A football game consists of two 30-minute halves. “Thankfully,” Tennessee fans are saying today. “And not a second more,” Auburn fans are adding. After looking somewhat lost in the first half against Florida, the Volunteers promptly reeled off 38 straight points in the second half to win against the Gators for the first time since 2004. Tennessee finds itself at 4-0 for the first time since 2003 as a result of the win. Meanwhile, Auburn lost, then won against LSU when officials reviewed what appeared to literally be a last-second touchdown by the Bayou Bengals and nullified it, saying that the play had not started before the clock ticked down to zero. It was the first time Auburn won a game without scoring a touchdown since 2008 (the infamous 3-2 win over Mississippi State).
So, how about Wisconsin, huh? After their scare against Georgia State, it was hard to imagine the Badgers walking into Spartan Stadium and coming out with a win. Not only did they do so, they did it in impressive fashion, with a 30-6 victory over Michigan State. The Badgers passed this test, but it was the first in quite a gauntlet for them. The next four weeks’ opponents: At #4 Michigan, #2 Ohio State, at Iowa, #15 Nebraska. Those four teams have combined for a single loss so far this year. How are the Badgers doing it? Primarily the way badgers normally operate – scratching and clawing. In other words, stingy defense. They are currently 7th in the country in points allowed, at 11.8 per game, and haven’t given up more than 17 to any opponent. They’ll need that defense to be at their best, especially in the next two weeks: Michigan is fourth in the nation in points per game, and Ohio State is third.
The Badgers aren’t the only “W” team with a bunch of Ws. Washington has started the season 4-0, and after a squeaker against Arizona on the road, the Huskies get to find out how good they really are. Stanford comes to Seattle this weekend in a top-ten matchup. If the Huskies win that, they’ll have perhaps their best chance to beat Oregon in quite a while. The Ducks have won the last twelve games in that series, and during that stretch only last year’s game was closer than seventeen points. Meanwhile, West Virginia is one of only two Big XII teams to remain undefeated at 3-0, after a tough win over BYU. The Mountaineers now enter the conference season against Kansas State. West Virginia has never won more than eight games in a year since becoming a Big XII member, but this year might be the opportunity for them to rise up – of the three currently ranked conference teams they play, only Texas is on the road. The Mountaineers also get Oklahoma at home.
In small-school news, Austin Ekeler has been tearing up the ground for Western State (Colorado) this year. Through four games for the Mountaineers thus far, Ekeler has rolled up 832 rushing yards, averaging out to a tidy 208 per game. However, it’s his last two games that have been particularly impressive. After a 37 carry, 283 yard performance against Chadron State, Ekeler topped it this past weekend with a 32 carry, 316 yard day against Colorado Mines. The 599 yards total in those two games, if he were in FBS, would tie him for the national lead in rushing yards. As it stands, he’s first overall in Division II by almost 160 yards over his nearest competitor. Western State takes on Dixie State (Utah) this week, who’s only 135th in rushing defense this year in Division II. Looks like Ekeler has a chance for another really big day…
Congratulations go out to GuidestoneRocks, who wins week 4 with 170 points! JagRag took second with 168, and there was a tie between maestro and Shame! Shame! with 166 points each.
Standings after four weeks:
| 1st | AllySun | 849 |
| 2nd | In Accord | 848 |
| 3rd | maestro | 845 |
| 4th | bamaken | 842 |
| 5th | Crimson Gator | 840 |
| 6th | Shame! Shame! | 838 |
| T-7th | Ralphie | 836 |
| T-7th | JagRag | 836 |
| 9th | TheColombian | 834 |
| 10th | AUBrian | 830 |
This week features a slate of very intriguing games. Four games are top-25 matchups; two of them are top-10 matchups. Even some of the games that aren’t between top-25 teams are good matchups – North Carolina-Florida State, Oklahoma-TCU. The first game this week is UConn at Houston, Thursday, September 29 @ 8 ET, so make sure to get your picks in by then!