Four weeks into the college football season, it’s clear which teams are playoff frontrunners, but as is constant in this sport, some teams are facing disappointing seasons while other pleasant success stories are guiding their way through the first few weeks.
Here are the most impactful successes and surprises in the Power 4 conferences through the first four weeks of the season.
Florida State Seminoles (1-3):
One year removed from a near-perfect season, the Florida State Seminoles have dropped from the highest heights to the bottom of the barrel.
After suffering the largest bowl game loss in college football history at the hands of Georgia in the 2024 Orange Bowl 63-3, the new season didn’t bring any comfort for FSU.
Opening the year ranked at No. 10, Florida State’s first loss came against an unranked Georgia Tech in Week 0 as the Yellow Jackets’ kicker Aidan Birr nailed a game-winning field goal as time expired, taking down FSU 24-21.
The losses continued and the Seminoles dropped from the Top 25 entirely after being manhandled by the Boston College Eagles 28-13, the first time a team had fallen from the top 10 to unranked in one week since 1989.
A loss to unranked Memphis and a difficult 14-9 win over California have shown this year’s FSU team isn’t the same as the College Football Playoff contending team from 2023.
Pittsburgh Panthers (4-0):
One of the 26 teams remaining in college football, the Panthers were far from projected to be ACC contenders, but here they are.
Freshman starting quarterback Eli Holstein has been the driving force of the Pitt offense, throwing for over 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns with only two interceptions over four games.
While they haven’t faced the stiffest competition, a win against rival West Virginia in this year’s Backyard Brawl 38-34 and a 21-point comeback over Cincinnati 28-27 have shown Panthers fans that this year’s team is resilient and won’t go down without a fight.
To try and make the ACC championship, they’ll still have to face No. 17 Clemson and No. 15 Louisville in November, but with no ranked teams on the schedule until Clemson, Pittsburgh is more than capable of entering their two most difficult games sporting an 8-0 record.
No. 23 Kansas State Wildcats (3-1):
K-State is in trouble. Predicted to be one of the Big 12 championship contenders to challenge Utah, Kansas State found themselves in a comfortable position in their first three weeks.
A dominant win over UT Martin, a victory over CFP hopeful Tulane and a crushing of No. 20 Arizona 31-7 launched the Wildcats to the No. 13 team in the nation.
Averaging over 240 yards on the ground per game, there wasn’t much stopping the Kansas State offense, until BYU stepped in.
The Cougars went down 6-0 after the first 20 minutes of the game, then rallied for 31 straight points burying K-State. BYU forced three turnovers and returned a 90-yard punt for a touchdown and sent the Wildcats spiraling home.
With only one ranked team left on the schedule, Kansas State needs to be perfect if they want a shot to impress the committee and make the CFP come December.
No. 22 BYU Cougars (4-0):
Well, well, well. Look who’s here.
In their second year in the Big 12, the Cougars have entered the ring as a true threat to the conference title. With dominant wins over Southern Illinois, Wyoming and No. 13 Kansas State, BYU already has a decent resume four weeks into the year.
Their hardest matchups are still to come, first against No. 20 Oklahoma State in a late-night showdown on Oct. 18 before facing conference front-runner No. 10 Utah on Nov. 9.
A win against either the Cowboys or the Utes would probably be enough to get the Cougars into the conference championship, but to get there, they’ll have to avoid trap games against Arizona before OK State, and undefeated UCF the week before Utah.
If the BYU defense, only allowing 12.8 points per game thus far, can put on similar performances like their drubbing of Kansas State, they might be a dark horse to make the CFP.
No. 12 Michigan Wolverines (3-1):
There’s not much you can fault the Wolverines for. They’re the reigning National Champions, have the third-fewest returning starters in the FBS (one offensive, four defensive) and their only loss came against No. 3 Texas, now ranked No. 1. All things considered, they’re as good as they should be.
But every champion wants a chance to defend their title, and Michigan may not get that chance.
The victories have been less-than-inspiring. A fourth quarter rally to put away Fresno State 30-10 and a last-gasp touchdown to beat No. 11 USC 27-24 have Michigan fans holding onto their seats.
The Wolverines may have one of the best running games in college football and a top-20 defense, but they cannot pass the ball.
Quarterbacks Davis Warren and Alex Orji have combined for just 491 yards and four touchdowns through the first four games and have thrown six interceptions. Those are the kinds of mistakes upcoming opponents No. 19 Illinois, No. 8 Oregon, and as always, No. 3 Ohio State will exploit.
No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini (4-0):
Speaking of the Illini, the orange-and-blue have surprised everyone except themselves, launching into the Top 25.
Quality wins against No. 19 Kansas 23-17 and No. 22 Nebraska 31-24 in overtime have shot Illinois back into national recognition after a disappointing 5-7 season in 2023. Their defense is their calling card, allowing only 12.5 points per game and quarterback Luke Altermeyer has been perfect through four games, throwing for 862 yards and 10 touchdowns without throwing a pick.
Their season won’t be easy as their next matchup on the road at No. 9 Penn State is just the beginning of a brutal stretch where they face the Nittany Lions, Purdue, No. 12 Michigan and No. 8 Oregon in succession.
Their perfect season might come to an abrupt close in Beaver Stadium, but there’s still a chance that the Illini could play spoiler for a Big Ten championship hopeful.
No. 21 Oklahoma Sooners (3-1):
This conference isn’t big enough for the…nine of us.
The SEC is crowded, with nine ranked teams, six of them in the top 11. Nine teams can’t make the SEC Championship. Eventually the conference will thin out the contenders, and unfortunately for the Sooners, they seem to be the first team to go from this list.
Oklahoma stepped into their first year away from the Big 12 with high hopes, but quickly received a fright after barely beating unranked Houston 16-12 in Week 2.
Those worries were briefly alleviated after a win against Tulane, but a loss to the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers 25-15 in Josh Heupel’s homecoming solidified that this isn’t the Sooners’ year.
Freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. replaced starter Jackson Arnold midway through the first half, highlighting the offensive issues Oklahoma was facing. Oklahoma still has to play No. 1 Texas, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 4 Alabama and No. 11 Missouri over the next seven weeks, so the loss to Tennessee may just be the start of a long season.
No. 11 Missouri Tigers (4-0):
If any dark horse has a chance to make the SEC championship, it’s the Missouri Tigers.
Mizzou has struggled offensively through Power 4 competition, scraping by No. 24 Boston College 27-21 and only breaking past college football’s lovable losers, the Vanderbilt Commodores, 30-27.
The black-and-yellow has one of the best defenses in the nation on paper, only allowing 12.0 points per game, but two of those wins came against two teams with weaker offenses, Murray State and Buffalo.
The bright spot for Missouri is that they only face one top-10 team on their schedule, No. 4 Alabama, on Oct. 26. While that matchup is no joke, they avoid SEC powerhouses No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Georgia and No. 6 Ole Miss, while the rest of the conference top dogs have to go through each other.
With a schedule filled with unranked opponents, an upstart No. 24 Texas A&M and an already-beaten No. 21 Oklahoma, the Tigers look more than poised to make a run and they have a month before the Crimson Tide come calling.
No. 16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-1):
This was not how this season was supposed to go.
With Duke transfer Riley Leonard helming the offense and nine total returning starters, the Fighting Irish were primed to make their return to the College Football Playoff for the third time. They opened the season taking care of No. 20 Texas A&M 23-13 and were ready for an easy home game.
Then, on Sept. 7, the No. 5 Fighting Irish faced the unranked Northern Illinois Huskies in South Bend and lost 16-14.
Leonard threw two interceptions and no touchdowns. NIU blocked Notre Dame’s attempt at a game-winning field goal. The Huskies were paid $1.4 million to play and came out the victors. NIU was launched into the Top 25 and the Irish plummeted to No. 18.
The year is far from over for the Irish. With only one loss, an upcoming game against No. 15 Louisville and no other ranked games until a showdown with No. 13 USC at the end of the season, there are more than enough chances to impress the playoff committee.
However, with a loss against an unranked team on their resume, the room for error for Notre Dame is slim.
