The 2025 college football season season is yet to disappoint and Week 4 was no exception, with upsets, statement wins and purported contenders getting exposed. Here’s a round up of the week’s top games:

Auburn 17 @ 24 Oklahoma
Dominant defense and a controversial scoring play seal the deal for the Sooners.

Jackson Arnold’s return to Norman was not a happy one as he found himself on the wrong end of nine sacks as Oklahoma set a new school record. Arnold may have been able to catch up with old friends, but the loss — which ultimately knocked Auburn out of the rankings — left a bitter taste.

“It obviously sucks losing the game and I know we wanted to win,” Arnold said. “But it was good to see them after the game. People that I haven’t seen in around nine or 10 months.”

Statistically, Arnold and his replacement at Oklahoma were very similar, both passing for 270+ yards and a touchdown. But John Mateer is continuing to prove himself as a Heisman frontrunner, demonstrating his composure to close out the game. Following the win, Mateer reflected that ‘as a quarterback, to be able to do that drill — two-minute drill or game-winning drive — that’s what you dream about. And doing it in the first SEC game is pretty cool’. Mateer sealed victory with a nine-yard rushing score following the six play, 75-yard drive.

There was controversy around following an earlier scoring play for the Sooners in which receiver Isaiah Sategna III appeared to be leaving the field of play, only to dash into the endzone to reel in a touchdown grab. The Tigers were understandably infuriated and the SEC have since released a statement confirming that the play should in fact have resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. However, that will be of little consolation to Auburn.

“Proud of our players: the determination, the resolve, the grit, the ability to overcome, keep fighting back, keep striking,” exuberant Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said after the statement win while, on the other side of the result, Hugh Freeze acknowledged that his team were not up to par on the day.

“We lost a tough one on the road in a very good conference against a highly-ranked team,” he noted. “We didn’t play our best and still had a chance to win it.”

That ‘highly-ranked team’ is now even higher in the standings, moving up to seven as a result of the win, but will be without QB Mateer for as much as a month following his decision to pursue surgery after suffering an injury to his throwing hand. Having led the Sooners to an impressive 4-0 start — including wins against Michigan and Auburn — Mateer could be out of action for the road games against Texas South Carolina, which could yet have an impact on both Oklahoma’s playoff push and his own Heisman Trophy ambitions.

***

Syracuse 34 @ 21 Clemson
The white-clad Orange upset the orange-clad Tigers as Swinney lands on the hot seat.

Syracuse head coach Fran Brown was aggressive in his approach to the Orange’s Week 4 encounter with Clemson, gambling (and winning) on two risky first half plays: an onside kick following a touchdown and going for it on fourth-and-three near midfield.

“I’m thankful we got a chance to beat Clemson, a blue blood in college football, but we got a long way to go,” Brown reflected after his team left Death Valley with the win. “I’m just happy for the community. I can’t wait to get back and see the party and the fun tonight, especially our college students on campus. I’m so excited to get back (to Syracuse) — hopefully I can eat for free!”

Whilst the excitement, and hopefully free food, is understandable, this is a Clemson side that is off to its worst start to a season since Dabo Swinney became head coach. Swinney appeared emotional but defiant after the game: “We are beat up emotionally and physically, but we will rally and get back to work. There is no quit in me or my team. We have to reset our goals. We can’t dwell on missed opportunities. It’s still a long season and we have to find a way to win a game.”

QB Cade Klubnik’s 363-yards and three touchdowns were not enough to pull the Tigers through as he continues to struggle with his accuracy this season. Meanwhile, Syracuse counterpart Steve Angeli, a transfer from Notre Dame, put in a solid 244-yard, two-TD performance before exiting in the third quarter with a non-contact lower leg injury that will likely see him miss several weeks.

***

Texas Tech 34 @ 10 Utah
Backup boosts the Red Raiders as they establish themselves as contenders.

Texas Tech struggled to get their offense moving in Salt Lake City until backup QB Will Hammond stepped up in relief of Behren Morton. Hammond immediately kicked things up a gear with 169 yards and two touchdowns after Morton — who left the game after his head hit the turf hard — struggled with two interceptions.

Hammond spoke about how having the belief of his coordinator supported his performance. “He trusts me,” the QB explained. “We watch film together, and that’s my guy. That’s always his message to me: ‘I trust you’.”

Despite the final margin of victory, Red Raiders coach Joey Maguire still highlighted areas to work on. “There were times (earlier) in the game where we felt like we could open it up,” he reflected. “But we just couldn’t get out of our own way. Too many penalties and things we’ve got to address.”

Utah QB Devon Dampier turned in a performance he’ll want to forget with just 162 yards passing and two interceptions. “We didn’t show today what we’re capable of doing. We know, as a team, we know what our potential is,” the 21-year-old said after the game.

The Utes also struggled in the run game, usually an area of strength, leaving coach Kyle Whittingham to lament a paltry 3.3 yards per attempt.

“I never would have believed you if you were to say we would lose the line of scrimmage,” he signed. “Never would have believed that in a million years — but we did!”

***

USC 45 @ 31 Michigan State
USC’s offense continues to impress as Trojans overcome Spartans in modern-day Iliad.

Jayden Maiava and Makai Lemon look to be cementing themselves as one of, if not the, top QB-WR partnerships in college football right now. Even with Jakobi Lane sidelined, the USC offense didn’t miss a beat, as Maiava finished with 236 yards and Lemon accounting for 127 of them. The combo’s emergence comes on top of breakout running back Waymond Jordan piling up 157 yards and the Trojans offense firing on all cylinders. Maiava currently leads the Big Ten with 989 passing yards over four weeks.

“We knew, coming into this, that they were a great offense. What are they, the best offense statistically in the country?” Spartans defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren acknowledged. “We knew that they were a big, explosive operation, and we needed to come out and start fast. And we didn’t do that.”

Despite the strength on the offensive side of the ball, the Trojans need to tighten up on defense, especially in the secondary, as mistakes allowed the Spartans to pull themselves back into the game.

“That was a game that had some unique twists and turns,” USC coach Lincoln Riley admitted. “I thought we were controlling the game, (and then) obviously we had a couple of errors there in the third quarter with the penalties … and the turnover that allowed them to come back and capture some momentum. But I thought our team responded and separated back in a really good way. A lot to learn from. A lot that’s got to continue to get better. But, if you’re learning lessons as you win, it’s hard not to be excited.”

Defensive tackle Devan Thompkins echoed his coach’s comments on the need for improvement when talking about trying to contain Michigan State QB Aidan Chiles.

“Coming into the game, we thought we would be better from that standpoint,” he conceded. “We’ve got to continue to improve, but I feel like we did what we could today.”

***

Illinois 10 @ 63 Indiana
Hoosiers celebrate first win over Top 10 opponent in five years and are legitimate Big 10 title contenders.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti recognised the significance of the statement win over their ranked opponent, “We’ll get people’s attention with this one,” he said. “The team really laid it on the line tonight. There’s nothing better than being the Grinch in the second half with a big lead. I love that feeling.”

That big lead was thanks to the phenomenal performance of QB Fernando Mendoza, whose five touchdowns put the Hoosiers out of reach of the Fighting Illini. Mendoza was supported by standout showings from receivers Elijah Saratt (92 yds, 2 TDs) and Omar Cooper Jr. (78yds, 1 TD), while his Illinois counterpart, Luke Altmeyer, was on the opposite end of the output scale, recording just 146 yards and a single score as he was sacked five times.

“We didn’t respond to any adversity,” deflated Illinois head coach Brett Bielema admitted after the rout. “It started with the blocked punt and we never really got anything on offense or defense. Embarrassing and at a loss for words.”