Week 4 is in the books and it brought us a flurry of jaw-dropping upsets. Three top-15 teams lost amidst the chaos of Week 4 and it brought out a ton of new winners and losers. Here are the top studs and duds from Week 4 of the 2019 season.
Stud: Jalen McClesky
Who says Thursday night college football can’t be fun? The Tulane Green Wave stunned the Houston Cougars with a walk-off 53-yard touchdown pass that looked eerily similar to the NFL’s Minnesota Miracle. Wide receiver Jalen McClesky broke free from multiple defenders at midfield and miraculously strolled into the end zone. He also had an additional 68 yards and a touchdown reception earlier in the game.
Dud: Texas A&M’s Offense
The Texas A&M Aggies have been ranked since the season began, but their offense has looked terrible against ranked opponents. They were helpless offensively against Clemson Week 2, and they looked hopeless against Auburn in Week 4. The Aggies shouldn’t be considered SEC contenders anymore.
Studs: Matt Fink and Michael Pittman
USC is the most confusing team in the country. They were on the upswing heading into week 3, being ranked in the AP Poll and holding a nice 2-0 record … but were upset by BYU. They followed that loss by stunning the No. 10 ranked team in the nation (Utah) in prime time. Kedon Slovis left the first quarter with an injury, but Matt Fink (USC’s third quarterback of the year) stepped in with 351 yards and a trio of touchdown passes.
Dud: Jim Harbaugh
Michigan’s blowout loss to Wisconsin may be the tipping point for Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan tenure. The Wolverines were dominated by the Badgers in a 35-14 loss. Both of Michigan’s touchdowns came in garbage time. Josh Gattis’ new spread offense was supposed to take the Wolverines to new heights, but they don’t look right no matter who is at quarterback. Michigan’s season hasn’t gone down the drain yet, but Jim Harbaugh’s team can’t afford a loss to anyone in the Big Ten East.
Stud: The Wisconsin Badgers
Michigan’s failures might be the talk of the nation right now, but the Wisconsin Badgers deserve a ton of credit for what they’ve done so far. Through four weeks, they’ve only allowed a total of 14 points (all of which came in garbage time against Michigan) and the defense has been lights out. The power running game led by Jonathon Taylor has been extremely effective, even when Bradrick Shaw and others are in the backfield. Quarterback Jack Coan’s numbers might not jump off the screen, but he’s been extremely efficient both on the ground and through the air.
Dud: Herm Edwards
For the second consecutive season, Arizona State jumped on to the AP Poll after an upset victory over Michigan State and for the second consecutive season they followed it with a brutal upset loss. Herm Edwards’ team had no answer for Steven Montez and the Colorado offense in a 34-31 loss.
Stud: Georgia’s Defense
Georgia and Notre Dame headlined a week filled with amazing matchups and Georgia’s defense rose to the occasion. Georgia held the Fighting Irish to 17 points and intercepted Ian Book twice. Notre Dame had a chance to tie it late, but the Georgia defense stood tall inside their own 40-yard line.
Dud: The Temple Owls
Temple followed their upset win over a ranked Maryland team by getting blown out by the Buffalo Bulls. Buffalo quarterback Matt Myers threw only 15 passes, but Temple still lost by a final of 38-22.
Stud: Pat Narduzzi
Pat Narduzzi made the “dud list” last week after embarrassing himself in the second half against Penn State. This week, however, Narduzzi elected not to live in his fears and called the gutsiest play of the 2019 NCAA season thus far. The Pittsburgh Panthers stunned UCF with the Philly Special (Pickett Special?) in the game’s final minutes. It’s definitely a smarter call than kicking (and missing) a field goal from the one-yard line down seven with time running out.
Dud: The Washington State Cougars
In my many seasons of watching college football, I don’t think I’ve seen a “Pac 12 After Dark” game quite like the Week 4 matchup between UCLA and Washington State. The ranked Cougars were shocked by the UCLA Bruins 67-63. Yes, you read that right. Not only did Washington State blow a 32-point third-quarter lead, but they also allowed Dorian Thompson-Robinson (who was arguably the worst quarterback in the country through three weeks) to throw for over 500 yards and five touchdown passes. Meanwhile, Anthony Gordon threw for 570 passing yards and nine touchdowns…and lost.
