A relatively quiet Week 4 with just 3 matchups between ranked opponents provided some calm before a loaded Week 5 slate, but still provided a chance to learn more about top contenders.
- Ohio State, Penn State, and Oregon are considered the class of the Big Ten, but #19 Indiana’s 63-10 thrashing of #9 Illinois validated the Hoosiers as contenders for a repeat trip to the CFP. #21 Michigan also displayed grit in a gutsy 30-27 win over Nebraska as Michigan rolled up 290 yards rushing (9.4 YPC).
- The SEC remains wide-open with top contenders LSU and Texas rolling to easy wins while Georgia and Alabama were off. However, keep an eye on #11 Oklahoma who rode a suffocating defense to a win over #22 Auburn and #23 Missouri who came back in the fourth quarter to take down South Carolina. Oh, and Clark Lea’s #20 Vanderbilt team improved to 4-0 on the season putting up 70 points against Georgia State.
- #4 Miami’s strong defensive performance kept the Hurricanes undefeated and favorites in the ACC, but #18 Georgia Tech stayed undefeated with a big win over Temple. The Yellow Jackets don’t face Miami in the regular season, already knocked off Clemson, and don’t play another ranked opponent until archival Georgia in the season finale. #7 Florida State rolled over Kent State, and play Virginia next weekend before a huge matchup with Miami.
- The road to the Big 12 title may very well run through Lubbock, as #17 Texas Tech dominated #16 Utah in Salt Lake City 34-10. The Red Raiders don’t play Iowa State and get #25 BYU at home late in the season.
Notre Dame Opponent Overall Record: 30-13
Let’s take a look at the Week 4 action for Notre Dame opponents.
MIAMI HURRICANES
Record: 4-0
Week 4 Result: Won 26-7 vs. Florida
Recap: Miami’s defense dominated DJ Lagway and the Florida offense at Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium, holding the Gators to just 141 total yards and an 0-13 mark on third down. Things weren’t easy for the Canes’ offense against a motivated Florida team, but 2 fourth quarter scoring drives (the latter coming after forcing a turnover on downs on the Florida 22-yard line) pushed the game out of reach. Despite some sloppiness, such as Carson Beck’s 57% completion percentage for just 160 yards and an interception, games like this one and the opener against Notre Dame mean that Mario Cristobal’s squad enters conference play battle-tested and sharp. Miami is off next weekend before a massive trip to Tallahassee to take on #8 Florida State on October 4th.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 3-0
Week 4 Result: Bye
Recap: The Aggies were off after last weekend’s thrilling win over Notre Dame and host Auburn on Saturday.
ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS
Record: 2-2
Week 4 Result: Lost 32-31 at Memphis
Recap: The Razorbacks deserve to be commended for playing on the road at a Group of Five team, but that’s no consolation to Sam Pittman and this Arkansas team after a second consecutive heartbreaking loss. Arkansas led 28-10 late in the second half before Memphis went 75 yards in 1:04 to cut the deficit to 28-17 points at the break. Then, with Arkansas up 31-26 late in the fourth quarter, Memphis went 94 yards in just 4 plays to take a 32-31 lead on a 64-yard run from Sutton Smith with 4:51 remaining. Taylen Green and the Arkansas offense responded, though, driving the ball all the way to the Memphis 7-yard line but a Mike Washington Jr. fumble with 1:18 remaining doomed the Hogs to defeat. There’s no question the Razorbacks are explosive, but the defensive issues have to get fixed with Notre Dame coming to town. If Memphis ran for 294 yards, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price have to be licking their chops.
BOISE STATE BRONCOS
Record: 2-1
Week 4 Result: Won 49-37 at Air Force
Recap: Boise State outlasted Air Force in a shootout, rolling up 595 total yards, including 285 on the ground on just 29 carries. QB Maddux Madsen needed just 13 completions to throw for 276 yards and RB Dylan Riley rolled up 5 total touchdowns on his 171 yards rushing and 84 yards receiving. Not all is sunshine for the Broncos though, as Air Force exposed some major defensive flaws on Spencer Danielson’s team. The Falcons also found explosive plays through the air, racking up 246 passing yards on 13 completions, and also had 2 backs go over 100 yards rushing en route to 269 total yards on the ground. Only a visit from Appalachian State stands in the way of Boise State’s first-ever trip to Notre Dame.
NC STATE WOLFPACK
Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: Lost 45-33 at Duke
Recap: The promise and pitfalls of NC State’s 2025 team were on full display Saturday afternoon in Durham as Dave Doeren’s team suffered their first loss of the season. QB CJ Bailey threw for 264 yards and 2 touchdowns while RB Hollywood Smothers rushed for 123 yards and a score, but 4 turnovers (including 3 interceptions) and a porous defense resulted in the Wolfpack dropping a game in which they outgained Duke by 117 yards (535-418). The turning point of the game occurred late in the first half. With NC State leading 20-7, Duke drove 72 yards in 10 plays to cut the deficit to 20-14 and on the ensuing drive, Bailey was intercepted by Tre Freeman deep in Duke territory. Freeman returned the interception 67 yards to the NC State 12-yard line and 3 plays later, Duke punched it in to take a 21-20 lead with 16 seconds left in the half. The Blue Devils extended the lead to 28-20 on the opening drive of the second half and never looked back. NC State will look to get right against Virginia Tech next weekend.
SOUTHERN CAL TROJANS
Record: 4-0
Week 4 Result: Won 45-31 vs. Michigan State
Recap: USC dominated Michigan State on Saturday night in a game that was not as close as the score indicated to stay undefeated on the young season. The Trojans extended their lead to 31-10 on their opening drive of the second half and though Michigan State would rally to cut the deficit to 31-24 by the end of the third quarter, back-to-back Trojan touchdown drives in the fourth put the game out of reach. QB Jayden Maiava was excellent, completing 77% of his passed for 234 yards and 3 touchdowns and running for 31 yards and 2 more scores. RB Waymond Jordan had 157 of the Trojans 289 yards on the ground while averaging 8.7 YPC. Lincoln Riley and the Trojans now enter a season-defining stretch starting with a road trip to Champaign to take on an Illinois team coming off an embarrassing loss before a visit from #19 Michigan and the October 18th road trip to South Bend.
BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES
Record: 1-2
Week 4 Result: Bye
Recap: Boston College had a bye after last weekend’s surprising loss to Stanford and return to the field Saturday at home against Cal.
NAVY MIDSHIPMEN
Record: 3-0
Week 4 Result: Bye
Recap: The Midshipmen were off this weekend after the big win over Tulsa and return to the field at home against Rice on Saturday.
PITTSBURGH PANTHERS
Record: 2-1
Week 4 Result: Bye
Recap: The Panthers had a week off to nurse their wounds after the heartbreaking loss to West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl. A visit from undefeated Louisville is next on the docket.
SYRACUSE ORANGE
Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: Won 34-21 at Clemson
Recap: The Orange looked like a completely different team on Saturday than the one that got ran off the field by Tennessee and nearly lost to UConn. Fran Brown’s team took the opening drive 75 yards for a touchdown and then turned a successful onside kick into a field goal to take a 10-0 lead. Syracuse would take a 24-14 lead into halftime and extend the margin to 34-14 in the fourth quarter. There’s still plenty to fix on the defensive side of the ball (as the Orange surrendered 503 total yards to Clemson), but the biggest concern for Syracuse is the health of QB Steve Angeli, who was playing great football before unfortunately tearing his Achilles, which will cost him the rest of the season. Backup Rickie Collins was just 3-8 for 34 yards in relief, though he did throw a touchdown. He will need to be better next weekend if the Orange want to keep up with an explosive Duke offense.
STANFORD CARDINAL
Record: 1-3
Week 4 Result: Lost 48-20 at Virginia
Recap: After last week’s surprising win over Boston College, it was back to a more familiar result for the Cardinal as they were blitzed 48-20 at Virginia. Stanford surrendered 594 total yards to a Cavalier team not known for offensive prowess and though QB Ben Gulbranson was a bright spot with 286 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, the Cardinal rushing attack managed just 37 yards on 30 carries, with 5 sacks and 8 tackles for loss being a big reason why. Stanford is a slight favorite for Saturday’s matchup with San Jose State, with this game being likely the last of the season that the Cardinal are favored to win.
Story written by Andrew McDonough
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