Week 4 provided plenty of tests for some of the nation’s best teams. Auburn narrowly escaped Manhattan, Kansas with a win, defeating Kansas State 20-14 in a game the Wildcats probably should have won. Kansas State committed three turnovers and missed three field goals.
Florida State managed to come back against a game Clemson squad and win in overtime without suspended quarterback Jameis Winston. Trailing 17-10 in the fourth quarter, Sean Maguire found Rashad Greene for a 74-yard touchdown with six minutes left. Clemson fumbled the ball deep in Florida State territory with under two minutes to go and then failed to convert a 4th-and-1 on their overtime possession. Karlos Williams’ 12-yard touchdown scamper sealed the win for Florida State and kept the Seminoles’ undefeated season alive.
Oklahoma passed a tough road test, escaping Morgantown with 45-33 victory over West Virginia. Freshman Samaje Perine ran for 242 yards and four touchdowns.
Fellow title contender Oregon struggled in Pullman against Connor Halliday and the Washington State Cougars. The Ducks managed to pull out a 38-31 victory behind Marcus Mariota’s 329 yards passing and five touchdowns but were gashed by Halliday, who went 43-63 for 436 yards and four touchdowns.
Other ranked teams were not so fortunate. Eighth-ranked LSU fell at home to Mississippi State 34-29 in a game that was 34-10 at the start of the fourth quarter. It was the Bulldogs’ first win at LSU since 1991 and ended a 14-game losing streak to the Tigers. LSU had no answer for quarterback Dak Prescott, who threw for 268 yards with two touchdowns while also rushing for 105 yards and one touchdown.
The biggest shocker of the weekend was defending SEC East Division champion Missouri losing at home 31-27 to Indiana, which was coming off a loss to Bowling Green. The Tigers rallied from a 24-17 deficit to take a 27-24 lead with just over two minutes to play, but Indiana scored with 22 seconds remaining to take the lead for good.
Looking Ahead to Week 5:
Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be much going on this weekend. There are plenty of potentially intriguing games but not one clear “must-see” game.
College Gameday will be setting up shop in Columbia, South Carolina for the Missouri-South Carolina game. Last year, South Carolina prevailed in an overtime thriller after Mizzou clanked a field goal attempt off an upright. While this has the makings of a good game, it lacks the luster of last year since Missouri lost last weekend to Indiana and is unranked.
Two years ago, Florida State’s national title hopes were derailed when the Seminoles suffered a huge upset at the hands of North Carolina State. The two meet again this weekend, but don’t expect a repeat performance. Yes, NC State is undefeated, but Florida State gets Jameis Winston back and won’t be looking past the Wolfpack after struggling to beat Oklahoma State and Clemson this year. NC State also hasn’t played anyone near the caliber of Florida State.
Upset rematches must be the theme of this weekend since a couple more will be occurring as well. Stanford travels to Husky Stadium to take on Washington in a Pac-12 battle. The Huskies have lost five-of-six to Stanford, but they have been close in recent years. Last year, Washington lost 31-28 despite outgaining the Cardinal 489-279. In 2012, Stanford’s last trip to Washington, the Huskies upset the Cardinal 17-13. However, Stanford’s defense this season currently leads the nation in total defense (204.3 yards per game), passing defense (66 ypg), and scoring defense (4.0 points per game). Those number are ridiculous and include a game against a potent USC offense. Washington hasn’t faced this caliber of team yet.
Speaking of USC, the Trojans face another nemesis of theirs, the Oregon State Beavers. Back in 2008, Oregon State upset top-ranked and undefeated USC 27-21 at home. The teams have split their past six meetings, but Oregon State hasn’t won at USC since 1960 and will be without its leading receiver. The Beavers do boast one of the country’s best quarterbacks in Sean Mannion while USC counters with Cody Kessler. The Trojans are coming off a stunning road upset at the hands of Boston College where the Eagles ran over, through, and around the USC defense.
Calling the Hogs
If you’ve ever been around an Arkansas fan or heard a mention of a Razorback game, odds are high that you’ve heard the phrase “woo pig sooie.”
Well, what does it mean?
Arkansas has a tradition known as Calling the Hogs. In case you were unaware, a razorback is another name for a wild boar.
Legend has it that during a game in 1920s, Arkansas was trailing. A pig farmer stood up and began using the hog call that he used on his farm. Others soon picked it up, and the team came back and won the game. It’s been done ever since.
It’s not just a chant, though. Much like “Roll Tide” is a greeting worldwide between Alabama fans, Calling the Hogs is way for Arkansas fans to connect. As Rick Schaeffer writes, “It’s like a handshake when someone from Arkansas meets another Arkansan outside of the state’s borders.”
As for why the saying is “woo pig sooie,” well the Latin name for the pig family is suidae. Over time, people probably started saying “sooie” instead of “suidae,” and the name stuck.
Game of the Week
Texas A&M vs. Arkansas
This game offers a classic clash of styles as Texas A&M loves to throw the ball and operate at a fast tempo while Arkansas wants to pound away with the running game and bleed the clock behind the SEC’s top rushing attack. Both teams have plenty to prove, too.
The Aggies are 4-0 and ranked #6 but are still somewhat of an unknown. They’ve won each game by at least 24 points and are currently in the midst of the highest-scoring four-game stretch in school history, but aside from the season-opener against South Carolina, Texas A&M hasn’t really played anybody of note. The defense was much-maligned last year but has shown improvement thus far. A&M recorded eight sacks against SMU and didn’t yield a first down until the game was well in hand. The Aggies will face a tough test against Arkansas’ powerful ground game, though.
Arkansas is on a roll, too, having won three-straight after giving Auburn all it could handle in the season opener. The Razorbacks have outscored their opponents 174-49 in the past three games, but those opponents were Nicholls State, Texas Tech, and Northern Illinois. However, Arkansas is in the midst of a 13-game losing streak against SEC opponents, and a win over Texas A&M would be a huge feather in the cap for the Razorbacks after the past several years of instability and poor play.
Arkansas should be able to move the ball on Texas A&M and chew up some clock to keep the Aggies’ prolific offense off the field. However, the Aggies don’t need a ton of time to score, anyway. Arkansas doesn’t have the defense to really stifle A&M for the whole game; they aren’t Alabama or LSU (and A&M has even torched Alabama’s vaunted defense the last two years). It’ll be a shootout, at least for awhile, but Arkansas will be hard-pressed to keep up with Kenny Hill and the A&M offense. The Razorbacks just don’t have the weapons in the passing game.
