2023-24 NCAA Football (Week 4)

Games I saw (some of (this weekend I went to a concert so I was bar-hopping most of Saturday, caught a wide variety of chunks of games, saw a lot while not seeing very much)):

(4) Florida State 31-24 (OT) Clemson 

The Seminoles were hardly dominant in this game, felt like Clemson was probably gonna pull it out and when they missed a late FG to take the lead, only then did it feel like Florida State had a shot. I dunno, Florida State was okay in this game, their pass rush made some plays, but their offense struggled and they gave up rushing yards. Clemson has been the top dog in the ACC for a decade or so now, I guess this is a momentous game in that the momentum could be swinging back to Florida State, this could be the ultimate get-right game and the Seminoles may have just exorcised that last demon and are ready to take over the world now....or maybe both Florida State and Clemson are kinda equally overhyped and neither is as good as we're supposed to believe. I'm still not sure about Florida State: good W for the program but not sure how indicative it is of their overall strength at the moment. 

(19) Colorado 6-42 (10) Oregon

Yeah, well, I told you the smackdown was coming for Colorado, wasn't sure when it would happen but I knew it would happen. Okay, it happened. Oregon was merciless in the 1st half, just couldn't help but run up points. Colorado's offense never got going and their defense got exposed again and again. Worth remembering: Colorado is already better than they were last year, if they go winless from here on out, it'll still be a great year for Colorado football. Can they recover? Oh sure, they're not this bad, in fact this beating may well bring a needed dose of reality and inspire them in coming weeks (or, well, maybe one more thrashing by Southern Cal and then they'll get back on track). As for Oregon, they looked good on both sides, they definitely came to play and they were definitely the superior team. Not sure how they stack up against the rest of the world, but they were ready for Colorado this week, no doubt. 

(6) Ohio State 17-14 (9) Notre Dame

Watched the whole 1st half (Buckeyes 3-0 at half) and none of the 2nd half (where all the action was!). Found it kinda interesting that they both got stopped on downs inside FG range and that Notre Dame missed their FG attempt, so the score at halftime could've/should've been 6-6. Point being: the two squads were basically even in the 1st half. And they each scored 2 TD's in the 2nd half, so basically even again. Feels like both squads are ready to blow people out for the rest of the season now. The Buckeyes play Penn State and Michigan and feel ready for both of those contests; Notre Dame plays Duke, Southern Cal and Clemson and I think they can certainly hang with all 3. Both of these sqauds look positioned to be there at the end of the year (are we going to 12 teams this year or next?). Good game, wish I'd gotten to see more (but I got no regrets). 

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Georgia, (2) Michigan, (3) Texas, (4) Florida State, (5) Southern Cal, (6) Ohio State, (7) Penn State, (8) Washington, (10) Oregon, (11) Utah, (13) Alabama, (17) North Carolina, (18) Duke, (20) Miami,  

(21) Washington State, (23) Tennessee

Won but did not impress

(12) Louisiana State. I am not in on Arkansas this year and it took the Tigers well into the 2nd half to finally get the stranglehold on them.  That's....uh....curious. 

(16) Oklahoma. I'm waiting for the tried-and-true Oklahoma offense to come rolling through and swamp opponents but that hasn't happened yet. Could be that Cincy at home is just a tough out but I think the Sooners could've won this match quicker and cleaner. 

(25) Florida. Didn't exactly run it up at home on UNC-Charlotte, a team I didn't even realize existed--and I lived in Charlotte for many years! I'm not saying the Gators can't beat Kentucky but it ain't the easy W it used to be and so far the Gators have not inspired confidence. 

Bad beat

(9) Notre Dame. Down to the wire with the Buckeyes is arguably the best L in college football this season.

(14) Oregon State. On the road in Pullman, a notoriously dismal place, is a tough place to get a W and they were in it til the end.  Not bad. 

(15) Mississippi. I know it feels like Alabama is beatable this year....until you get on the field with them.

(22) UCLA. @Utah is a tough place to play and the Bruins didn't get housed, not a bad performance.

(24) Iowa. Penn State is looking really good this year, the Hawkeyes kinda got pummeled but it could've been worse. 

Next week's intriguing matches

(10) Utah @ (19) Oregon State (higher ranked team on the road in conference is one to keep an eye on)

(8) Southern Cal @ Colorado (does Colorado bounce back here or next week?)

(22) Florida @ Kentucky (Kentucky has looked okay so far and Florida as looked kinda shaky, this one looks like more fun than usual)

(24) Kansas @ (3) Texas (will Texas cruise or is this a nail-biter?)

(13) Louisiana State @ (23) Mississippi (Ole Miss with back to back tough conference games, LSU hasn't been as impressive as you'd like, this one could get spicy)

Iowa State @ (14) Oklahoma (Iowa State on the road against ranked opponents have been a routine upset watch squad for years now; Oklahoma should probably win easily but the Sooner have yet to do anything 'easily' this year)

(11) Notre Dame @ (17) Duke (is Notre Dame gonna be down after a tough loss to Ohio State or will they be toughened up by tough L? I dunno, but Duke is about to find out)