Check out how the College Football AP Top 25 Ranked Teams fared in Week 4 for our inaugural Top 25 Roundup!
#1 Texas Defeats ULM 51-3:
It was an up and down performance for Arch Manning’s first start as he completed 15 of 29 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns to go along with two interceptions, but he was able to lead the Longhorns to his first win. The offense leaned heavily on the rushing attack with Jaydon Blue having 25 carries for 124 yards and four touchdowns. The defense was just as dominant against the Warhawks allowing just three points and only 111 total yards of offense. Next up, the Longhorns will play their first ever SEC game against Mississippi State.
#2 Georgia (Bye):
#3 Ohio State Defeats Marshall 49-14:
Ohio State has a businesslike performance in their last game of their non-conference schedule against Marshall. Quinshon Judkins ran for 173 yards and two touchdowns while his counterpart TreVeyon Henderson ran for 76 yards and two more touchdowns. Will Howard completed 16 of 20 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns to one interception as he connected with his top two receivers in Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith for scores.
#4 Alabama (Bye):
#5 Ole Miss Defeats Georgia Southern 52-13:
The Ole Miss Rebels win in convincing fashion once again as Jaxson Dart threw two touchdowns in just the first couple of minutes to set the tone for the Rebels. Dart ended up completing 22 of 31 passes for 382 yards and four touchdowns. His top target Tre Harris finished with 11 catches for 225 yards and two touchdowns. In the run game, Henry Parrish, JJ Pegues, and Domonique Thomas all scored touchdowns on the ground. The Rebels have been dominant in non-conference play so far this season outscoring opponents 240-22 through the first four games of the season. Lane Kiffin’s squad will get their first text next week against Kentucky.
#6 Tennessee Defeats #15 Oklahoma 25-15:
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel returned back to Oklahoma where he was a National Championship quarterback back in 2000 and also a former offensive coordinator at to lead the Volunteers to a 25-15 win over the Sooners. The tough Volunteers defense frustrated Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold as he was benched in the second quarter after completing only 7 of 16 passes for 54 yards and an interception. The game was controlled by the Volunteers for the majority as they led 22-3. Nico Iamaleava threw for 194 yards and a 66 yard touchdown pass to Dont’e Thornton Jr. Bru McCoy had four catches for 92 yards and Dylan Sampson ran for 92 yards and another score. The Sooners did get a late offensive spark from Michael Hawkins, who came in relief for Arnold and threw for 132 yards and a touchdown to make it an interesting week of conversation at the quarterback position in Norman, Oklahoma.
#7 Missouri Defeats Vanderbilt 30-27 (OT):
Blake Craig went through all the ups and downs of a college kicker on Saturday as he missed on three field goals, but was able to hit the eventual game winning field goal at 30-27 while Vanderbilt kicker Brock Taylor missed on a 31 yard field goal that would have sent the game to another overtime. Brady Cook finished the game throwing for 226 yards and two touchdowns while Nate Noel ran close to 200 yards as well. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia kept the Commodores in the game with 178 passing yards and two touchdowns with 84 yards rushing, but the lack of execution on special teams in overtime allowed the Missouri Tigers to survive.
#8 Miami Defeats South Florida 50-15:
Cam Ward had a big night against South Florida as he threw for 404 yards and three touchdowns. In doing so, he also became the 13th player in college football history to throw for 15,000 yards. His touchdown passes came to Isaiah Horton, Xavier Restrepo, and Sam Brown. Running back Damien Martinez was also able to rush for three more touchdowns to help the Hurricanes pull away from the Bulls. The red hot Hurricanes offense continues to roll as they have scored at least 41 points in each game of the season.
#9 Oregon (Bye):
#10 Penn State Defeats Kent State 56-0:
Penn State took care of business in dominant fashion defeating Kent State 56-0 behind the efficient performance of Drew Allar, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for a score. He also led a Nittany Lions offense that set a program record with 718 total yards of offense while holding the Golden Flashes to just 67 yards, six first downs, and 10 punts. Tyler Warren, Nick Singleton, Liam Clifford, Omari Evans, and Khalil Dinkins all caught touchdown passes during the contest.
#12 Utah Defeats #14 Oklahoma State 22-19:
The Utah Utes leaned on Micah Bernard heavily in their ranked matchup on the road against Oklahoma State. Bernard rushed for a career high 183 yards en route to a 22-19 victory, which is the team’s first in the Big 12. Brant Kuithe’s two touchdowns and kicker Cole Becker’s three field goals were just enough for Utah to get the win. Freshman Isaac Wilson got the start for Utah as Cam Rising ended up not playing. It was a matchup between Utah’s immovable defense versus Oklahoma State’s explosive offense. That was won by Utah as Oklahoma State quarterback Alan Bowman was benched and came back in the game to almost lead his team to a comeback with two passing touchdowns. The Cowboys were limited to 285 total yards and had to punt eight times. Utah also dominated the time of possession holding the football for 42 minutes.
BYU Defeats #13 Kansas State 38-9:
Everything was going right for the BYU Cougars in a huge upset win over #13 Kansas State as the defense forced three turnovers on three straight drives, the offense had two touchdowns from Jake Retzlaff and another touchdown from Sione Moa plus a highlight reel 90 yard punt return for a touchdown by Parker Kingston to make what was a 6-3 lead for Kansas State to a 31-6 lead for BYU in just a matter of a couple of minutes. The Cougars start the season 4-0.
#16 LSU Defeats UCLA 34-17:
LSU struggled in the first half as the Tigers were deadlocked at 17 with UCLA, but the Bayou Bengals were able to pull away from the Bruins in the second half scoring on two 90+ yard scoring drives and 17 unanswered points for the victory. Garrett Nussmeier completed 32 of 44 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns while Bradyn Swinson had two sacks and a forced fumble to help pace the Tigers to a strong final 30 minutes of play on a hot day in Tiger Stadium.
#17 Notre Dame Defeats Miami (Ohio) 28-3:
Riley Leonard accounted for 297 total yards and three touchdowns for the Fighting Irish and were able to overcome some early adversity as many Notre Dame fans were booing the offense after two three and outs and a turnover on down. However, the Fighting Irish woke up after that as Leonard completed 12 of 25 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. Despite the slow start, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were able to rely on their running game gaining 270 yards on the ground while only giving up three points and 229 total yards defensively.
#18 Michigan Defeats #11 USC 27-24:
Kalel Mullings scored the go ahead two yard touchdown for the #18 Michigan Wolverines with 37 seconds left to secure a 27-24 win over the #11 USC Trojans. The Wolverines got that touchdown on a methodical 10 play, 89 yard scoring touchdown drive carried by Mullings, who ended up with 159 yards and two touchdowns. His counterpart Donovan Edwards also scored on a 41 yard run to give the Wolverines a 14-0 lead. USC came storming back thanks to the efforts of Miller Moss, who was 28 of 51 for 283 yards and three touchdowns. However, Moss also threw a 42 yard pick six to Will Johnson. Moss threw touchdown passes to Duce Robinson, Jay Fair, and Ja’Kobi Lane, but the defending National Champions were able to make the plays late to get a huge ranked win in the Big House.
#19 Louisville Defeats Georgia Tech 31-19:
Louisville was able to outlast Georgia Tech in a back and forth game. The Cardinals once led 17-7 before the Yellow Jackets came storming back to tie the game at 17 a piece. The Cardinals took the lead at 24-17 when Tyler Shough connected with Ja’Corey Brooks for a 57 yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Louisville also got some insurance points when Tayon Holloway blocked a Georgia Tech field goal and returned it all the way back for a 55 yard touchdown to secure a 31-19 win. Add in a fumble return for a touchdown by Ramon Puryear, Louisville scored touchdowns in all three phases to get a big conference win.
#20 Iowa State Defeats Arkansas State 52-7:
Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht threw for two touchdowns and ran for another one to help the Cyclones get a blowout win over Arkansas State. Head Coach Matt Campbell tied Dan McCarney with his 56th win for most wins in program history, and they did so in impressive fashion. The Cyclones rushed for 237 yards and finished with 490 total yards of offense, which is the most since 2021.
#21 Clemson Defeats NC State 59-35:
Cade Klubnik came alive in what was a dominant win for the Tigers against the Wolfpack. The Tigers’ signal caller completed 16 of 24 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns through the air plus a rushing touchdown. Klubnik’s 55 yard rushing touchdown was the longest touchdown run by a quarterback since Trevor Lawrence when he had a 67 yard score against Ohio State in the College Football Playoff back in 2019. With Grayson McCall out, CJ Bailey got the start for the Wolfpack and turned the ball over twice including a 53 yard pick six by Ashton Hampton. The Tigers are putting that blowout loss to Georgia behind them after two straight dominant wins over Appalachian State and now NC State. It is also the 800th win in the program’s history.
Buffalo Defeats #23 Northern Illinois 23-20 (OT):
Buffalo kicker Upton Bellenfant was the hero in this one as he kicked a 37 yard field goal in overtime to give the Bulls a 23-20 upset victory over the #23 ranked Northern Illinois Huskies. It was a letdown game for the Huskies after they had the biggest upset victory of the early college football season in taking down Notre Dame. Northern Illinois sent the game into overtime with a game tying kick. After the Huskies were up 14-3, the Bulls came back with a 46 yard touchdown pass from C.J. Ogbonna to Victor Snow and a 36 yard touchdown run by Al-Jay Henderson allowed the Bulls to tie the game at 17. The win for Buffalo is their second ever ranked win in program history.
#24 Illinois Defeats #22 Nebraska 31-24 (OT):
In the first ranked matchup of the college football weekend on Friday, the Illinois Fighting Illini were able to defeat #22 Nebraska 31-24 in overtime. Starting the season at 4-0 for the first time since 2011 and now defeating two ranked teams along the way, Luke Altmyer threw four touchdown passes including the game winner in overtime to Pat Bryant to get the win. Illinois and Nebraska were able to go back and forth in this game with another strong game by Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola, who threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns, but Nebraska committed nine penalties and Raiola was sacked three times on the overtime possession. The Cornhuskers are still looking for that marquee ranked win as this is the 25th straight ranked loss for them.
#25 Texas A&M Defeats Bowling Green 26-20:
Getting his second straight start for the Aggies, quarterback Marcel Reed was able to throw for 173 yards and two touchdowns while also running for 91 yards in order for the Aggies to get a 26-20 narrow win over Bowling Green at home. The Falcons almost gave the Aggies a scare on the road and pulled within six points late on a 23 yard field goal to make it a six point game, but an onside kick recovery allowed Texas A&M to run out the rest of the clock. It was at one point a three point game as Rahkeem Smith scored for the Falcons on a 40 yard reverse and even had a chance to tie or even take the lead after a blocked punt, but ended up missing a field goal. Texas A&M would score on two field goals to have a nine point lead at 26-17. Next up, the Aggies will take on Arkansas in Arlington, Texas.
