Week 4 National Notebook

LSU — The defending national champs made a huge statement Saturday night by defeating Auburn 26–21 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers took a giant step toward repeating as the SEC West champs and stamped themselves as legitimate contenders to reach the BCS title game in South Florida. In his first true test, redshirt freshman quarterback Jarrett Lee completed 11-of-22 passes for 182 yards with two TDs, one INT. Also, LSU continues to get strong play from tailback Charles Scott (132 yards on 21 carries).

High Honorable Mention

Ball State — For a mid-major program, it doesn’t get any better than beating the big in-state bully. And for Ball State, that bully is Indiana. The Cardinals, led by a strong effort from quarterback Nate Davis and a dominating performance by tailback MiQuale Lewis, rolled past the Hoosiers 42–20 in Bloomington. Davis threw for 239 yards with no interceptions, while Lewis rushed 29 times for 166 yards and four touchdowns. Brady Hoke’s Cards are 4–0 for the first time since 1988 and should be favored in every remaining game with the possible exception being a Nov. 19 date at Central Michigan. (The news, however, isn’t all good in Muncie. Star wideout Dante’ Love suffered a cervical spine fracture against Indiana, an injury that is expected to end his playing career).

Honorable Mention

Miami — The Canes recorded the most important win of the brief Randy Shannon era, pounding Texas A&M 41–23 in College Station. Tailback Graig Cooper was the offensive star for Miami, rushing for 128 yards and two scores on 16 carries. We might be getting ahead of ourselves here, but could the Hurricanes possibly run the table and finish the regular season 11–1? On paper, Miami’s four toughest remaining games (North Carolina, Florida State, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech) are all at home. The only difficult road game appears to be the late November trip to Georgia Tech.

Disappointments of the Week

Florida State — The timing seemed right for Florida State to flex its muscles and re-emerge as a legitimate player in the ACC Atlantic Division race. Didn’t happen. The Seminoles, who scored a total of 115 points in their first two games against I-AA foes, managed only three points in a disheartening 12–3 loss to Wake Forest in Tallahassee. FSU gained a total of 220 yards, with 118 in the air and 102 on the ground. Christian Ponder and D’Vontrey Richardson struggled at quarterback, with both completing 6-of-18 passes and combining for five interceptions.

Tennessee — The Vols dropped their fourth straight game to the hated Gators, losing 30–6 in Knoxville one year after the 59–20 debacle in Gainesville. Tennessee actually outgained Florida (258 to 243) but lost the turnover battle (3 to 0) and was dominated on special teams. Phil Fulmer is under intense fire from the Tennessee faithful, and with trips to Auburn and Georgia over the next three weeks, it figures to get even uglier on Rocky Top.

Arkansas — After surviving scares against Western Illinois (28–24) and UL Monroe (28–27), Arkansas was exposed in a stunningly one-sided 49–14 loss to Alabama at home. The Hogs trailed 21–0 after one quarter and 35–7 at the half en route to the most lopsided loss of Bobby Petrino’s career as a college head coach. Alabama gashed the Razorback defense for 328 rushing yards, including scoring runs of 87 yards, 31 yards and 62 yards.

Player of the Week

Ryan Hamilton, Vanderbilt — The junior safety intercepted three passes (returning one 79 yards for a touchdown), recovered a fumble and made a tremendous stop on a 4th-and-goal at the 1-yard line in the Commodores’ thrilling 23–17 win at Ole Miss. Hamilton is part of a Vanderbilt defense that is tied for the national lead with 10 interceptions.

Freshman of the Week

Rodney Stewart, Colorado — A recruiting afterthought, the diminutive Stewart has emerged as one of the Buffaloes’ top offensive weapons early in the 2008 season. In CU’s nationally televised win over West Virginia, Stewart, an Ohio native, rushed for 166 yards on 28 carries. In three games, he has 242 yards on 41 carries, while hotshot recruit Darrell Scott has run for 128 yards on 34 attempts.

Highs and Lows

• Is this the year UNLV finally breaks through? Could be. The Rebs are 3–1 with overtime wins over two BCS foes — Arizona State and Iowa State.

• In two SEC games, the Vanderbilt defense has allowed only one touchdown-scoring drive of over 20 yards.

• North Carolina’s seemingly realistic hopes of an ACC Coastal Division title took a big hit with T.J. Yates’ ankle injury (out six weeks). Backup Mike Paulus completed 3-of-8 passes with two interceptions in a relief role in Saturday’s come-from-ahead loss to Virginia Tech.

• June Jones’ SMU Mustangs have scored a total of 28 points in their last 10 quarters against Division I-A competition.

• Tulsa continues to light up the scoreboard. The Golden Hurricane have scored 45 points or more in each of their three games and rank second in the nation in total offense and fourth in scoring offense.

• Navy’s Shun White is averaging 10.7 yards per carry and has three 100-yard games despite not having carried the ball more than 19 times in any single game.

• UCLA’s Kevin Craft threw for only 81 yards on 31 attempts against Arizona — an anemic 2.6 yards-per-attempt average.

• Georgia Tech rolled up 438 yards rushing in a surprisingly easy 38–7 win over Mississippi State. Paul Johnson’s team ranks third in the nation in rushing with 306.8 yards per game.

• Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour threw for 291 yards and rushed for 112 in a 32–25 loss at Purdue. In three career games vs. the Boilermakers, LeFevour is averaging 315.6 yards passing and 84.0 yards rushing.