College Football Week 4 Takeaways: Indiana Rises, John Mateer is Real, and More

Last week was a calm week of college football, so this week we needed to see some more action or upsets. There weren’t any huge upsets; however, offenses have woken up, and we might have found a few teams that could be contenders.

Indiana is in the first tier of the Big Ten

I was impressed with the Hoosiers through their easy non-conference schedule, but I thought a hard-nosed Illinois team would muck up their matchup with Indiana and sneak out a close road win. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Fernando Mendoza was on time all day long. He threw for 267 yards and five touchdowns, but the most impressive part of his performance was his ability to stay on time. He was quick and decisive, picking apart what should still be a solid Illinois defense.

Almost more impressive was this Hoosier defense. Luke Altmyer had zero time to throw the ball, and he was stuck in obvious passing situations all day due to Indiana completely shutting down the Illini’s run game.

Indiana had seven sacks on the day, with Tyrique Tucker and Jamari Sharpe living in the backfield. This offensive front was supposed to be a strength for Illinois, but they looked slow and outmatched from start to finish, even allowing a blocked punt.

There’s no reason to think Indiana isn’t in the same tier as Ohio State, Oregon, or Penn State. In two games, Indiana has a trip to Eugene on the schedule. Oregon should be a lot more worried about that one.

Ole Miss found their QB

Backup quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has a first-team All-SEC name, but more importantly, he’s a legit dual-threat option for head coach Lane Kiffin.

Against an undefeated Tulane team, which was looking to be a favorite from the non-power four teams to make the playoffs, Chambliss went off, going for 419 all-purpose yards in this one. He also didn’t throw the costly interception Ole Miss had been used to with Austin Simmons running the offense.

This great quarterback play helped to keep their defense off the field for longer stretches, and they played their best game of the season. Tulane’s Jake Retzlaff was never given the ability to get into a rhythm on offense, and Ole Miss notched an imposing non-conference win.

The SEC has legit depth.

Oklahoma was the big winner from down south this week, as they held off Auburn in a tight one behind an impressive defensive performance. The Sooners proved again that they might have the best defense in the conference, and John Mateer is beginning to separate himself from other Heisman candidates.

He certainly hasn’t gone and won the award or anything, but he’s stepped up against the best competition compared to anyone else; however, the previously mentioned Mendoza from Indiana did have a nice statement game of his own.

Auburn shouldn’t hang its head from this performance either; they certainly have some pieces to still compete against top SEC teams, especially at receiver.

The rest of the top teams in the SEC — Tennessee, LSU, and Texas — all continued to roll through the lighter parts of their schedules, and Missouri once again pulled off the win over a solid South Carolina squad. Ahmad Hardy needs to start getting some Heisman recognition, as he might be the best running back in the entire country.

Texas Tech is real

In a battle of contenders in the Big 12, Texas Tech rolled into Salt Lake City and punked Utah. After a slow first half, Behren Morton was benched, and Will Hammond’s dual-threat ability got this Red Raider offense rolling.

The biggest thing for Texas Tech was its defense. They spent a lot of NIL money to build a defense that could contend in the Big 12, and they’ve done just that. I had Devon Dampier as a long-shot Heisman threat, and he had nothing on Saturday — completely locked down throwing or running.

Iowa State might be the highest-ranked in the conference, but Texas Tech is the best team.