There was a moment Saturday afternoon when No. 2 Clemson was tied with Boston College heading into the fourth quarter and No. 5 Southern California was tied in the fourth quarter with California. No. 8 Michigan was struggling to score against Purdue and No. 14 Miami was struggling to stop Toledo. No. 12 Florida State had already lost.
The college football season was all set to be turned upside down.
Not so fast. Clemson cruised. USC answered the challenge. Michigan found some offense. Miami pulled away.
Later, No. 3 Oklahoma held off winless Baylor and No. 4 Penn State made the greatest escape of all at Iowa — with a walk-off touchdown.
No. 16 TCU ended up making the biggest statement of the day at No. 6 Oklahoma State: Never underestimate a team coach by Gary Patterson.
Here are takeaways from Week 4 of the college football season.
1. It would be hard to find a stranger and more exciting football game than Penn State-Iowa . The Hawkeyes had two possessions in the fourth quarter, ran six plays and scored two touchdowns. The Nittany Lions outgained Iowa, 579-273.
2. Penn State’s Saquon Barkley was superhuman . Iowa linebacker Josey Jewell was everywhere. Their meetings were basically the definition of Big Ten football.
3. Just as the Oklahoma State bandwagon was filling up, the Cowboys got taken apart by the Horned Frogs , who dominated time of possession and made OSU quarterback Mason Rudolph uncomfortable for the first time this season.
4. TCU has had some ups and downs in six seasons since joining the Big 12. The Frogs are 26-20 in conference play, but Patterson has shown the ability to adjust, repair and find solutions to keep the Frogs dangerous — especially, as the coach said, when not much is expected of them.
5. Any reason to worry about defending national champion Clemson after it slogged through three quarters against BC ? Nope. Hard to get excited about playing the Eagles after beating Auburn and Louisville the previous two weeks.
6. Clemson also could have been looking ahead. The Tigers go to No. 13 Virginia Tech next Saturday and Lane Stadium should be shaking. ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be in town.
7. Sam Darnold is up to seven interceptions on the season for USC . That’s no way to win a Heisman Trophy. Also, no reason to panic.
8. USC plays 12 straight weeks and the next game could be its toughest of the season. The Trojans played Cal without star running back Ronald Jones, receiver Steven Mitchell and linebacker Porter Gustin. Now the Trojans have a short week and road trip to No. 18 Washington State on Friday night.
9. The winning streak is now 31 for No. 20 Florida over Kentucky and the Wildcats have never had a better chance. For all the angst about the Gators’ offense, Florida is 2-0 in the SEC.
10. Unlike the last two years, when Florida took advantage of a weak SEC East to win division titles, there is at least one team on that side of the conference that looks legit: No. 11 Georgia.
11. Georgia hammered No. 17 Mississippi State, and it should be noted, Notre Dame has now outscored its three non-Georgia opponents 136-54 and lost to Georgia 20-19 at home.
12. Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen, anointed the second-best coach in the SEC after last week’s win against LSU, is now 2-14 in games when both teams are ranked.
13. Looking forward to a week of Jim Harbaugh ignoring questions about Michigan’s quarterback situation. John O’Korn relieved an injured Wilson Speight for the Wolverines and gave the offense a spark .
14. Credit to Miami for knocking off weeks of rust due to the Hurricane Irma and outscoring a Toledo team that can really play offense.
15. Florida State is 0-2 for the first time since 1989 . Hopes for College Football Playoff run are probably gone. So what now? Freshman quarterback James Blackman showed promise, but things have to get much better fast. Jimbo Fisher is a good bet to salvage a season for the Seminoles, but there are far fewer soft spots on the ACC schedule these days.