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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/Justanother_0 on 2025-09-22 05:27:54+00:00.

Week four is finished for college football, and what a treat it was! We learned a lot about teams across the nation in these games. Let’s waste no time and get into the highlights!

But first, a new addition to Fall of The Frauds…

The Nathan Drake “Taste For Adventure” Fraud of the Week:

Given how I titled this write up “Fall of The Frauds”, I haven’t done much in terms of categorizing who the frauds have been from week to week. The Nathan Drake “Taste For Adventure” Fraud of the Week award will be my personal designation for which team has proved to be the most fraudulent, putting themselves behind either the race for the playoffs or their own conference title. Other teams that make a fool of themselves will receive [Runner Up] Distinctions in their recaps.

The Highlights:

  • I halfway expected Oklahoma State to come out guns blazing this season. After all, it would be the most Mike Gundy thing ever to upset a top 10 team in your first P4 game of the season after going winless in conference play the previous year. Sure, hoping for the upset over Oregon was wishful thinking, but even after the splattering that the Cowboys got in Eugene two weeks ago, I had hoped that Gundy still had some idea of how to coach. Instead, I spent my Friday watching the weakest Power 4 team get a belt to ass beatdown from their little brothers in their own stadium. I mean no disrespect to the Golden Hurricanes, they played a helluva game against the Cowboys and beat them in nearly every facet of the ball. While this isn’t a resume building win for Tulsa (especially considering they’ve already taken 2 L’s out of conference), it is one that is good for team morale, and credit is certainly due for that. That all being said, Gundy has overstayed his welcome. If they didn’t play Sunnyside Daycare to open the season, they’d be on the Quest for 0-12 like UCLA, and with the schedule they’ve been dealt this year, I cannot see this team winning another game. Congrats on Tulsa for securing the first win in Stillwater in nearly 75 years, and congratulations to Oklahoma State for being a [Runner-Up] to Fraud of The Week!
  • How did Gronowski get 186 passing yards against Rutgers? I suppose the magic of the CyHawk series affects both teams’ game plans when they play each other, but after that game I genuinely thought that Gronowski would be among a sea of other Iowa QB’s that failed to revitalize the Iowa offense. At least in this bout against Rutgers, he’s playing somewhat to his potential. As for Rutgers, their lack of a defense against competent opponents has finally cost them a win, giving them their first loss of the season. Not all hope is lost for the Scarlet Knights however. While their offense faltered in the second half, their offensive attack in the first half of the game was beating out one of the most consistent defenses in the country. It’s a matter of playing a full four quarters of football, and a decent bowl game is still in the cards for them.
  • Jamison Patton and Brett Eskildsen drove the helmet car around Jack Trice, no better way to spend the bye week!
  • In a supposed preview of the Big XII championship game, Utah and Texas Tech squared off in a Big 10:00 AM Kickoff classic. The game began as a defensive masterclass by both squads. Despite an explosive first drive from Tech, neither side could do much against the opponent’s stalwart defense. Though Utah showed exceptional competence in this game on both sides of the ball, their defense finally broke in the fourth quarter, and Texas Tech ran away with the game. In their first true test of the season, Texas Tech showed the world that they finally have a defense capable of snuffing out their opponents. Assuming Tech is able to keep healthy (big if considering how their offense had played this game), they might be able to make it to Arlington. That being said, the Red Raiders need to minimize their penalty yards from here on out. Utah certainly isn’t out of the race for the Big XII yet, but this loss will set them back for the next few weeks. What is certain is that both of these teams are the real deal, and are going to be a problem for anybody who faces them.
  • TCU took a lead against SMU early, and never looked back for the remainder of the battle for the iron skillet. SMU did what they could to keep up, and to their credit the game didn’t get out of reach until late in the game. TCU proves that their UNC game was no fluke, and that they are the real deal. While SMU is starting out rough this year, all of their losses have been out of conference to teams with stellar offenses. If the Mustangs run the table from here on out, then a return to the playoffs are certainly in the cards.
  • Despite getting slammed in the first quarter by an explosive Razorback offense, Memphis clawed their way back and finally took a lead against Arkansas late in the game. Arkansas nearly snatched the game back from the Tigers, but yet another paralyzing fumble broke the Razorback comeback attempt. One amazing first down push by a red-shirt freshman later (seriously, how did he push through the o-line like that?), and Memphis pulled off the upset. With this win, Memphis finally has a marquee OOC win that they need in order to breach the playoff conversation. If they go undefeated in conference play, then Memphis is a shoe-in for the playoffs. As for Arkansas, they let another game get away from them. Bowl eligibility for this team is gonna be reliant on whether the Razorbacks can keep the leads their offense earns in their games.
  • Clemson lost to Syracuse. I’ve been down on the Orange this year, as I thought that last year’s season wasn’t replicable with the losses they’ve taken in the offseason. With this dominant showing, they proved my ass wrong. As for Clemson, their reign of terror over the ACC has come to an end for the time being. Helmed by a coach that refuses to keep up with the changing landscape of the game, driven by a QB that has failed to deliver on his preseason hype, and consistently failing to show up to the first half of every game they’ve played this season, the Tigers have gotten swept to the wayside in their OOC matchups and in their in-conference bouts. While the rest of the conference can breathe easy knowing that the perennial contender of the ACC is having a down year, Clemson has to make a multitude of internal decisions if they want to have a bounce back. As for Syracuse, Fran Brown is leading the Orange to something special this year. With the remainder of their conference slate still theirs for the taking, greater heights are entirely within reach for his team. [Also, I just watched a snippet from Dabo in a postgame interview, he talked like a dead man walking, how much time]
  • Tulane got their kneecaps busted in the first half against Ole Miss, only to get their teeth kicked in during the second. Credit where it’s due to the Rebels, because they did their homework going into this matchup. They shut down every attempted run by the Green Wave while running all over their defense. Ole Miss secures their AP ranking, along with showing that the Trinnidaddy can throw down when needed. If they can keep their shaky momentum going, the SEC championship could be within reach. Despite the tough loss for Tulane, a 3-1 OOC record is nothing to sneeze at, and they still head into conference play with the road to the playoffs clear as day. However, with Memphis besting the Razorbacks earlier in the day, the Green Wave still has more tests ahead of them…
  • NC State found themselves in yet another shootout this week, this time against a Duke squad that has struggled in their OOC lineup. Unfortunately for NC State, their explosive offense couldn’t out-do their struggling defense, and Duke pulled ahead and never looked back. For both squads, bowl eligibility remains theirs for the taking.
  • In yet another defensive masterclass for Oklahoma, the Sooners bested Auburn in a war of attrition. Oklahoma’s offense was surprisingly not playing up to speed. Considering how Auburn had managed to snuff out one of the more electric offenses in the Big XII, Auburn’s defense might just be the real deal this year. It’s a shame that Auburn’s offense couldn’t do a thing with the ball when they had possession. It was poetic for Auburn’s final play to start with the broadcast showing off the fact that Jackson Arnold got sacked 9 times in the game, only to get sacked a 10th time for a safety to seal the game for the Sooners. Oklahoma marches onward into their bye week undefeated, an excellent morale boost for the team. Meanwhile, Auburn leaves Norman with a disadvantage in SEC play.
  • Illinois marched into Indiana riding high on a #9 ranking and a solid resume with a blowout win over Duke. This didn’t mean a thing, as Indiana had something to prove going into this matchup. I was a little too eager to pin this Hoosier squad as fraudulent, as I figured that this team was riding into this game off of an unwarranted preseason ranking with too many parts missing from what last year had. Watching Illinois get their defense torched like that left me stunned, and there was no point after the first quarter where Illinois looked like they could get back in the game. Throu…

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