College Football 2011, Week 4 results

Week 4 is in the books.

#21 Clemson upset #11 Florida State, unranked Arizona State dominated #23 USC and everything else went pretty much as expected: #2 LSU beat another ranked team (#16 West Virginia), Kellen Moore threw for TDs, as did Baylor’s QB Robert Griffin III, and Oregon’s LaMichael James ran and ran and ran and….

Here are the results of this week’s match-ups for all the Top 25 college teams. The two rankings are the AP/Coaches' Polls.

1/1 Oklahoma (3-0) The Sooners fell behind 14-10 in the first quarter and then held off a late rally by the Missouri Tigers (2-2) 38-28 to remain undefeated. The Sooners’ Landry Jones threw for 448 yards and 3 TDs while scoring one on the ground.

2/3 LSU (4-0) The Tigers went on the road to face #16 West Virginia Mountaineers (3-1) Saturday. The Tiger defense proved to be too much for the Mountaineers and the offense was unstoppable as the Tigers mauled the Mountaineers 47-21. Playing from behind and forced to throw, WVA’s Geno Smith completed 38 of 65 attempts for 463 yards and 2 TDs. LSU’s Jarrett Lee was a more modest 16 of 28 for 180 yards but had 3 TDs. LSU also scored on a 99 yard kick return by Morris Claiborne.

3/2 Alabama (4-0) The Crimson Tide rolled over the #14 Arkansas Razorbacks (3-1) on Saturday 38-14. Tide’s Trent Richardson ran for 120 yards and caught a 61 yard TD pass but it was defense and special teams that highlighted the night. Marquis Mize returned a punt 83 yards for a score, DeQuan Menzie returned an interception 25 yards for another, and AJ McCarron (quarterback and holder on the kicking squad) tossed a TD pass off a fake field goal.

4/4 Boise State (3-0) Kellen Moore threw for “only” four TDs and “just” 279 yards as he led the Broncos over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (1-3) 41-21 on the Blue Carpet Saturday night. He also came out after tossing a 10 yard TD on the Broncos first possession of the second half, a score that resulted in a 34-0 lead. Oh, my.

5/5 Stanford (3-0) The Cardinal had this weekend off.

6/7 Wisconsin (4-0) The Badgers scored early and often in routing the South Dakota Coyotes (2-2) Saturday afternoon by a score of 59-10.

7/6 Oklahoma State (4-0) The Cowboys, traveling to Texas A&M to play the #8 Aggies (2-1) Saturday night, fell behind 20-3 at the half. They woke up in the second half to pull out the win 30-29.

8/8 Texas A& M (2-1) The Aggies jumped out to a 20-3 lead at the half over the #7 Oklahoma State Cowboys (4-0) Saturday night. The Aggies couldn’t hold on, however as the Cowboys rallied for a 30-29 victory.

9/9 Nebraska (4-0) The Cornhuskers were on the road to play the Wyoming Cowboys (3-1) Saturday night. Nebraska headed home with a 38-14 win.

10/13 Oregon (3-1) The Ducks cruised to a 56-31 win over the Arizona Wildcats (1-3). LaMichael James had a bunch of rushing yards (288 to be exact, a school record) and 2 TDs for the Ducks. He now has 43 career TDs, also a school record.

11/14 Florida State (2-2) The Seminoles moved up the coast to play the #21 Clemson Tigers (4-0) Saturday. Tal Boyd threw for 344 yards and 3 TDs for the Tigers while the Seminoles’ Clint Trickett, subbing for starting quarterback EJ Manuel, had a nearly identical performance with 336 yards and 3 TDs. But the Tigers came away with the 35-30 win.

12/10 South Carolina (4-0) The Gamecocks let the Vanderbilt Commodores (3-1) take a 3-0 lead into the second quarter Saturday night. Then the defense shut Vandy down for good. The D allowed Vandy just 77 yards in total offense and just 5 first downs. They also had six sacks and recovered two fumbles as the Gamecocks came away with a 21-3 win despite some sloppy offense.

13/11 Virginia Tech (4-0) The Hokies managed to corral the Thundering Herd of Marshall (1-3) 30-10 Saturday. The Hokies had a balanced attack amassing 444 net yards of offense; 215 on the ground, 229 through the air.

14/12 Arkansas (3-1) The Razorbacks played at #3 Alabama (4-0) Saturday. It was 'Bama big: 38-14 (See above for more.)

15/15 Florida (4-0) The Gators played the Kentucky Wildcats (2-2) on the road Saturday evening. It was Gators early and often in a 48-10 thrashing. It was the Gators’ 25th consecutive win in the series. Florida scored on a pass of 45 yards (John Brantley to Gerald Christian), runs of 84 yards (Jeff Demps) and 60 yards (Mike Gillislee) and a 20 yard fumble return (Jaye Howard). As I said, early and often…and quickly.

16/16 West Virginia (3-1) The Mountaineers got whipped by the #2 LSU Tigers (4-0) Saturday 47-21. See above for more detail.

17/19 Baylor (3-0) The Bears routed the Rice Owls (1-2) Saturday night 56-31. After three games, Baylor QB Robert Griffin III has more TD passes than incompletions. No. Really. He’s got 13 TD passes and 12 incompletions. He was 29 of 33 for 338 yards and 5 TDs in this one. Ran for 51 yards and a TD and even had a 39 yard punt on a quick kick (Baylor’s only punt of the game). And Griffin didn’t even play in the fourth quarter.

18/17 South Florida (4-0) The Bulls demolished the UTEP Miners (2-2) 52-24 in a Saturday night game. The Bulls’ B.J. Daniels threw for 202 yards and 2 TDs. He also ran for 130 more including a 71 yard TD run on the team’s second offensive play. Later in the second quarter, Victor Marc had a 67 yard run for a TD.

19/18 Texas (3-0) The Longhorns had the weekend free.

20/20 TCU (3-1) The Horned Frogs, like a good host, spotted the Portland State Vikings (2-1) a 3-0 lead after one quarter Saturday afternoon, then they hopped all over the Vikings. A 24-3 half time lead became a 55-13 victory for TCU. A 66 yard TD pass (Casey Pachall to Josh Boyce), a 26 yard Interception return for a TD (Tank Carder) and a 44 yard punt return by Skye Dawson setting up a 10 yard TD pass (Pachall to Dawson), a 65 yard Waymon James TD run, a Waymon James 82 yard kick return…. Well, you get the picture. The only scoring play missed was a safety.

21/22 Clemson (4-0) The Tigers hosted the #11 Florida State Seminoles (2-2) Saturday. Tigers carried the day in a 35-30 upset over injured FSU. See above for details.

22/21 Michigan (4-0) The Wolverines entertained the San Diego State Aztecs (3-1) in Ann Arbor Saturday at noon. The Wolverines treated the Aztecs…poorly. QB Denard Robinson ran for three TDs in the first half as he led Michigan to a 28-7 victory.

23/NR Southern California (3-1) The Trojans got whipped by the Sun Devils at Arizona State (3-1) Saturday night. Cameron Marshall for 141 yards and 3 TDs as Arizona State ended an 11-game losing streak to USC with a 43-22 win. The Trojans trailed 21-9 at the half but took an early second half lead of 22-21 before the Sun Devils shut them down and responded with two of Marshall’s TDs and a 41 yard INT return for a TD by Shelly Lyons.

24/NR Illinois (4-0) The Fighting Illini trailed the Western Michigan Broncos (2-2)13-10 at the half, scored 10 unanswered points in the third to lead 20-13, saw WM tie it up at 20 all, and finally pulled it out 23-20 on a Derek Dimke 21 yard FG with 8:14 remaining. The Illini held on in those closing minutes. Alex Carder was 30 of 48 for 306 and 2 TDs for the Broncos in the loss.

25/24 Georgia Tech (4-0) The Yellow Jackets knocked the North Carolina Tar Heels (3-1) out of the ranks of the undefeated Saturday, but it wasn’t easy. Sure, the Yellow jackets jumped out to a 17-7 halftime lead and a 28-14 third quarter advantage, but NC scored twice to knot the game in the fourth. GT’s Tevin Washington ran the ball in with 5:20 left to put the Jackets up for good 35-28.

NR/23 Michigan State (3-1) The Spartans routed the Central Michigan Chippewas (1-3) Saturday at noon 45-7. Le'Veon Bell ran for 81 yards and 3 TDs…in the first half and Isaiah Lewis had a 37 yard interception return for a TD to lead the Spartans to a 31-0 half time lead from which Central Michigan never recovered.

NR/25 North Carolina The Tar Heels (3-1) lost a tough one to #25 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (4-0) Saturday. See above for details.