Week 4 top 25 Recap

Week 4 of college football had some exciting matchups. Georgia continued their dominance with a win over UAB. Michigan won with Jim Harbaugh back on the sideline. Texas had a big win over Baylor. Florida State beat Clemson in overtime. USC and Ohio State also won their games. Penn State shut out Iowa. Washington and Oregon had impressive wins. LSU and Alabama won close games. Oregon State and Ole Miss both lost. Oklahoma had a solid win over Cincinnati. Hello and welcome to the Offseason Sports Podcast. I am your host, Manny Fresh, aka Manny. Week 4 was the best week to tune in to college football. According to ESPN, outside of Rivalry Week, it was the most-watched regular season Saturday in history, with 12 billion minutes consumed. Let's start our show recapping the weekend that was in the AP Top 25, Week 4 of college football. This is Offseason Sports. Starting us off at number one is Georgia. The Georgia Bulldogs chewed through the UAB Blazers, beating the Blazers 49-21 and continue to prove why they are the number one team in the land. QB Carson Beck threw for 337 yards and junior tight end Brock Bowers had himself a game with nine receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns. The two-time defending national champs are going to have to clean up some miscues if they are going to have a shot at beating Auburn this week. Auburn is hungry and I can see them upsetting them in the number one slot. Moving on to number two, Jim Harbaugh and Michigan hosted Rutgers. Yes, you heard me. I said Jim Harbaugh. He's back on the sideline after serving his three-game self-imposed suspension. The Wolverines went on to win 31-7. Michigan allowed just 77 rushing yards. They will hold the number two spot. I agree where the Poles put them. Number two is where they belong. Moving on to number three, the Longhorns jumped the spot and went on the road to Waco, Texas to face the Baylor Bears. The Longhorns exploded in the second quarter for 21 points and they beat the Bears 38-6. Like I said last week, the Longhorns may be screaming from the rooftops that they are back. They have every right to scream this based on their performance on the field. Quinn Ewers went 18-23 for 293 yards and a touchdown while sophomore running back Jonathan Brooks rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns. The Longhorns will face a top 25 matchup this weekend against Kansas. Next up at four is Florida State. Seminoles of Florida State dropped a spot, which I totally agree with, after a lackluster performance against Boston College and it carried over into their game against Clemson. Florida State battled but it took overtime to seal the win, beating Clemson 31-24. Walking away with a win also snapped a seven game losing streak to Clemson. Florida State is really going to have to prove to me that they belong in these top four spots. They'll have a week to get ready and rest up. I don't know who they're playing after this bi-week, but they'll stay at number four most likely going into week five. Let's see where they put them. We'll preview the top 25 poll for week five after this. Next up at number five is the Trojans of USC. They blew out Arizona State 42-28 and that put the Caleb Williams for Heisman campaign back on. Williams accounted for five touchdowns and throws for 322 yards. What you may not know is USC did struggle a bit defensively but a win is a win and they will face prime time this week. Moving on to number six is Ohio State. I still don't know what to think of this Ohio State team. I don't know if they belong in the top ten or the top five or the top four. They walked it off against Notre Dame in the final seconds of a bizarre game. The final score to that was 17-14. Kyle McCord threw for 240 yards and no touchdowns. However, the running game was strong with Trevion Henderson rushing for 104 yards. They go on to host Maryland next. We'll see. They have a long season ahead of them. Whatever you think of the Coach Day and Lou Holtz situation, it is what it is now. It's water under the bridge. I think it was dumb. He went after a 90-year-old man. Good for Lou Holtz for coming back as well. Not showing that he's afraid to give it to Coach Day. I think it was stupid. Whatever. It is what it is. Moving on to Penn State, the game where I thought the AP poll fabricated and hyped this matchup. They hosted Iowa Hawkeyes and demolished them 31-0. I don't even know what else to say. They forced four turnovers. Their quarterback threw for four touchdowns. Like I said, they pretty much dominated them. It was a fabricated Top 25 matchup. I see them moving up just for the pure fact that they shut out a Top 25. I fully expect them to move up. Moving on to number eight is Washington. The Huskies might be the biggest sleeper team out of the Pac-12 this year other than Oregon. The Huskies hosted a then 2-1 Cal team and beat them soundly 59-32. Washington scored 45 of its 59 points in the first half of that game. Michael Pinnocks Jr. had 14-point lead before stepping onto the field. That's pretty much what tells you about their defense in special teams units. Pinnocks threw for 304 passing yards, went 19 for 25, four touchdowns and a pick. The Huskies are on fire in all three phases of the game right now. I would honestly move them up to the top of the polls, maybe Top 5, possibly Top 4. Moving on to number nine, which we know about, is Notre Dame. I have them slipping a few spots. Next up at 10 we have Oregon. The Ducks hosted primetime in a Top 25 matchup and the quack attack was on, beating Coach Prime in the Buffalo 42-6 with head coach Dan Lanning making a point that the Ducks deserve more media coverage based upon his locker room speech. I don't really care what was said during pregame locker room speeches. I'm more of what's on the product of the field. Bo Nix finished the night with 276 passing yards, three touchdowns and one really bad interception. I really expect the Ducks to move up maybe one or two spots, not by a lot, but they're playing on fire as well as the rest of the Pac-12. This may be the best year that we see in the Pac-12. We'll see what happens as far as what's going to happen with that conference. We already know Colorado's leaving, so we'll see what happens. That's what Coach Prime said in his postgame, losing to the Ducks 42-6 like I said earlier. The Cinderella story that was being drafted by the media was brought back to reality. That's how I feel about that, but I absolutely do love what Coach Prime is doing in Colorado. This is a great opportunity for recruits, potential transfer portal players to see what this program is doing, getting this much media attention. They're going to get another media-filled game next week as they face USC. I fully expect USC to handle the buffs next week. Again, the media is probably going to be all over them. Who cares? It's great for them. I know if your school was in this position, you'd be wanting all that attention as well. Good for Coach Prime. Great marketing opportunity. We know what kind of market ability he has and what he's doing right now. I only see this as him getting more players, which is fine. Good for him. New age of college football. Coming in at 11, Utah. The Utes moved up a spot in what I thought was going to be a high-scoring game. They just squeaked out a victory against UCLA, beating the Bruins 14-7. Utah was again without starting quarterback Cam Rising. Maybe next week we'll see him. This game was all defense. First play of the game was a pick six. Both teams failed to eclipse over 300 total yards of offense. Again, not sure where I would put Utah. I guess they hold at 11 for me. If they move up, they probably move up because Upset's in front of them. For me, I would hold them at 11. Again, not sure where I see this team. They have a huge test against Oregon State. We'll see what happens. Moving on to 12 is LSU. The Tigers hosted Arkansas and came away with a victory 34-31 on a last-second field goal. QB Jaden Daniels struggled early but let it fly and finished the game with 320 yards, four touchdowns. Their defense stepped up for the Tigers. In the red zone, I fully expect the Razorbacks to play Upset in the SEC. As for the Tigers, I'm going to hold them at 12, but I fully expect the Poles to move them up. LSU visits Ole Miss next week, so we'll see what happens there. Ole Miss may be looking for revenge after dropping one to Alabama. Speaking of Alabama, they come in at 13 after dropping three spots. The tide rolled on, though. What I thought would be an upset in favor of Ole Miss. I'm a little shocked that this Bama team stayed in the top 15 after barely winning against South Florida. Bama beat Ole Miss 24-10. Jalen Milrow got the start and finished 17-21 for 225 yards, one touchdown and one pick. I still don't know where to put this Bama team as I really don't see them as a great team this year as of their body of work. Moving on to 14 is Oregon State. After moving up two spots, the Beavers went on the road to play Washington State in what was dubbed a Pac-12 championship game. If you didn't know, now you know. There's only two teams left in the Pac-12. Don't know what's going to happen with these two schools. We'll see what happens as far as talks go and progress within the two remaining schools in the Pac-12 conference. Oregon State struggled against the Cougars, 17-34 passing for 198 yards and an interception. The Beavers' rushing attack is what kept them in the game with 242 total yards of rushing, but it was too little too late. I would drop them in the polls to 20-25. Still plenty of season left as they go on to host Utah next. Moving on to 15, Ole Miss. Lane Kiffin and the Rebels went on the road to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to take on a struggling Tide team only to walk away in defeat losing 24-10. Jackson Dart struggled on the road. Not sure if this team is a top 25 team after this lackluster performance, but I'm okay if the poll holds them to the top 25. Makes the SEC look good. Of course they want the SEC to outperform. Moving on to 16 is Oklahoma. The Sooners moved up three spots from a week ago and opened up Big 12 play against a new conference member, Cincinnati. Beating them 20-6, Dylan Gabriel goes on a tear throwing for 322 yards and a touchdown while the Sooners' defense holds to only 6 points and has held its opponents to 17 points or fewer in each of its first four games. They will be on the move with the polls and I'm buying it. They are on fire. Moving on is number 17, North Carolina. The Tar Heels moved up a few spots and go on the road to play a struggling Pitt team and win easily 41-24. Drake May goes 22-30 for 296 yards and one touchdown. I expect the Tar Heels to move up in the polls and I agree. They have a bye week and we'll go over who they face next week. Moving on to 18 is Duke. The Devils moved up in the polls and went on the road to play UConn and beat them 41-7. UConn has not won a game this year. This was a game I totally expect Duke to win. However, this may come to you as a surprise, but it was their defense that really won them the game or put a lot of pressure on UConn's offense. The Blue Devils forced two sacks, eight tackles for a loss, as well as an INT and two fumble recoveries. One of those fumble recoveries going for a touchdown by 300-pound DeWayne Carter. Riley Leonard had a solid outing throwing for 248 yards. This was a nice warm-up game in my opinion for the Dukies. They go on to host Notre Dame this upcoming weekend. I'm going to hold them at 18. They may move up or down depending on what this crazy AP poll system does. I know about number 19 Colorado and Coach Prime, so we're going to move on to 20. Miami, they're getting the Colorado treatment as well. I know they beat Texas A&M. I don't even know how I feel about Texas A&M. I believe they went on to Pete Auburn this weekend if I'm not mistaken. That's where we saw Jimbo Fisher on the field, but back to Miami. They do have a quarterback, Tyler Van Dyke. He's having a stellar year. He completed 17 and 24 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns. They're probably going to move up. They have a bye this week, and they play Georgia Tech after. Moving on to 21 is Washington State. We know the Cougars upset Oregon State and Pullman. Junior wide receiver Josh Kelly was a human highlight reel catching three touchdowns for 159 yards off of eight receptions. Junior quarterback Cameron Ward throws for 404 yards and completing 28 of 34 passes. The Washington State Huskies are 4-0 for the first time since 2017. Like I said, this Pac-12 conference is on fire this year. It's a shame that they are falling apart. Next up is UCLA, another Pac-12 team. We know how that one went down. Again, I don't believe they should have been in the polls. They had a freshman quarterback. He was pretty much under pressure the whole game. They avoided a shutout, which was great for the Bruins, but they had an opportunity to come back on the last drive of the game. Their offensive line gave up three sacks, and that was the game for them. They'll probably fall out of the polls. Totally agree with that. I don't think they deserve to be in the spots that they were in. Moving on to 23 Tennessee. The Vols looked to bounce back after being upset on the road to Florida. They come back home and they're hosting UTSA and beating them 45-14. If anything, they're going to move up, but I see them holding at the 23 spot. The roadrunners of UTSA were 1-3. There's plenty of time and opportunity for the Vols to start climbing the polls again, and they're going to look for revenge against South Carolina this upcoming weekend. Moving on to Iowa. Iowa was one of those teams that they snuck into the polls, and I think the media overhyped this Iowa team. They were playing Penn State and they fell to them 31-0. Like I said, this wasn't a 24 team in the land. I don't think they deserve the 24 spot. That being said, they'll probably fall out. Totally agree. Moving on to Florida. The Gators get into the polls by upsetting Tennessee last week and relied heavily on sophomore kicker Trey Smack to win against Charlotte. Smack making five field goals, ultimately beating Charlotte 22-7. I see the media moving up the Gators in the polls this week. They have an 11 a.m. kick time against Kentucky. I don't know the numbers off the top of my head for this rivalry, but I want to say that Kentucky owns Florida. I'd have to go back and double check, especially when Kentucky plays at home. Tennessee has not won at Florida for the past, I don't know how many games, but I know that's out there. Let's look ahead to the week five top 25 polls and see if Florida actually did move up. Yes, coming out one, Georgia, two, Michigan, three, Texas, four, Ohio State, five, Florida State, six, Penn State, Washington at seven, USC at eight, Oregon at nine, ten is Utah, eleven is Notre Dame, twelve is Alabama, thirteen is LSU, fourteen Oklahoma, fifteen North Carolina, sixteen Washington State, seventeen Duke, eighteen Miami, Florida, nineteen Oregon State, twenty Ole Miss, twenty-one Tennessee, twenty-two Florida, and then we have our newbies at twenty-three is Missouri, twenty-four is Kansas, and twenty-five is Fresno State. I think all three of those teams deserve to be in those spots. It should be an exciting weekend. My top three hot takes of this week are going to be Kansas to upset Texas. This may be a big test for the Longhorns. I hope they're not looking ahead to playing the Red River shootout against Oklahoma next week, but yes, I do expect Kansas to upset Texas. Texas is a 16-point favorite. Like I said, it's a big test for the Longhorns. Yeah, that's my first take. My second take is taking the over for the Washington Huskies in Arizona. Definitely taking that on the over, and my next one is Notre Dame over Duke at a five-point-and-a-half favorite. Totally expect Notre Dame to bounce back from their loss at Ohio State, and we'll see what happens this week. Those are my three hot takes of week five. I hope you enjoyed listening to my opinions, spilling out some facts, and follow along on Instagram at OffseasonSports underscore podcast for our Pick'Em, and we'll see you next week. Peace.