Tony Garcia's AP Ballot: Michigan football drops in Week 4 — but no fault of its own
Let's all stop and give a round of applause: College football was that good in Week 4.
It was so good, it almost made us forget about the abomination that was Week 3 ... almost.
But alright, let's not dwell on the past when we have the future to worry about. Hey, that's the same mantra coaches of six ranked teams nationwide are likely delivering to their teams after losing this weekend, too.
We begin with the highlight of the night, Ohio State's last-second victory, literally, over Notre Dame, 17-14. In his first true road test, quarterback Kyle McCord led the Buckeyes to a 10-0 lead midway through the third quarter, only for the Irish to score what appeared to be 14 unanswered to end It.
Notre Dame was one stop away, having forced OSU into a fourth-and-7 in the final minute at the 39-yard line.
But let's rewind quickly. On the previous fourth-and-1 minutes prior, OSU tried an end-around with wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who got stuffed or a loss. Marcus Freeman's team got the ball back and could've tried to run out the clock, but he trusted quarterback Sam Hartman to use the passing game to move the sticks and end the game.
Instead, OSU's J.T. Tuimoloau became a one-man wrecking crew, blowing up a play-action pass for a loss on first down before nearly intercepting a screen pass on second down. Though he didn't come away with it, he stopped the clock.
That's how OSU got the ball back with 86 seconds and one final shot to win the game, which brings us back to that aforementioned fourth-and-7, where McCord found Julian Fleming for exactly seven yards. Then, OSU had a third-and-19 with less than 20 seconds to play, and McCord fired to Egbuka down the left seam for a gain of 21.
After Marvin Harrison Jr., who sprained his ankle early in the contest, couldn't reel in a speed out in the end zone, it came down to one final play with three seconds left from the goal line.
The Buckeyes, who in recent years have been criticized for being soft (they can thank Michigan's domination the past two years for that), rammed it in with a one-yard Chip Trayanum touchdown run in the final second.
"I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is right now," said an emotional Ryan Day postgame. "What he said about our team, I cannot believe. This is a tough team right here. ... Everybody's questioning these kids all the time! We had one bad half the last couple of years! That's it! Everybody wants to question these guys! These guys are warriors right here to come back and win, I'm emotional about this for a reason."
Day can also thank the Irish, which played defense with 10 men on the final two plays of the game.
What else did we learn in the other ranked matchups?
Let's start in Tuscaloosa, where we should all feel quite sheepish. Alabama lost in convincing fashion at home to former assistant Steve Sarkisian and Texas then struggled on the road at South Florida. With another former assistant in Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss on tap, many had declared the end of Tide football. It was silly to do.
Alabama bullied Jaxon Dart, Quinshon Judkins and the Rebels and outscored them by 18 over the final 48:55 of the game in a 24-10 win.
Moving back to the Big Ten, it's clear Iowa is an imposter and Brian Ferentz's unit will not average 25 points per game. The Hawkeyes fumbled six times and lost four of them as Cade McNamara completed 6-of-16 passes for 56 yards and the rushing offense combined for 17 carries for 20 yards.
On the other side of the ball, Iowa brought in one of the most intelligent and structurally sound units in the country, but somebody forgot to tell PSU, because all Drew Allar did was threw for four touchdowns as Penn State blanked Iowa, 31-0.
Then, there's the Pac-12, where there were three matchups of ranked teams.
Oregon hammered Colorado 42-6, the beginning of the end on a dream season that shows the future is bright, but is not yet here. This was about Dan Lanning's group, led by Bo Nix who connected on 28-of-33 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns. On defense, the Ducks are all business, a physical front that held Colorado to 40 yards on 25 rushes.
The Buffs will win more games this season (looking at you Arizona State and Stanford) but a roster that saw the type of turnover that happened in Boulder can't last with the powers of the Pac-12 just yet.
Speaking of Pac-12 powers, Utah is the two-time defending league champion, yet nobody is talking about the Utes who keep finding ways to win. On Saturday, it was with defense, as Morgan Scalley's group came up with 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks of former Detroit King star and current UCLA quarterback, freshman Dante Moore, to control the day. Utah won 14-7, its fewest points in a victory since 2008.
Last but not least (for the ranked matchups) the battle of the teams now known as the Pac-2, Oregon State and Washington State.
For those who don't know the name Cameron Ward, get familiar. The Cougars quarterback was essentially flawless, as he completed 28-of-34 passes for 404 yards and four touchdowns as WSU survived a furious OSU fourth-quarter comeback effort to survive, 38-35.
They now get a week off to soak in their glory with an upcoming bye on Saturday.
But, somehow, perhaps none of those affected the College Football Playoff picture (with the exception of Notre Dame and Ohio State) as much as Florida State's road matchup at rival Clemson. The Tigers had won seven straight in the rivalry, but the Noles and former Michigan State standout Keon Coleman went into Death Valley with other ideas.
Coleman had five catches for 86 yards and was on the receiving end of both of Jordan Travis' two touchdown passes, including what ended up as the game-winner in overtime as Florida State beat Clemson, 31-24.
There's no longer divisions in the ACC, so FSU now has the inside track at a trip to the ACC title game (and with it, a College Football Playoff berth), but does have games against the ACC's next top two teams remaining: Miami and Duke.
That said, just a bit more about Mike Norvell's group which has done all anyone can ask, beating both LSU and Clemson in the first month, neither of which came at home. That's why they go to the top available spot in my rankings, which is No. 2 − Georgia will stay atop by default until it loses a game. It's earned that right.
READ MORE: Colston Loveland's coaches say he is U-M's best TE prospect ever. They might be right.
Last but not least, Michigan, which falls to No. 3 but played its best game of the season as it scored the final 31 points and hammered vastly improved Rutgers, 31-7. U-M did it the old-fashioned way in Jim Harbaugh's return, on the ground. Blake Corum ran 21 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns while J.J. McCarthy supplemented through the air, completing 15-of-21 passes for 214 yards and one score.
But the reason Michigan is national championship caliber, is its defense. The Wolverines held a fourth straight opponent to seven or fewer, the only team in the country to make that claim. Now, they'll finally hit the road, though Nebraska and Minnesota pose little concern.
TRENDING: Jim Harbaugh is back and so was Michigan football as we’ve come to know it
Tony Garcia's AP Top 25
Georgia
Florida State
Michigan
Ohio State
Texas
Penn State
Washington
USC
Oregon
Utah
LSU
Alabama
Notre Dame
Duke
Miami
Washington State
Oregon State
Kansas State
Ole Miss
Kansas
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tony Garcia AP Ballot: Michigan football drops — no fault of its own
