Michigan’s Grit Prevails as Northern Illinois’ Remarkable Journey Crumbles

After last week’s slate of games that mostly capped off the non-conference part of the schedule for many teams like the Michigan Wolverines, Week 4 signifies the start of conference play. Now, the games become a lot closer, and the conferences will slowly be able to decide their champion. So, how did the Wolverines, Missouri Tigers, and Northern Illinois Huskies, among others, fare in week four of the 2024 College Football season?

Michigan returns to some form of normality

The number 11 ranked USC Trojans are now an official Big Ten team. They have had a good start to the season, highlighted by their opening week win against the LSU Tigers. This week, the Trojans faced the number 18 ranked Michigan Wolverines. The Wolverines have had two easy wins so far but were destroyed by the Texas Longhorns in week 2. Additionally, Michigan has changed quarterback, with Davis Warren being replaced by Alex Orji. Will this make any difference?

The game did not get off to the best start, with the first four drives ending in punts. The Trojans made a total of -9 yards from their two opening drives. After this period, the Wolverines were able to get the game’s opening score. From their 47-yard line, Michigan running back Kalei Mullings would find the endzone for a 53-yard rushing touchdown. In reply to this, the Trojans would struggle again. 

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The Wolverines increased this lead a few drives after Donovan Mitchell found the endzone for a 41-yard rushing touchdown. However, on this occasion, the Trojans got something from their reply. Trojans’ quarterback Miller Moss brought his offense down to the Wolverines’ 11-yard line. He would have three attempts to find the endzone, but they all failed. This set up USC kicker Michale Lantz with a 29-yard field goal attempt. He succeeded with this, meaning that the Wolverines had a 14-3 lead at halftime. 

USC struggled for most of the first half but was able to start the second half in the best possible form. On the opening drive of the second half, Moss and company were able to bring the ball down into the Wolverines’ red zone, and then down to the nine-yard line. From here, Moss found Duce Robinson for the touchdown pass to bring the Trojans back into this game. 

But, on their next drive, USC would make a costly error. The drive would start on the Trojans’ 34-yard line, and the offense was able to move the ball down to the 41-yard line. However, on the next play of the drive, Moss’ pass was intercepted by Will Johnson, who returned the ball to the endzone for a pick-six touchdown. The silver lining for the Trojans was that the Wolverines’ PAT attempt was blocked. 

However, this luck would be short-lived. The Trojans had the possession again, and this drive did start well, marked by an impressive 65-yard run for Woody Marks to take them down to the Wolverines’ two-yard line. But USC would only go backwards from here. Then, from the six-yard line, Moss would be sacked and then fumbled the ball. The Wolverines recovered this. But, their possession lasted seconds, as they would fumble the ball on the recovery play, only for the Trojans to pick it up. 

This mistake from Michigan would cost them, as two plays later, Moss found Jay Fair for a 16-yard TD pass to put them within three points as the game went into the fourth quarter. 

There would again be a period of lull between the two teams before the Wolverines made another mistake. On their 18-yard line, Edwards fumbled the ball, which was then recovered by the Trojans’ defense, giving them a very good field position to take the lead. 

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This is what they did. Moss found Ja’Kobi Lane for the 24-yard TD pass to put the Trojans into the lead for the first time in the game. 

But this lead did not last long. With under four minutes left, the Wolverines knew they had to score on this drive to win the game. Starting from their 11-yard line, Orji slowly moved his offense down to the Trojans’ one-yard line. From here, Kalel Mullings found the endzone for what could be the game-winning TD. With under a minute left on the clock, the Trojans needed to act fast to stay in the game. Could they? 

The final Trojans drive did not go far and stalled out before they reached the 50-yard line. This meant the Michigan Wolverines defeated the USC Trojans 27-24.

Does this victory vindicate the Wolverines for their early season loss? It might. It does mean that they open their Big Ten campaign well and always get victory over a higher-ranked team in terms of the rankings. The change at QB did make a difference, but only as fewer interceptions were thrown. The Trojans could hold their own in this game but were outpowered by Michigan. Next week, both teams will face teams from the Midwest, Michigan will face Minnesota, and USC will host Wisconsin. 

Is Vandy good?

The Vanderbilt Commodores have been the surprise of the season so far. It is no lie that this team is not in the SEC for Football, unlike practically all other members. This generally means that a trip to Vandy is a free win for many of their SEC rivals. This year doesn’t seem like it. They have already defeated Virginia Tech this season and nearly defeated Georgia Tech. This week, they face the high-scoring number seven-ranked Missouri Tigers in what should be a walkover for the Tigers. 

However, the Commodores took the early lead in this game. They were starting from their eight-yard line. Commodores QB Diego Pavia (who played for New Mexico State last season) was able to move the ball down to their 35-yard line quickly. From here, he found Joseph McVay for a 65-yard touchdown score. 

But, the Tigers were able to reply on the following drive. Unlike the previous drive from Vanderbilt, this one was a lot slower. Missouri QB Brady Cook moved his offense down to the edge of the Commodores’ red zone and then found reliable target Luther Burden III for the 20-yard touchdown pass to tie the scores.

This tie did not last long. During another long drive, the Commodores made it down to the Tigers’ nine-yard line before the drive stalled. This set Vanderbilt kicker Brock Taylor with a 27-yard field goal, which he was successful with. 

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Missouri also set up a field goal from their next drive. Tigers’ kicker Blake Craig was given a 24-yard field goal. However, he missed this attempt. He was given a second chance on the Tigers’ next drive. This time, it was from 23 yards out. That one yard made all the difference, as he was successful with this attempt. 

The field goals would not stop there. Just before halftime, Brock Taylor made a 57-yard FG to give Vanderbilt a 13-10 lead.

The second half opened with another field goal. This time, it was from Missouri. Craig shook off his previous miss from 24 yards out and scored one from 54 yards away, more than double that. In terms of the game, this only tied the scores. 

However, this tie did not last long, and we would finally be able to see the offense that the Missouri Tigers have become known for this season. A 64-yard run from Nate Noel brought the Tigers down to the Commodores’ three-yard line. From there, Marcus Carroll found the endzone for the rushing TD to put the Tigers into the lead for the first time. 

Vanderbilt would soon be able to reply to this. Pavia brought the offense down to the Tigers’ four-yard line. From here, AJ Newberry would find the endzone for the TD to level the scores again. 

The fourth quarter of the game would be very much like the previous three, with one main way of scoring being the dominant form—field Goals. In just 15 minutes of game time, we had three of them. All of them missed. Missouri missed two from 40 and 46 yards out early in the quarter. Then a little bit later on, Vanderbilt had one from 50 yards out that would have won them the game. Brock Taylor missed. This meant the game would be overtime, with the scores tied at 20-20. 

Vanderbilt had the opening possession of overtime and scored the required TD, with Pavia finding Gabe Fisher from two yards out. The Tigers matched this, with Cook finding Burden. 

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The second period of overtime felt very family. Missouri’s drive stalled, forcing a successful field goal attempt. The Commodores also had to take a field goal. This one was the most important in the game. If Taylor missed from 31 yards out, Missouri would win. 

That happened as the Missouri Tigers recorded a narrow 30-27 overtime victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores. 

The best way to describe this game was Field Goals. There were a lot. This game did show that once Missouri started playing more experienced opposition, the offense would slow down. I did not expect it to slow down this much. They were lucky to win this, but if it had not been for the three missed field goals from Blake Craig, they would not have been in this position. Vanderbilt again shows that they could be a threat to the weaker SEC teams this year and could still record some upset wins. Next week, Missouri faces Texas A&M, while Vanderbilt hosts Alabama. 

Northern Illinois: Return of the Great

This is the game that, coming into the season, nobody expected to feature a ranked team. The last time they played, the number 23 ranked Northern Illinois Huskies upset the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in one of the biggest upsets in recent College Football history. This week, they open conference play in the MAC against the undefeated Buffalo Bulls (not to be confused with the NFL team, the Buffalo Bills) 

The game did not start well for either team, with the first few drives ending in punts. But then, the Huskies were able to break this deadlock. 

From their 34-yard line, Huskies quarterback Ethan Hampton would slowly move his offense down to the Bulls’ 5-yard line. From here, Antario Brown would find the endzone for the rushing TD. 

The Huskies would then attempt to widen this lead on their next. The drive in question would stall at the Bulls’ 22-yard line. This set up a 39-yard field goal attempt from Huskies’ kicker Kanon Woodill. However, he would miss this attempt. 

The Bulls would also have a field goal attempt from their next drive. This one would be more successful, as Bulls kicker Upton Bellenfant would find the uprights from 42 yards out. 

Then, the mistakes came. On the first play of their next drive, the Huskies fumbled the ball, which the Bulls recovered. But this possession would not last long, as a couple of plays later, Bulls QB C.J. Ogbonna would be sacked and then fumble the ball. Northern Illinois would gain possession of this but would be unable to do anything with it. 

A couple of drives later, the Huskies would increase their lead from a 14-yard rushing touchdown from Antario Brown. This meant that at halftime, Northern Illinois had a 14-3 lead. 

The Bull ate into this lead early in the second half. Ogbonna moved the offense down to the Huskies’ 46-yard line. From here, he found Victor Snow for the touchdown pass to put the Bull near the lead. 

But, after a few more poor drives, the Huskies would widen this lead through a 30-yard field goal from Woodill. In reply, they would have the lead taken from them. On the Huskies’ 36-yard line, Bulls running back Al-Jay Henderson would rush the ball into the endzone to score the TD, which tied the game up in the fourth quarter. 

Northern Illinois could not afford to make a mistake now. Unfortunately, this is what they did. From the Bulls’ 32-yard line, Hampton’s pass was intercepted by the Buffalo defence. This mistake was costly, as on the responding drive, a field goal from 24 yards out gave the Bulls a slim lead with under three minutes left on the clock. 

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The Huskies had possession, knowing they needed to get something from this drive to stay in the game. Hampton slowly moved his offense down into the Bulls’ red zone, but the drive would stall here. This set up Woodill with a 27-yard field goal to tie the game. He made it, meaning that we would be going to overtime in Dekalb, Illinois. 

Northern Illinois had the first possession of overtime, and their drive stalled. This set up an important field goal attempt from Woodill. Unfortunately, he missed, allowing Buffalo to win the game on a field goal of their own. 

Like the Huskies’ drive, this one also stalled, setting up Upton Bellenfant with a 37-yard field goal to win the game. He was successful, meaning that the Buffalo Bulls had defeated the Northern Illinois Huskies 23-20. 

And, with that kick of the game, the ranked status of the Northern Illinois Huskies is over. This could technically be described as an upset, as a ranked team lost to an unranked side, but both of these teams were pretty even on paper. This was another game where the game would have gone the other way if one field goal were not missed. Next week, Buffalo faces another Huskie team in UConn, while Northern Illinois faces NC State

What Happened to the Other Ranked Teams?

UL Monroe @ #1 Texas 

This game was historic for many reasons. This is the first time since 2008 that the Texas Longhorns are the number-one ranked team in the country. This was Arch Manning’s starting quarterback debut. And, we finally got to see General Booty. I would have never thought that Arch Manning vs General Booty would have been such a historic game. On the field, the Longhorns dominated the UL Monroe Warhawks as expected. Manning threw for two TDs (and two INTs), with Jaydon Blue scoring three TDs in the 51-3 victory.

Marshall @ #3 Ohio State 

Coming off their rest week, the number three-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes ended their non-conference play against the Marshall Thundering Herd. This game went as expected. Quinshon Judkins scored two TDs and rushed for 173 yards as Ohio State recorded a 49-19 victory.

Georgia Southern @ #5 Ole Miss 

The number five ranked Ole Miss Rebels continued their list of easy opponents to start the season with by playing the Georgia Southern Eagles. Rebels QB Jaxson Dart threw for four TDs in the 52-13 win. From next week, the games get harder for Ole Miss.

#6 Tennessee @ #15 Oklahoma

In what was the game of the week (and yet you had to read a long report on Northern Illinois), the number six-ranked Tennessee Volunteers faced the number 15-ranked Oklahoma Sooners in their first game in the SEC. The Sooners struggled in this game, and despite a late comeback, the Volunteers held on for a 25-15 victory.

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#8 Miami @ South Florida 

The number eight-ranked Miami Hurricanes returned to destroying the over-ranked teams in their state in a game against the South Florida Bulls. Cam Ward had another stand-out performance, throwing for 404 yards and scoring three touchdowns in the 50-15 win.

Kent State @ #10 Penn State 

The number 10 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions faced the Kent State Golden Flashes in a battle of unnecessarily long team names. The Golden Flashes did not even spark in this game, recording only 67 yards of offense to Penn State’s 718. The result was a convincing 56-0 win.

#12 Utah @ #14 Oklahoma State 

In what could be the Big 12 conference championship game this season, the number 12-ranked Utah Utes faced the number 14-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys. The utes were still without Cam Rising, but this did not matter, as they held on for a 22-19 victory over the Cowboys. And yet, a lengthy review was done on a game from the MAC, relegating this Power 4 classic to the footnotes.

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#13 Kansas State @ BYU 

We had a massive upset when the number 13 Kansas State Wildcats faced the BYU Cougars. In what is now a Big 12 conference game, BYU dominated the Wildcats. Avery Johnson threw for two interceptions, and the Cougars had a 90-yard punt return to record a 38-9 victory.

UCLA @ #16 LSU

In a battle of teams that feature a lot of letters in their names, the UCLA Bruins faced the number 16-ranked LSU Tigers. The Tigers have struggled on defense recently, but a convincing performance from QB Garrett Nussmeier (352 yards, 3 TDs) gave LSU an easy 34-17 win. 

Miami (OH) @ #17 Notre Dame 

The number 17 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish faced the Miami (of Ohio) Redhawks. Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard had a good game this week, scoring three touchdowns in their 28-3 win.

Georgia Tech @ #19 Louisville 

The number 19 ranked Louisville Cardinals could be a challenger for the ACC this year. They opened their conference play against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech QB Haynes King threw for over 300 yards, but it could not stop the Cardinals, who shut the offense down in the second half to record a 31-19 win.

Arkansas State @ #20 Iowa State 

The number 20 ranked Iowa State Cyclones faced the Arkansas State Red Wolves this week. The Cyclones dominated this game, scoring seven TDs to record a 52-7 victory.

NC State @ #21 Clemson

The number 21 ranked Clemson Tigers opened their ACC campaign this week against the NC State Wolfpack. Tigers’ QB Cade Klubnik shined in this game, throwing for three touchdowns in a Clemson side that, if they play like this throughout the rest of the season, could win the ACC. A 59-35 win is a nice way to start.

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#24 Illinois @ #22 Nebraska 

The number 22 Nebraska Cornhuskers have had a good start to the 2024 season, leading many people to find they are back. This week, they faced the number 24-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini in a close game. Both quarterbacks (Luke Altmyer and Dylan Raiola) shone, but an overtime TD from Altmyer to Pat Bryant gave Illinois a 31-24 victory.

Bowling Green @ #25 Texas A&M

This week, the 25th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies hosted the Bowling Green Falcons. Bowling Green had a good third quarter, which kept them in the game. However, two field goals from Randy Bond gave the Aggies a 26-20 victory. 

That was week four of the 2024 College Football season. Next week, the stand-out game is the Georgia Bulldogs’ meeting with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Oklahoma State faces Kansas State, and the Oregon Ducks play their first game in the Big Ten against UCLA.