU in their Big 12 opener. Kansas State took a 38-9 drubbing at the hands of the Cougars. Quarterback Avery Johnson had easily his worst performance of the young season, as he barely completed half his passes and threw two interceptions. The offense as a whole was inefficient and pretty sloppy throughout the night, which included this bad fumble which ended in a scoop-and-score touchdown for BYU. And the defense wasn’t much better, as the BYU offense basically got whatever they wanted throughout the night, and the Wildcats were helpless to stop them for the most part.
Now, it’s one thing for a team like K-State to go in and lose a hard-fought conference game on the road against an unranked yet very feisty opponent. But this isn’t that. Kansas State had serious College Football Playoff aspirations to begin the season, and they also had aspirations to take home another Big 12 Championship, which would be their second in three years.
But if they still want to accomplish those goals, they need to clean up a lot from this loss and come back next week hell-bent on making a statement. And wouldn’t you know it, next week has the Wildcats taking on a fellow ranked opponent in Oklahoma State in Stillwater. A heck of an opportunity right there.
Utah’s defense is capable of carrying them to wins
It’s safe to say that I had my reservations about the Utes as they went into Stillwater to take on Oklahoma State without starting quarterback Cam Rising. I had my reservations about the Cowboys too, but that’s a story for another day.
And the offense was by no means spectacular. True freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson played, well, kinda exactly how you’d expect a true freshman to play in a raucous environment in his second conference game ever.
But that defense…man.
The defensive unit for Utah was absolutely outstanding and deserves all the flowers for their performance against Oklahoma State. The Cowboys’ offense was stuck in neutral all game, and they simply couldn’t get anything going. Quarterback Alan Bowman was extremely up-and-down, as he threw for two scores but also threw two interceptions and posted just a 53.7 QBR. Superstar running back Ollie Gordon, who I’m now wondering is even worthy of the ‘superstar’ label, was once again largely awful, carrying the ball 11 times for a mere 42 yards.
The Utah offense wasn’t anything spectacular or, frankly, anything close, but it just goes to show how dominant the Utes’ defense was and how bad things were for Oklahoma State. If this game is any indication, it shows that the Utah defense is perfectly capable of carrying this team to wins if it needs to. There’s uncertainty as to how much longer Cam Rising will be out, but until he returns, the defense can will this team to a win.
And that’s a scary concept for the rest of the Big 12.
Missouri needs to stop with the unconvincing wins
This team does have aspirations to make the College Football Playoff, right? Right? Am I…am I missing something there?
If they have said aspirations, then they need to dominate lesser competition like they are supposed to do. But this weekend, they were locked in a back-and-forth contest with…Vanderbilt.
Noted college football powerhouse Vanderbilt. Seriously?
Note my rather extreme sarcasm there. Granted, Vanderbilt did beat a pretty good Virginia Tech team earlier in the year. But that doesn't change the fact that this game was way, way too close for the Tigers. The offense was good…for the most part. Quarterback Brady Cook threw two touchdowns and no interceptions but also posted a somewhat concerning 46.0 QBR. Superstar wide receiver Luther Burden III caught six balls for 76 yards and two touchdowns, but he didn’t really get going by his usual standards until the second half. One thing I will give them is that the rushing attack was awesome, as Nate Noel carved up the Commodores’ defense to the tune of 199 yards on 24 carries. But that also brings up the question of why this game was so close if the running game was so effective. Something about that doesn’t add up.
Missouri did have multiple chances to put this game away for good, but for whatever reason they just could not seem to get it done. They needed double overtime to sneak out with a win, and they were only able to get said win thanks to a missed field goal by Vanderbilt that essentially gifted the Tigers a 30-27 win.
On my podcast (shameless plug incoming), Sports Talk on Elm Street, I came in with a rather scorching take and predicted these Missouri Tigers to be one of the final four teams remaining in the 2024 College Football Playoff. I was enamored with that offense and what they could achieve. But this looks like a team that, if they do even make the CFP, will get bounced in their first game. The Tigers need a dominant performance next week on the road against Texas A&M, which is never an easy thing to do.
Even though they won this one, if I’m a Tigers fan, I’m maddeningly frustrated with how it went.
Tennessee is capable of making a deep CFP run
In hindsight, perhaps I should have picked Tennessee as the fourth of my final four teams in the College Football Playoff instead of Missouri.
Now, first things first, this was not necessarily a dominant win over Oklahoma for the Volunteers. They only won by 10 points and didn’t go over 30 points for the first time all season. Freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who had taken the country by storm over the first three games, had a good but also conservative statline. He only threw for 194 yards and a touchdown. The Tennessee offense as a whole did not look nearly as absurdly dominant as it had over the first three games of the year.
However, that’s how you know this team is dangerous: when they don’t play their best and still come out with an impressive win. What was most impressive about this win was that they walked into an electric, raucous environment in Norman and dominated them physically for 60 minutes. Tennessee just looked like they wanted this more than Oklahoma did. The offense, while they weren’t flashy, did what they needed to do. The defense was opportunistic and made sure Oklahoma didn’t get back into the game. They made starting quarterback Jackson Arnold’s life miserable, as he only completed seven passes for 54 yards and a pick before Michael Hawkins Jr. took his place.
Tennessee looks like a surefire College Football Playoff contender. I know we’re only four weeks into the season, but that time is going to be here before we know it. And the Volunteers, barring a massive, inexplicable collapse down the stretch, sure look like they’ll get in and make some noise while doing so.
And last but not least…
Michigan might have just saved their season with that win
Talk about a back-and-forth contest.
The funniest/strangest part about this entire game was that with about five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, USC looked like it was going to salt the last few minutes away and walk out of the Big House with a pretty impressive victory. The Trojans had the ball and were just coming off of 1) a touchdown on their previous offensive possession, and 2) a stop on their previous defensive possession.
However, it was right at that moment where the momentum flipped, starting with the way that Michigan defense played. On the first play of that drive, the Trojans ran for two yards. Then, quarterback Miller Moss threw an incompletion. Then, USC committed a false start, which set up a 3rd and 13. Then, Miller Moss threw another incompletion, which forced a USC punt.
All of a sudden, the momentum of the game was on the Wolverines’ side. And Michigan took that momentum and ran with it (see what I did there?). Admittedly, at first it didn’t really seem like the drive was going anywhere. But all it takes sometimes is one play, and that’s exactly what Kalel Mullings had in mind, as he ripped off a 63-yard run to set up Michigan inside the red zone, and then punched in the touchdown a few plays later that would prove to be the game-winner.
This was an incredible win for the Wolverines all things considered. There is the question of what exactly is going to happen at quarterback, as neither Alex Orji nor Davis Warren have been particularly enticing options thus far. But at least for one week, the defending champs should enjoy this win over a really good USC team.
HN's College Football Playoff Predictions: Week 4
Elms' Essentials: Week 3
Elms' Essentials: Week 2
