College football’s old Big Ten West spirit came roaring back in Week 4, and the sport’s powers in Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State all got a reminder of what that brand of football looks like when it shows up angry, awkward and unavoidable.
Iowa delivered the purest version of it. Three weeks after Michigan got one over on Western Michigan in Ann Arbor, the Hawkeyes answered with their own brand of chaos, beating a game they had no business winning.
They were outgained 429 to 285, lost the yards-per-play battle 6.3 to 4.8 and even missed a field goal while trailing by five with less than three minutes left. Still, when the moment arrived, Iowa wide receiver Reece Vander Zee was in the right place at the right time.
That’s how these games go in the Big Ten West.
The same kind of misery hit Maryland in a far uglier way. After eight years on the job, the Terrapins’ coach is sitting on a 39-51 record, one week in the Top 25 and three bowl wins from 2021 to ’23.
On Saturday, that résumé absorbed a 54-3 home loss to UCLA, with quarterback Malik Washington throwing four interceptions. A decade ago, the idea around Maryland was that “Maryland is the new Oregon.”
Right now, being the new Bruins would be enough.
Wisconsin, meanwhile, found the kind of September result Luke Fickell badly needed. The Badgers have now put together a month that includes a respectable showing against Notre Dame, blowouts of Western Illinois and Eastern Michigan, and Saturday’s upset of Penn State.
Quarterback Colton Joseph wasn’t dominant - he finished 18 for 38 for 235 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and a rushing score - but he did enough, and his late touchdown pass to tight end Jacob Harris pushed Wisconsin into the lead. Then the Badgers’ defensive backs closed it out by treating Rocco Becht’s downfield throws like they belonged to someone else, breaking up or otherwise disrupting multiple attempts in the final minute.
If Wisconsin was a relief story, Oklahoma was a warning flare. John Mateer, a calendar year removed from being part of Heisman conversations, produced the blooper of the season in a 41-13 loss to Georgia.
On a bizarre play, the ball slipped out of his hand and traveled 85 yards to the other end zone, where Bulldogs linebacker Chris Cole ended up with it. Mateer’s final line looked much better than the afternoon felt: 25 completions on 34 attempts for 231 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
But Oklahoma’s offense, already a problem for much of Brent Venables’s tenure, is now an outright liability. The question hanging over the Sooners is whether they even consider a quarterback change before the rivalry game with No.
1 Texas in two weeks.
Florida may be the biggest September winner of them all. The Gators blew open what had looked like a possible track meet and turned it into a rout of Ole Miss, piling up 498 yards and forcing two Rebels turnovers.
The payoff for offensive coordinator Faulkner has been immediate, and the source material makes the case plainly: no coordinator hire this offseason has mattered more. Florida looks like a CFP contender, and if Faulkner keeps this up, he can pick his next head coaching job.
There was no shortage of damage in Los Angeles. USC lost 41-27 to Oregon and offered little resistance on defense, which has become a familiar problem under Lincoln Riley.
Then came linebacker Stephens, who appeared to rub a horrifying hit on Ducks quarterback Dante Moore in Oregon players’ faces and nearly set off a brawl. NBC’s Chris Simms also drew criticism for his halftime defense of Stephens, which was framed as contrarianism for contrarianism’s sake.
Ohio State’s win over Illinois was more straightforward, and Jeremiah Smith made sure nobody missed it. The Buckeyes beat the Fighting Illini 42-19, and Smith put on a show with 12 catches for 217 yards and four touchdowns.
Illinois has slipped a bit after two strong years, but Smith still looked unstoppable, even without appearing to break a sweat. Next up is Iowa, where he gets another chance to reassert his big-game reputation after a quieter second half against Texas.
Texas A&M took a hit that was impossible to dress up. The Aggies fell 35-6 to LSU, and quarterback Reed was largely invisible, going 10-for-26 for 106 yards with an interception.
Texas A&M managed only 197 total yards, its fewest since the 2022 upset loss to Appalachian State. That matters even more because this was a team that went 11-0 last season and finished 11-2.
Texas also made its mark, though not in the cleanest way. The Longhorns’ end delivered one of the most complete defensive performances of the 2020s, and the Duncanville, Texas, native essentially set up camp in Tennessee’s backfield.
He accounted for five of the 10 sacks the Volunteers allowed, in a game that had offensive line coaches in distress. Texas still looked like a work in progress, but coordinator Will Muschamp’s defense looks headed somewhere real.
The next three weeks bring a bye, then Oklahoma, then Florida.
Louisville joined the list of odd Saturday storylines. Last week, the Cardinals were asked to stay weird, and they obliged.
Quarterback Lincoln Kienholz had a productive day, helped along by an admirably zen College GameDay interview, but Louisville’s defense took the day off and allowed Wake Forest to pile up 402 yards. That made for a banner afternoon for Demon Deacons coach Jake Dickert.
Wake Forest even outrushed Louisville 177-75, a number that jumps off the page. Depending on how much of a lost cause NC State turns out to be, Wake Forest’s near-future schedule could set up nicely.
Louisville gets the Wolfpack next, looking for a reset.
In Other News...
Wisconsin Just Sent The AP Poll Debate Into Overdrive
Wisconsins upset of No. 13 Penn State did exactly what a statement win is supposed to do, but it still did not quite push the Badgers into the AP Top 25. They remain unranked in the latest poll, yet they landed 102 points and now sit at the top of the received votes list, which is about as close as a team can get without actually cracking the rankings.
The path back in is clear enough, even if it is not guaranteed. If Wisconsin takes care of Michigan State next and gets a little help elsewhere, next week could finally be the one where the Badgers break through. For now, the poll debate they sparked after beating Penn State is still very much alive. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Suddenly Has A Chance To Prove Penn State Was No Fluke
Wisconsins upset at Penn State did more than grab attention around the Big Ten. The Badgers walked out of Beaver Stadium with a 24-20 win, their first there since 2003, and suddenly the conversation around the program changed from surprise to scrutiny. Beating a ranked opponent on the road is one thing, but backing it up is where a team starts to earn real credibility.
Now Wisconsin gets a chance to show that performance was no one-off as it heads into a matchup with Michigan State as a double-digit favorite. The line reflects how much stock the market is putting into the Penn State result, and it puts the Badgers in a spot where expectations are no longer about hanging around. For Wisconsin, the next game is less about the upset itself and more about proving it says something real about where this team stands. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Faces A New Kind Of Pressure After Its Penn State Stunner
Wisconsins comeback at Penn State gave Luke Fickell the kind of road win that can change the feel of a season. Down 17-0 and staring at a tough afternoon in a hostile building, the Badgers rallied to knock off the No. 13 team in the country, a result that stands as one of the clearest markers yet of progress in this era. Even so, the reward has been more about momentum than recognition, with Wisconsin still sitting outside the AP Top 25 as it turns its attention to the next Big Ten test.
Michigan State comes to Madison for the conference home opener carrying its own concerns, including an injury to key player Cam Edwards and a recent stretch of uneven play. For Wisconsin, the new pressure is obvious: after a statement win, there is less room to treat anything as a stepping stone. The Badgers now have to show that the Penn State rally was not just an emotional peak, but the start of something sturdier as the schedule keeps tightening. [Read more 🡒]