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College Football Week 4 Takeaways: Colorado Remains the Most Riveting Show

Plus, Michigan’s ground-and-pound operation, Utah’s rise as the Big 12 favorite, Arch Manning’s first college start and Billy Napier’s future.

Pat Forde

Colorado Buffaloes defensive tackle Tawfiq Thomas celebrates as fans rush the field following an overtime win over the Baylor Bears.
Colorado Buffaloes defensive tackle Tawfiq Thomas celebrates as fans rush the field following an overtime win over the Baylor Bears. / Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images
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Ten—no, make it 11—takeaways from a wild Week 4 in college football:

1. The Coach Prime Colorado Buffaloes are still of questionable quality. Yet they remain the most riveting show in the sport.

Deion Sanders’s team has played an incredible number of close games in his 16 games on the job, full of drama and tension. But Saturday night hit a new, oh-my-God-did-you-see-that level. Colorado (3–1) shocked the Baylor Bears with a Hail Mary pass to get to overtime, a forced fumble by the Heisman Trophy front-runner to clinch the game in OT and not one, but two field stormings. 

It’s just one wild Ralphie ride with Prime.

Colorado trailed Baylor most of the night and appeared doomed in the final seconds as quarterback Shedeur Sanders tried to lead a drive for the tying touchdown. On the Buffaloes’ second-to-last play of regulation, Sanders uncorked a laser that hit receiver Will Sheppard in the chest around the 5-yard line with nobody between him and the end zone. The ball bounced to the turf, and it appeared Colorado’s best chance had evaporated.

But no. On the next and final play of regulation, Sanders rolled left and fired another bullet through the rain, ino the end zone. This time, LaJohntay Wester went to his knees and cradled the ball above the grass. Prayer answered. On to overtime, somehow.

Once there, Colorado scored on its first possession. Baylor drove into position to do the same, but the best player in college football stood between running back Dominic Richardson and the tying touchdown. The tireless Travis Hunter, two-way superstar, lowered his head and delivered a hit that jarred the ball loose just before Richardson crossed the goal line. The fumble was swept out of the back of the end zone for a touchback, and the game was won.

The students came pouring out of the stands at Folsom Field—their third field storm in a mere four home victories under Deion Sanders—but the final play was under review. The students had to be herded back until the review was in—the call stood, the fumble happened before the goal line was reached, the game was over.

Students were cleared to resume storming, dancing and screaming in the rain.

For Shedeur Sanders, the Hail Mary capped a glorious, gritty night. He finished with 367 yards of total offense and three total touchdowns, running the ball 19 times and taking the usual number of hard hits behind a line that tends to leak.

For Hunter, his status as the Heisman Trophy front-runner should be inarguable. Actually, it should have been before this game—before he caught seven passes for 130 yards, his fourth straight 100-yard receiving game. Before he had a ferocious tackle for loss earlier in the game. Before he had another that forced the game-sealing fumble. Before he discouraged Baylor from throwing to his area most of the night.

Nobody is doing what he is, or even attempting it. He’s quite likely the most well-rounded football player since 1956 Heisman winner Paul Hornung nearly 70 years ago.

And for Colorado as a whole, the wild ride continues. The Buffaloes are set up for a hard landing next week at Central Florida, which is coming off an open date while the Buffs travel across the country following a draining OT triumph. But they’re halfway to bowl eligibility.

2. It takes two parties to create a miracle ending, and Baylor did its part by screwing up.

This was not what embattled head coach Dave Aranda needed. His defense collapsed on the final possession of regulation. There was an offsides penalty, followed by a pass interference penalty, followed by some quizzical coverages on the final two long attempts by Sanders. Somehow, Colorado kept getting single coverage inside the 5-yard line with the game on the line, with nobody in a Baylor uniform making plays on the ball.

Aranda’s team is 2–2 but he’s now lost 15 of his last 20 games. He was nearly fired at the end of last season, before some retooling of the staff and the roster to give it another go. Now, after losing this game, he might be pulling up alongside Billy Napier (see below) in the rankings of hottest seats in the sport.

3. The Michigan Wolverines won a big matchup the only way they could—with defense and the running game. This will be a ground-and-pound operation for the foreseeable future.

Michigan’s quarterback situation is a mess, with the switch of starters from Davis Warren to Alex Orji yielding only one positive—no interceptions. Warren was benched after throwing six of them in the first three games, and Orji at least managed not to throw the ball to the USC Trojans in his 12 attempts Saturday. But he threw for only 32 yards, which shifted the burden to the Wolverines’ running backs and stout defense.

They came through just enough to win the game, 27–24. It took a pick-six from the great cornerback Will Johnson (his second of the season) and three breakaway runs, two by Kalel Mullings and one by Donovan Edwards. Mullings scored on a 53-yard burst in the first quarter, Edwards on a 41-yarder in the second and then Mullings saved the game late in the fourth.

On a third-and-1 at the Michigan 20-yard line, trailing by four with 2:21 to play, Mullings went straight up the middle to get the first down—and then kept on going. He broke three tackles in peeling off a 63-yard gain, covering the ground that Michigan would have had a hard time traversing if forced to throw the ball. Seven plays later, Mullings went the final yard off left tackle for the winning touchdown.

(USC’s much-improved defense had a flashback to the bad-tackling Alex Grinch days on that play, with multiple defenders hitting Mullings but failing to put him on the ground.)

It was a big win for a Michigan team that was an underdog for the second in four weeks at home, and was soundly beaten by the Texas Longhorns. The Wolverines showed some of their championship resolve from last season. But there were issues.

Michigan completed one pass for 10 yards on the drive, its longest completion of the day. That’s not a sustainable way to win a Big Ten championship, but playing a limited offense and leaning on a stellar defense is the Wolverines’ best (only?) option right now. The passing game should benefit from the return of star tight end Colston Loveland, who missed this game, but mostly coach Sherrone Moore needs Orji to make incremental improvement throwing downfield.

In order to have a chance against the Oregon Ducks on Nov. 2 and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Nov. 30, a 1970s Bo Schembechler offensive approach isn’t going to do it.

4. Of all the Kyle Whittingham wins at Utah, this was one of the Whittingham-est. And it might have further established the Utes as the Big 12 favorites.

Playing without injured star quarterback Cam Rising for the 14th time in the last 16 games, the No. 12 Utes dominated the No. 14 Oklahoma State Cowboys in their Big 12 debut with relentless defense and the determined running of Micah Bernard. That’s been the Whittingham Way for 19 previous seasons, and it will be the default method in Year 20 as well.

The final score was close—22–19—but Utah led 22–3 before the Cowboys scored a couple of late cosmetic touchdowns. The Pokes were averaging 42.7 points per game and were kept out of the end zone for nearly 55 minutes.

Utah held star Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II to 42 rushing yards, surrendering no runs longer than 18 yards. Meanwhile, Bernard pounded his way to 182 yards on 25 carries, his career high. The highlight was a 62-yard rumble that included bulling through several tacklers and outmaneuvering others.

Bernard’s running allowed Utah to keep freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson largely in game manager mode. Making his second career start, the younger brother of NFL QB Zach Wilson had some big plays—a 48-yard run and a 45-yard touchdown pass to Brant Kuithe—but also two interceptions. Wilson has stamped himself as Utah’s QB of the future, but the Utes will hope to get Rising back from a hand injury next week against the Arizona Wildcats.

5. The Tobacco Road breakdown might be as bad in a single Saturday as the North Carolina Tar Heels and North Carolina State Wolfpack have ever seen. The simultaneous blowout losses further erode support for the two longtime coaches, Mack Brown and Dave Doeren.

North Carolina gave up an inconceivable 70 points to the James Madison Dukes, which until 2022 were an FCS-level program. It was the most points the Tar Heels have surrendered in school history. Afterward, the 73-year-old Brown told ESPN, “I’m not resigning. I’ll be back at work Monday.”

Brown is in the sixth season of his second stint at UNC. He’s had four winning seasons in the first five but hasn’t had a team finish in the AP Top 25 since 2020.

The fact the Heels (3–1) are starting their third quarterback in four games doesn’t mitigate a disastrous defensive and special-teams performance. James Madison had 53 points at halftime, with two of the touchdowns coming on a blocked punt and an interception return.

NC State, meanwhile, was trampled by Clemson, 59–35, falling behind 28–0 in a cringe-inducing first quarter and 45–7 at halftime. In two games against power-conference competition, the Wolfpack have surrendered 110 points. 

Doeren is in his 12th season in Raleigh and has been a consistent winner, but he hasn’t gotten the Wolfpack to an Atlantic Coast Conference championship game and doesn’t seem likely to do so this year. The relationship might simply be growing stale after this much time.

6. There is just one more Battle for the Iron Skillet scheduled, which is an offense to the sport. But if we are in the latter stages of this Texas hatefest, whew. The TCU Horned Frogs and SMU Mustangs are sending it out with a bitter, petty, angry flourish.

The ancient rivalry game between the two Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex neighbors was won in dominant fashion by SMU, 66–42. It was the most points the Mustangs have ever scored on the Horned Frogs in a series that dates to 1915. And TCU coach Sonny Dykes—who left SMU for the Frogs in 2022—wasn’t even around to see all of it.

Dykes was ejected early in the second half for his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of the game, the football equivalent of a basketball coach getting two technicals so he doesn’t have to be around for the full humiliation of a bigger loss. But a lot of other stuff led up to that crescendo.

The crossfire started when Dallas mayor Eric Johnson wore a “TCU sucks” T-shirt to a city council meeting. Then TCU’s social media pranksters went to work, noting that the SMU game was being broadcast on The CW “unfortunately,” a shot at the ACC’s most obscure TV partner.

Hanging 66 and winning by 25 gave the ACC’s social media team the last word, posting Saturday night that it was a blessing for the Frogs’ fans that the beatdown was broadcast “only on the CW.”

7. The Missouri Tigers remain undefeated, no thanks to their head coach.

Eli Drinkwitz has done a fine job making Mizzou a contender, but Saturday’s 30–27 overtime escape of the Vanderbilt Commodores wasn’t his best work. Drinkwitz’s game management at the end of halftime and regulation put Vandy squarely in position to steal the game and jeopardize Missouri’s No. 7 national ranking.

At the end of the first half, Drinkwitz strangely went for it on a fourth-and-3 on Missouri’s side of midfield with 12 seconds left. That bad decision was made worse when quarterback Brady Cook took a sack, putting Vanderbilt within 10 yards of a long field-goal try. Sure enough, the Dores completed one pass and then hit a 57-yard rocket that loomed large when the game went to OT.

Drinkwitz’s end-of-regulation strategy was faulty as well. Facing a fourth-and-1 in the final minute near midfield, he left the offense on the field in an attempt to draw Vandy offside. When that didn’t work, Drinkwitz called one of his three timeouts before sending out the punting team. Expending that timeout, instead of keeping it and taking a meaningless 5-yard delay-of-game penalty, gave Vandy the opportunity to run out the clock without kicking the ball back and giving Mizzou a final shot in regulation.

Nevertheless, Missouri survived in overtime and is 4–0 heading into an open date. It will have to be better come October to remain a playoff contender.

8. The Tennessee Volunteers are a nasty bunch.

Josh Heupel made his reputation as an all-gas, no-brakes offensive savant, which was underscored by the start to this season—the Vols led the nation in scoring coming into this weekend at 63.7 points per game. But their first major test—the visiting team in the Oklahoma Sooners’ Southeastern Conference debut—was a brutal display of physical defense and trench superiority. Put them in the top tier of SEC contenders for now.

Tennessee smothered Oklahoma, 25–15, not giving up a touchdown until midway through the fourth quarter. That was the first offensive touchdown the Vols have surrendered this season, and the first dating back to their 2023 regular-season finale against Vanderbilt.

The Vols forced four fumbles, recovering two, and harassed Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold into three turnovers and an unceremonious benching. Defensively, offensively and on special teams, Tennessee spent all night delivering blows. The Vols didn’t run for 200 yards for the first time this season, but they mauled the Oklahoma running game, allowing just 36 yards on the ground.

Defensive coordinator Tim Banks should be a name to watch in the upcoming coaching carousel.

9. The Illinois Fighting Illini have positioned themselves as a potential Big Ten spoiler. And maybe the Indiana Hoosiers, too?

The Illini were better in crunch time than the misfiring Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln on Friday night, coming out with a 31–24 overtime victory. As expected, Illinois made life difficult for freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, holding the Cornhuskers to seven points in the second half and overtime. They more than tripled the Huskers on the ground as well, and quarterback Luke Altmyer played a savvy game. With three of their next four games against Penn State, Michigan and Oregon, we’ll find out if the Illini are built to contend, but regardless they figure to be a tough team to beat.

The swaggering Hoosiers, meanwhile, full of Curt Cignetti cockiness, have stormed past all comers so far. The competition hasn’t been great, but Indiana beat the UCLA Bruins far more handily on the road than the LSU Tigers beat the Bruins at home. Indiana is averaging 49.5 points per game after cranking out six rushing touchdowns against the outmanned Charlotte 49ers.

Indiana is one of the last programs in America to ever look too far down the schedule counting wins, but for sheer indulgence’s sake: The Hoosiers could be favored in their next four games at least. They host the Maryland Terrapins next week, then visit the Northwestern Wildcats and host Nebraska and the Washington Huskies. The very premise of them being 8–0 going to the Michigan State Spartans is preposterous, but dare to dream. 

10. Arch Manning’s first college start was no masterpiece. It didn’t matter. 

Texas blasted the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks as expected. The curiosity was whether the scion of America’s greatest quarterback family could continue the statistical onslaught he had in playing most of the game last week after replacing injured Quinn Ewers.

It didn’t happen. Manning was O.K. He threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns, but also completed just 51.7% of his passes and had two interceptions. Anyone presuming there is a growing quarterback controversy in Austin had that presumption extinguished. This is Ewers’s team until proven otherwise.

But it sure is nice for Steve Sarkisian to have the Manning insurance policy in the back pocket.

Manning throws a pass in the first half.
Manning throws a pass in the first half. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

11. Billy Napier is still the coach of the Florida Gators. Remaining tenure to be determined.

The prevailing wisdom remains that Napier is done, just a matter of when. If the Gators hadn’t beaten the Mississippi State Bulldogs, it might have happened as soon as Saturday. It still could happen before Florida’s next game, which is Oct. 5 against the Central Florida Knights. The open date could provide Florida the timing to make a move.

Or the Gators might let it ride and see whether Napier can build some momentum. The schedule is an absolute monster starting Oct. 12 at Tennessee, so chances of a revival seem remote.

Published
Pat Forde
PAT FORDE

Pat Forde is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who covers college football and college basketball as well as the Olympics and horse racing. He cohosts the College Football Enquirer podcast and is a football analyst on the Big Ten Network. He previously worked for Yahoo Sports, ESPN and The (Louisville) Courier-Journal. Forde has won 28 Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest awards, has been published three times in the Best American Sports Writing book series, and was nominated for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize. A past president of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and member of the Football Writers Association of America, he lives in Louisville with his wife. They have three children, all of whom were collegiate swimmers.

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