David Hale, ESPN Staff Writer
With 40 seconds left, the world was unrecognizable.
There was Michigan, the defending national champs, battered and bruised and teetering on the brink of a second loss in four weeks to open the 2024 season.
There was USC, in its first game as a member of the Big Ten, ascendant not because of Lincoln Riley’s offensive genius but because of the tenacity of its much-maligned defense.
Even Connor Stalions couldn’t have seen this coming.
Such is the state of college football in 2024, a time when change is the only true constant. Just look around in Week 4, and everything felt a bit topsy-turvy.
In Texas, the headlines were all about the ballyhooed quarterback with the magical name who would lead an undefeated team into battle. Arch Manning got the start for the Longhorns, and people seemed excited about that, too. In fact, Manning was so good Saturday — 258 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions — it was almost easy to forget about that other guy as Texas beat ULM 51-3.
In Columbus, Marshall head coach Charles Huff proved that not all tampering is bad, dangling all-you-can-eat biscuits to any Ohio State players who opted to transfer before the game. For some reason, none of the Buckeyes accepted the offer and were left with nothing but a 49-14 win to console them. You can’t eat that.
In Chapel Hill, after North Carolina was steamrolled by James Madison, Mack Brown said he told the players that the loss was his fault and he would step away if he couldn’t get things fixed, ensuring he’ll be the first coach to patrol a sideline after turning 100.
Perhaps most shocking of all, Indiana is 4-0.
These are, indeed, strange times.
But in an era when change comes rapidly, 40 seconds is a lifetime, and it was long enough for Michigan to turn back the clock for at least one weekend — back to 2023, when the Wolverines were dominant, or perhaps back to 1900, before the forward pass was legal and USC could only play a team from the Midwest after spending a week riding the rails.
Kalel Mullings capped a 10-play, 89-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal to lead the Wolverines to a 27-24 win over USC in a game in which Michigan threw for just 32 yards. Instead, Michigan relied on the power running game, barreling between the tackles again and again, racking up 290 yards on the ground, including 159 from Mullings. The only things missing were leather helmets and worries about imminent war with the Prussian Empire.
If that wasn’t enough of a time warp, however, then travel with Miami back to the 1990s. The Hurricanes dominated USF, 50-15, behind Cam Ward’s 404 yards and three touchdowns. Ask your parents about how good Miami used to be, and they’ll regale you with tales of Bernie Kosar and Ray Lewis and Frank Gore, but the Canes are a little like having a goatee — cool for so much of the ’90s, but pretty much absent from any meaningful use for the past 20 years. And yet, here we are, with Miami 4-0, bludgeoning each of its four opponents thus far, a clear favorite to win the ACC and make the College Football Playoff. It’s all so retro.
Or how about Tennessee? The last time the Vols looked this dominant was three Mannings ago. But on Saturday, Tennessee’s prolific defense utterly overwhelmed Oklahoma in a 25-15 win. It was a throwback moment for Vols head coach Josh Heupel, who won a national title with the Sooners in 2000, and 15 years later was fired by the sooners, where he had been the team’s offensive coordinator. He returned to Norman on Saturday and delivered a dagger to his former team, like showing up for a class reunion wearing a tuxedo T-shirt, rocking out to Three Doors Down then leaving with the homecoming queen.
At Colorado, longtime fans likely felt a wave of nostalgia as the Buffaloes won as a member of the Big 12 for the first time since 2010 by completing a last-second Hail Mary reminiscent of Kordell Stewart’s legendary heave against Michigan in 1994. Unfortunately, no one at Folsom Field on Saturday was aware Colorado had a football team before Deion Sanders was hired last year. Regardless, after Shedeur Sanders sent the game to overtime with a completion to LaJohntay Wester with zeroes on the clock, Baylor finished its collapse by fumbling through the back of the end zone on a first-and-goal play in OT. Colorado fans stormed the field and took down the goal post while the play was still being reviewed, because you can’t miss a chance to celebrate beating a team that has lost 15 of its past 20 games.
0:50
Colorado scores Hail Mary TD to force OT vs. Baylor
Shedeur Sanders somehow connects with LaJohntay Wester on a 43-yard Hail Mary with no time remaining on the clock vs. Baylor.
Yes, we’re living in an era when an FCS team could march into a stadium named after Pitbull and remind Mr. Worldwide that nobody owns New Jersey (except maybe the mafia); when Cal played a conference game 2,600 miles away; when Iowa won a trophy of a pig by scoring 31 points. Ultimately, 2024 won’t look much like 2023 or 1993 or 1903. It will be something completely new and often strange and almost certainly surprising.
But for one Saturday at least, some of the newness felt like old times.
That’s the fun of this ridiculous sport, after all. For all the change, there’s always some familiar thread that reminds us why we keep coming back.
Jump to:
Don’t doubt Dabo | UNC’s woes | Vibe shifts
Midwestern misery | BYU trounces K-State
Heisman five | Under the radar
Don’t doubt Dabo
Somewhere in Spartanburg, South Carolina, a guy named Tyler is in his mom’s basement telling the folks on the Clemson sub-Reddit that he knew Dabo Swinney would get things fixed all along.
Indeed, after Clemson’s season-opening disaster against Georgia, it has been a fireworks display for the once-maligned Tigers offense. After exploding for 66 points in a win over App State last week, Clemson annihilated ACC rival NC State Wolf Pack on Saturday 59-35.
Cade Klubnik threw for 209 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 70 more, while scoring a fourth TD on the ground in the win. In 17 drives with Klubnik at QB over the past two games, Clemson has scored 15 touchdowns and punted just once.
Ever understanding of outside criticism, Swinney followed the dominant win by quietly sneaking up behind several reporters, pulling their underwear up to their shoulders and yelling, “That’s what I think about your transfer portal, loser!” before running away whooping and shouting.
Dark days in Chapel Hill
Things were supposed to be different for North Carolina this year under new defensive coordinator Geoff Collins. The unit looked strong in a 3-0 start to the year, holding opponents to an average of 256 yards per game.
On Saturday, however, the wheels came off in a 70-50 loss to James Madison.
JMU hung 53 in the first half — matching the most points UNC’s men’s hoops team allowed in any half all of last season — and racked up 611 yards in the game. The Heels’ D didn’t get much help elsewhere either, with the offense turning it over five times and special teams getting a punt blocked for a touchdown. It was the most insulting outcome James Madison had delivered to North Carolina since he wrote that vinegar-based sauce was the biggest threat to a strong central government in Federalist Paper No. 39.
After the game, things got even more bleak for the Tar Heels. Players were barred from speaking to the media, and inside the locker room, Mack Brown delivered an emotional speech that left some wondering if he’d resign. After rumors of his departure hit social media, Brown clarified to ESPN that he is not resigning, but that he told the players that the loss was his fault and he would step away if he couldn’t fix things. If that didn’t work, Brown said he planned to reenact his favorite “Seinfeld” episode and simply return to work Monday as if nothing had happened.
Week 4 vibe shifts
Trending down: Aging QBs
Oklahoma State and Utah faced off in a top-15 matchup that figured to feature two seventh-year QBs in Cam Rising and Alan Bowman. As it turned out, one didn’t start the game and the other was benched midway through it.
Rising warmed up before kickoff, but he didn’t end up taking a snap in the game, instead spending the afternoon sailing the Great Salt Lake in search of treasure.
This QB matchup looks like a pirate captain who just pillaged a fleet of merchant ships and the British admiral tasked with sailing the 7 seas to send him to Davey Jones. https://t.co/KoLH0C8NGI
— Joe Wheat (@joewheat27) September 16, 2024
Cam Rising out for a second straight game with, I’m guessing… scurvy? pic.twitter.com/b0G7XyryNC
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) September 21, 2024
Unfortunately for Oklahoma State, Bowman did start. The Cowboys’ first 12 drives resulted in a field goal, a missed field goal, two interceptions and eight punts (or “an Iowa sampler” as it’s known colloquially). Bowman tossed both picks, and he was pulled after the first half in favor of Garret Rangel. The backup wasn’t any better though — Rangel finished 3-of-11 for 31 yards — and Bowman returned and finished strong, going 8-for-8 passing for 117 yards and two touchdowns on his last two drives of the game. Bowman just needed to have his coffee and take his daily aspirin before he could get loose.
But Utah managed to convert a key third-and-3 with 52 seconds left and ran out the clock on a 22-19 win that puts the Utes in the driver’s seat in the Big 12.
Each week, the college football landscape shifts in major ways with Cinderella upsets, devastating injuries and entirely expected performances by ACC defenses. But other power shifts are more subtle, and we try to capture those here.
Trending up: Basic cable
The TCU-SMU rivalry can be intense, with the two schools located about 40 miles apart stirring strong emotions in the Dallas metroplex.
This is what a rivalry looks like. pic.twitter.com/Kqb22UtfH0
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) September 19, 2024
In fact, the rivalry can become so passionate that no one is safe from the jabs lobbed from one side to the other. In this year’s case, that meant TCU insulting the network the game was aired on.
frogs on the cw, unfortunately. pic.twitter.com/NSLNj9ojk0
— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) September 20, 2024
Not since the ill-fated “Melrose Place” reboot has the CW endured something so insulting.
But alas, SMU and network pals had the last laugh.
The Mustangs had five takeaways and rolled to a 66-42 lead that included TCU coach Sonny Dykes being ejected from the game and sent to the locker room where he watched reruns of “Riverdale.”
If James Van Der Beek has taught us anything, it’s that you never, ever mess with the CW.
— The CW (@TheCW) September 22, 2024
Trending up: The Southland’s power rankings
Florida and Mississippi State faced off Saturday with some big things on the line — Billy Napier’s job, a first SEC win and hopes of staving off possible demotion to the Southland Conference.
No thank you. https://t.co/HUJnxxsl9V
— Southland Conference (@SouthlandSports) September 21, 2024
Ah. Well, we can’t blame the Southland. These two teams aren’t exactly hot items, but the Gators at least showed they’re not ready to give up on the SEC just yet.
Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway combined to throw just two incompletions in the game, as Florida walloped Mississippi State 45-28, inspiring Napier to send off a quick email to the HR department at T.J. Maxx that he won’t be able to start work there for at least another couple weeks.
After the game, Napier credited Florida’s unity for being the difference in the game, which makes those blowout losses to Miami and Texas A&M feel more like trust falls. They have only brought the Gators closer together.
Trending down: Auburn’s QB depth chart
Surely, Hugh Freeze is asking what he has ever done to deserve such a terrible fate as he has found at Auburn.
Two weeks ago, his starting QB Payton Thorne was so bad in a 21-14 loss to Cal that he was benched in favor of freshman Hank Brown. On Saturday, it was Brown’s turn, throwing three picks before being benched in favor of Thorne in a 24-14 loss to Arkansas.
It was the type of game that can lead a man to some hard truths.
— ¡BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL! (@edsbs) September 21, 2024
That’s the look of a fan who realizes that Auburn is 6-19 in its past 25 games against Power 4 foes or perhaps that he really shouldn’t have had that last dozen wings.
Trending down: Outside-the-box thinking
It was rough going for Virginia Tech’s offense on Saturday, so QB Kyron Drones decided to think a little outside the box. Faced with a possible safety as he was thrown toward the ground in the end zone, Drones heaved a throw backward, astutely realizing that if he just got enough on the heave, it could potentially circumnavigate the globe and find a receiver in the opposite end zone for a 131,477,280-yard TD pass.
0:32
Virginia Tech QB throws ball out of his own end zone for safety
Virginia Tech QB Kyron Drones somehow throws the ball out the back of his own end zone while falling down for safety.
Unfortunately for Drones, the throw came up just 131,477,270 yards short. The Hokies came up just a bit short too, as Rutgers booted a short field goal to go up by three points and Virginia Tech’ final drive ended with an interception.
After its 26-23 decision, Rutgers is now 3-0 for the fourth straight season. And as long as no one asks what happened after those 3-0 starts in 2021, 2022 and 2023, then things are going quite well in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Trending up: Cal’s future success
Cal fans spent the week tormenting Florida State on Twitter, promising to invade “Cal-ahassee” and send the Seminoles to a fourth straight loss to open the season, but FSU had other plans.
FSU prevailed Saturday 14-9, an overdue celebration for the beleaguered program even if the game film will now be used by the CIA to convince criminals to confess.
But it was, in a way, a win for Cal too, because the only thing worse than losing to Florida State so far this season has been beating Florida State.
In Week 0, Georgia Tech pulled off the upset. In the Yellow Jackets’ next game against a Power 4 foe, it lost to Syracuse.
In Week 1, Boston College stunned FSU. In the Eagles’ next game against a Power 4 foe, it lost to Missouri.
Last week, Memphis appeared to gain the upper hand for the Group of 5’s playoff bid by beating Florida State. And in Week 4, the Tigers lost to Navy.
But it goes deeper. After Syracuse beat Georgia Tech, the FSU curse was passed to the Orange, who then lost on Friday to Stanford. After Missouri beat BC, the Tigers inherited the stench of FSU and nearly fell to Vanderbilt on Saturday, needing a shanked field goal try from the Commodores in overtime to prevail.
Beating Florida State is like watching the video in “The Ring.” Once viewed, your fate is sealed, until the curse is passed on to someone else. It’s almost as horrifying as watching DJ Uiagalelei try to throw a timing route.
So, kudos to Cal. It was a loss this week, but by destroying that VHS tape, the only thing that will haunt the Golden Bears the rest of the season will be #FSUTwitter, which has a lot of pent-up frustration to get off its chest.
Trending down: Winless seasons
We entered Week 4 with 12 teams still in search of win No. 1 on the season, and five delivered the goods on Saturday: Florida State knocked off Cal despite being outgained by 126 yards; Temple dumped Utah State; Jacksonville State destroyed Southern Miss; and UMass and Troy beat FCS teams.
The remaining winless list: Miami (Ohio), Kent State, UTEP, Wyoming, Old Dominion, New Mexico and Kennesaw State. We know what you’re thinking. We kept looking for Auburn on that list too, but nope; it actually has won games this year. Doesn’t feel like it though.
Trending up: Fashionable headwear
Say what you will about Charlotte’s 1-3 start to the season, which includes a 52-14 drubbing by Indiana on Saturday, but there’s no arguing with coach Biff Poggi’s fashion sense.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) September 21, 2024
Poggi strolled the runway — er, sideline — on Saturday donning the latest from Pat McAfee’s big-and-tall collection of sleeveless business wear, rocking a towel found in the locker room at the local YMCA wrapped around his neck and establishing what will surely be the hottest trend in coaching headgear since Mike Locksley’s mayo bath.
Midwestern misery
Week 4 was not kind to Kansas or Nebraska.
On Friday, Nebraska blew a seven-point fourth-quarter lead, missed a 39-yard field goal that would’ve been the game winner then lost to Illinois in overtime. It marked the Huskers’ 34th loss by a touchdown or less since 2017, eight more such losses than any other team in the country. Since the start of 2021, Nebraska is 2-18 in games decided by seven points or less. Through three different head coaches over eight seasons, the close-game misery has been as consistent as the fall harvest.
On Saturday, Kansas led West Virginia by nine points with four minutes to play and still lost 32-28. It was the third straight game the Jayhawks lost after leading in the fourth quarter, something no power conference team has done since Tom Herman’s 2021 Texas squad (which, ironically, hit its nadir with a 57-56 loss to Kansas). For KU fans, it would easily feel like a rock bottom, except for the fact that so much of the past 15 years has been much, much worse. That’s the silver lining of being a Jayhawks fan: There’s no shortage of perspective.
As they say, it’s the hope that kills you, and Nebraska and Kansas have spent far too much time flirting with success only to see defeat snatched from the jaws of victory again and again.
Nebraska had finally cracked the Top 25 after so much losing. Then it lost again. Kansas entered the season with genuine playoff aspirations, but it is now 1-3.
It’s a picture of Middle America that John Steinbeck would’ve suggested was a touch too depressing.
Things fall apart
With a shade more than two minutes left in the first half, Kansas State led BYU 6-0. With a shade under 11 minutes left in the third quarter, BYU led Kansas State 31-6. A lot happened in the six minutes and change in between.
After a BYU field goal, Kansas State running back DJ Giddens fumbled, leading to a scoop-and-score. Then — despite being the answer to the question, what if the guitar solo from “Free Bird” was a quarterback? — Avery Johnson threw picks on two of his next three throws, each leading to Cougars TDs. BYU’s Parker Kingston then took a punt 93 yards to the end zone for another score.
PLAY OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE FROM BYU’S PARKER KINGSTON 😮 pic.twitter.com/VqvaJPR6ef
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 22, 2024
In those six-plus minutes, BYU asserted itself as arguably the most surprising 4-0 team in the country, while K-State proved it can’t have nice things after falling 38-9.
While the Big 12 and ACC have worked to fight a national narrative that assigns the SEC and Big Ten as the two true power conferences, the early results haven’t helped shift the conversation. With K-State’s defeat, four of the top five teams in the preseason Big 12 media poll have a loss (and Kansas has three), while five of the top six in the ACC have taken an L (including two or more for Florida State, NC State and Virginia Tech).
Heisman five
Georgia and Alabama were off in Week 4, but somehow college football continued to exist. As such, the Heisman favorites added a bit of extra bling to their résumés, but the overall top three remain unchanged.
1. Miami QB Cam Ward
Ward racked up 429 yards of offense and three touchdowns in a 50-15 win at South Florida. He has now topped 300 passing yards with at least three passing touchdowns in each of his first four games with the Canes. He joins Tyler Van Dyke (six straight), Kenny Pickett, Sam Hartman and Russell Wilson as the only ACC QBs to hit those marks in four straight games in the past 20 years, meaning that if history is any guide, there’s at least a 50% chance Ward will one day be a backup QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
2. Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty
The Broncos played FCS Portland State on Saturday, which seems unfair to allow Jeanty to run against lesser competition. In a show of extreme kindness, however, Boise State limited him to just 11 carries, so all he managed to do was run for 127 yards in a blowout win.
3. Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter
On offense, Hunter caught seven balls for 130 yards in Colorado’s 38-31 win over Baylor. On defense, he racked up two tackles — one for a loss — and delivered a shoulder blow to the ball on Dominic Richardson’s carry at the goal line in overtime to force a fumble and beat Baylor.
4. Any Texas quarterback
Arch Manning got his first career start against ULM and was brilliant. Well, he did throw two picks. And sure, Quinn Ewers tossed for more touchdowns in each of his two full games, including against Michigan. And yeah, Ewers is still the clear-cut starter when he is healthy again. But the important takeaway from all this is: OH MY WORD, ARCH MANNING IS THE GREATEST.
5. San José State WR Nick Nash
Here is Nash’s stat line through four games: 637 yards, eight touchdowns, 50 grabs. Only six Mountain West Conference players managed those totals over the entirety of the 2023 season. His 50 receptions are the most by any receiver through four games since Cal’s Chad Hansen also had 50 in 2016. He also has the perfect name to be a cop on a CBS procedural who doesn’t care about the rules, but darn it, he gets results.
Under-the-radar game of the week
Odds are, the only folks on the East Coast still up by the time Washington State finished off its 54-52 double-overtime win over San José State were either caring for a newborn or working at Waffle House. But those who went to sleep early missed an epic battle.
The game featured three ties and six lead changes, along with 152 yards and two touchdowns from Spartans wide receiver Nick Nash and a ridiculous fourth-down catch by fellow SJSU wideout TreyShun Hurry. It also saw Washington State blow an 11-point first-half lead and San José State blow a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter before trading touchdowns in a second OT frame, only for the Spartans to miss a mandatory 2-point try.
1:02
San Jose State’s Hurry’s amazing grab sets up his 4th-down go-ahead catch
TreyShun Hurry makes two terrific grabs in the waning moments to briefly put San Jose State ahead of Washington State.
More than all that, however, it was another perfect showcase for Cougars QB John Mateer, who has quickly blossomed into college football’s version of a “9-1-1” script — full of drama and danger and utter ridiculousness. Against SJSU, Mateer threw for 390 yards, ran for 111 yards, tossed two interceptions, rushed for the decisive 2-point conversion, fought off an attack of killer bees and rescued a family of pandas from a mudslide.
Under-the-radar play of the week
Temple got the ball with 10 seconds left before the half, completed an 11-yard pass to the Utah State 46 then trotted out kicker Maddux Trujillo to attempt a 64-yard try.
MADDUX TRUJILLO FROM 64 YARDS OFF THE IRON 😱 pic.twitter.com/twqC5G5uH2
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 21, 2024
According to ESPN Research, it is tied for the second-longest made field goal in college football since 1988, when tees ceased being used, and it’s the longest field goal ever made at Lincoln Financial Field. (Which doesn’t at all serve as a reminder that Nick Sirianni choose not to kick a field goal in the first half last week, thus costing the Philadelphia Eagles a win against the Atlanta Falcons. We’re not still bitter about that at all. Nope. Not us.)
Temple went on to win the game 45-29, a blow to Utah State QB Spencer Petras, who, after spending five years at Iowa, had been unaware the kicking game could be an asset to the opponent.
