Saturday in Review: Week 4

Memphis is undefeated after their first four games for the first
time since 1961. Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

This last week of football was a good one, beginning with Thursday night's game. Memphis beat Cincinnati in a barn-burner, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute left. Bearcat quarterback Hayden Moore stepped in after starter Gunner Kiel suffered an injury, going on to throw for a school-record 557 passing yards. However, a late interception in the game's dwindling moments sealed the 53-46 victory for the undefeated Tigers.

The Michigan Wolverines were the first team to score a massive blowout victory on Saturday. The Wolverines utterly dominated the exhausted BYU Cougars squad, moving to 3-1 overall and looking to make an impact in Big Ten play. Duke stifled Georgia Tech before a small crowd in Durham. While Georgia Tech falls from favor in the ACC title race, Duke replaces them as a favorite in the Coastal division.

UCF got the better of South Carolina for a half, but couldn't suppress the Gamecocks from coming back in the second half. Syracuse put up a fight against LSU, but ultimately fell to the Tigers' superior depth. Texas lost their second-consecutive heartbreaker, losing to Oklahoma State on a late field goal. With the game tied late in the fourth quarter, Texas prepared to punt the ball, hoping their defense could force overtime. However, the Longhorn punter shanked the punt badly, setting up the Cowboys' game-winning kick.

Gainesville hosted one of the most exciting games of the season Saturday when the Florida Gators stunned Tennessee with an improbable fourth-quarter comeback. The Gators got on the board first when a 47-yard run by Kelvin Taylor set up a Florida touchdown early in the fourth quarter. However, the Gators wouldn't get much going on offense for the rest of the half. After trading a couple punts, the Volunteers got the ball back on their own 42-yard-line. Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs threw a backwards-pass to receiver Jauan Jennings, causing the Gator defense to pursue, but Jennings threw the ball back across the field to Dobbs, who went on to run all 58 yards to the endzone. A combination of Dobbs's legs and trick plays accounted for most of Tennessee's offensive success on Saturday. Later, in the second quarter, the Vols converted on 4th and 2 with a halfback pass. This led to the Volunteers' second touchdown, putting them up 14-7. A field goal on their next drive extended their lead to 10. By halftime, Tennessee held a 17-7 advantage over Florida.

This year's game was decided by inches, but the Florida
Gators now possess an 11-game winning streak over
Tennessee; this is now the longest streak by either team in
the rivalry's history. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

The Vols scored a field goal on the opening drive of the third, going up 20-7. The Gator offense stalled after the kickoff, but got the ball back quickly after a fumble by Dobbs deep in Volunteer territory. However, the Gators failed to pick up the 1st on their first three plays. Florida prepared to kick a field goal before Tennessee called a timeout. Changing their minds, Florida went for it on 4th down and converted, setting up another Taylor touchdown-run and cutting the deficit to six points. Both teams went three-and-out on their next drives before Tennessee got the ball back late in the third. 

The Volunteers proceeded to drive down the field against a worn Gator defense, scoring a touchdown with 10:19 left in the final quarter and going up 27-14. (The Volunteers elected to kick the PAT rather than extend the lead to 14 with a two-point conversion.) But the Gator offense responded, driving 86 yards to score another seven points. Quarterback Will Grier was clutch on this drive, converting on two fourth-and-long scenarios. But time was running out on the Gators, as only 4:09 remained. The Gators chose to kick it deep on the ensuing kickoff, hoping to get a stop on defense. Three conservative running plays later and the Gators were ready to receive the punt. Florida got the ball back on their own 41, poised for a game-winning touchdown drive. But after three plays, they lost four yards, and now faced fourth-and-fourteen from their own 37. Needing a big play, Grier took the snap from shotgun and threw the ball to Antonio Callaway over the middle; Callaway ran right, and, getting a block from Brandon Powell, ran all the way down to the endzone. The Gators went up 28-27 after the PAT, but the game wasn't over, as Joshua Dobbs still had 86 seconds to lead his Vols to field goal-position. Dobbs went on to gash the Gator defense on six plays, getting the ball down to the Gators' 37 with just three seconds on the clock. After a bad snap, the Volunteer kicker missed badly to the right, and the Gators rushed the field. But, alas, Florida had called a timeout before the kick. The Vols lined up for another kick, snapped the ball and... missed it wide right, the ball sailing just inches away from the goalpost. And the Gators won the game, their 11th straight over the Volunteers. The ending was eerily similar to the Volunteers' last victory over the Gators, the difference being that the field goal was missed.

That game was hard to top, but the Texas Tech-TCU game was equally thrilling. As expected, the offenses ran roughshod over their overmatched opponents. A miracle reception by halfback Aaron Green put the Horned Frogs up late in the fourth. A chaotic lateral-filled play by Texas Tech fell short, and TCU escaped with a 55-52 victory. Cal won a close game against Washington, improving their record to 4-0. Texas A&M needed a late rally and Arkansas miscues to beat the Razorbacks in overtime. Receiver Christian Kirk made plays for the Aggies all night, while Drew Morgan did the same for Arkansas in a losing effort.

The city of Los Angeles outscored the state of Arizona 98-44
Saturday night. It appears the power in the Pac-12 has shifted
towards the states of California and Utah.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Ole Miss struggled more against Vanderbilt than anyone expected, as turnovers helped keep the Commodores competitive. Mississippi State conquered Auburn in a defensive battle, besting the Tigers for the third time in four years. Kentucky triumphed over Mizzou at home as quarterback Patrick Towles completed 22 of 27 passes. The Kentucky defense held the Missouri offense in check for most of the night.

The UCLA Bruins crushed the Arizona Wildcats, winning 56-30 in the desert. Northwestern held off Ball State to preserve their undefeated season. Oregon suffered their worst loss since 2003 last Saturday, falling victim to the Utah Utes. The 62-20 defeat reduces the Ducks' record to 2-2, effectively obliterating their playoff hopes. Following the Pac-12's theme of blowouts, USC dominated Arizona State in Sun Devil Stadium.

State of Florida:

• South Carolina (2-2) over UCF (0-4), 20-13 31-14
• Louisiana Tech (2-2) over FIU (2-2), 35-17 27-17
• Florida (4-0) over Tennessee (2-2), 17-10 28-27
• Florida Atlantic (1-3) over Charlotte (2-2), 28-21 17-7
• 10 Florida State (3-0), BYE
• Miami (3-0), BYE
• South Florida (1-2), BYE

Southeastern Conference:

• 7 Georgia (4-0) over Southern (2-2), 70-3 48-6
• 8 LSU (3-0) over Syracuse (3-1), 38-13 34-24
• 12 Alabama (3-1) over Louisiana-Monroe (1-2), 49-9 34-0
• 14 Texas A&M (4-0) over Arkansas (1-3), 42-17 28-21 (OT)
• 3 Mississippi (4-0) over Vanderbilt (1-3), 38-6 27-16
• Mississippi State (3-1) over Auburn (2-2), 31-17 17-9
• Kentucky (3-1) over 25 Missouri (3-1), 24-17 21-13

Top 25:

• 1 Ohio State (4-0) over Western Michigan (1-3), 38-14 38-12
• 2 Michigan State (4-0) over Central Michigan (1-3), 38-24 30-10
• Texas Tech (3-1) over 3 TCU (4-0), 52-45 55-52
• 5 Baylor (3-0) over Rice (2-2), 52-28 70-17
• 6 Notre Dame (4-0) over Massachusetts (0-3), 38-13 62-27
• 9 UCLA (4-0) over 16 Arizona (3-1), 31-24 56-30
• 13 Oregon (2-2) over 18 Utah (4-0), 31-27 62-20
• 17 Northwestern (4-0) over Ball State (2-2), 27-10 24-19
• 19 USC (3-1) over Arizona State (2-2), 38-34 42-14
• 20 Georgia Tech (2-2) over Duke (3-1), 35-28 34-20
• 21 Stanford (3-1) over Oregon State (2-2), 31-21 42-24
• Michigan (3-1) over 22 BYU (2-2), 35-31 31-0
• 22 Wisconsin (3-1) over Hawaii (2-2), 31-7 28-0
• Texas (1-3) over 24 Oklahoma State (4-0), 42-35 30-27
• 11 Clemson (3-0), BYE
• 15 Oklahoma (3-0), BYE

Week 4 Record: 21-4 (84%)

Season Record: 95-19 (83%)