As pre-conference showdowns began to wind down and inter-conference play began around the college football world, fans were treated to a wild week four in college football. Here are the top five studs and duds from the fourth week of the 2018 college football season.
Stud: Miles Sanders
Saquon who? Penn State’s rushing attack has seen no drop off despite the loss of Saquon Barkley to the NFL.
For the second consecutive game, the Nittany Lions were able to put up 60+ points and it is all thanks to a fantastic performance by running back Miles Sanders. The Junior playmaker raked up 200 yards on the ground and completed a hat trick with three rushing touchdowns.
Penn State’s passing attack was never quite able to get in sync, but it didn’t matter given how to dominant Sanders was on the ground.
Dud: Anthony Brown
Boston College’s starting quarterback featured in our studs list last week, but he was, unfortunately, unable to keep his play at the high level he displayed against Wake Forest.
BC placed in the NCAA top 25 rankings for the first time this season, but they were soundly routed by a winless Purdue team on the road. Brown mustered up on 96 passing yards on the afternoon and threw a whopping four interceptions.
He certainly wasn’t the only player to struggle for the Eagles, but he never gave his team a chance.
Stud: JT Daniels
USC’s freshman quarterback hasn’t been very consistent thus far in 2018, but he made the big throws when they mattered in week four.
On Friday night, Daniels led the Trojans to a thrilling primetime win over Washington State. He threw a clutch 30-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and completed the two conversion pass to Tyler Vaughns that put USC up for good.
Without the pressure of being a ranked team, Daniels may finally be able to develop into an elite prospect.
Dud: Virginia Tech’s Defense
What on Earth happened to the Hokie’s defense? One of college football’s top defensive units was completed dismantled by an unranked Old Dominion team in week four.
The Monarchs dropped 49 points on Virginia Tech while accumulating 495 yards through the air and 137 yards on the ground. The Hokies were able to respond with over 500 yards of their own, but their usually high-quality front seven and secondary were completely dissected.
Maybe they won’t be providing an ACC challenge for Clemson after all.
Stud: David Shaw
Talk about an improbable win for Stanford. Down 17 at the half and later down 10 in the fourth quarter, head coach David Shaw rallied his team against a very good Oregon team on the road.
Heisman candidate Bryce Love was largely kept in check and while quarterback KJ Costello had a strong night, his numbers weren’t jaw-dropping. Stanford responded with several big plays when it mattered most, and that’s how you know a team is well coached.
The Cardinals forced three turnovers while Oregon couldn’t manage to force one of their own.
Dud: Big 12 Contenders
Last week it was the Big Ten, but week four was the Big 12’s turn to lay an egg with a barrage of bad losses from their ranked teams.
Playoff threat Oklahoma survived an upset scare by the hands of Army and West Virginia won big, but the rest of the conference didn’t fare as well. Texas Tech routed Oklahoma State and TCU suffered another brutal loss to rival Texas.
Stud: Tua Tagovailoa
There isn’t much to say here other than Alabama is now the clear front-runner to win the national title yet again.
Alabama always has a stacked roster, but now they have an elite quarterback to gun sling in the clutch. Tagovailoa threw for 387 yards and four touchdowns in Alabama’s rout of ranked Texas A&M.
It’s gonna take a miracle performance to beat the Crimson Tide this season.
Dud: Iowa in the 4th quarter
For the second straight season Iowa was on the verge of upsetting a ranked Big Ten team at home, but like last year against Penn State, they couldn’t shut the door in the fourth quarter.
Alex Hornibrook and company were able to drive right down Iowa’s defense in the final minutes in almost the same manner as Trace McSorley did a year ago. Iowa is close to building something special once again, but they need to start winning close games in their own house.
Stud: Benny Snell Jr.
Kentucky pulled off a shocking upset of the 14th ranked Mississippi Bull Dogs and it was all thanks to an unreal running back performance by Benny Snell Jr.
Snell racked up 165 yards and four touchdowns on the ground while regularly running free into the Bull Dog’s secondary. It isn’t often that we’re talking about Kentucky football being good, but after a 4-0 start and a big upset against a ranked team, they’re finally on the map.
Dud: Nebraska football
Who would’ve thought that Nebraska football would ever be considered the worst team in the Big Ten, but that’s exactly where we are.
Nebraska was not only routed by Michigan, but at no point did they ever show the slightest resemblance of life. They opened the season with shocking losses by the hands of Troy and Colorado and now it looks like they’re in for a rough ride against a stacked Big Ten East.
