2022 College Football Insider Week 4

Quote of the week

“I threw it and I’m just looking, I’m praying. I just celebrated with the fans, I didn’t know where my team was honestly. I’m just running around like my head’s cut off, and then come into the locker room and celebrate with my team. ”

- Appalachian State quarterback Chase Brice on his Hail Mary pass to beat conference rival Troy 32-28

TEAM TO WATCH: Washington

After upsetting No. 11 Michigan State, 39-28, and knocking the Spartans from the rankings, the Huskies propelled from unranked to No. 18 in the AP Top 25. The Huskies offense, up 22-0 with less than two minutes to play in the second quarter, has been electric all season. Transfer quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and freshman receiver Ja’Lynn Polk emerged as a dynamic combination on Saturday, especially in the red zone— the pair combined for 153 of Penix’s 397 yards and three of his four touchdowns.

Washington had a solid defensive outing as well, with two sacks, a forced fumble, an interception and a safety. The unit held Michigan State to just 42 rushing yards on 29 carries. At 3-0, first-year Head Coach Kalen DeBoer is re-establishing the Huskies as a program to look out Washington’sfor.next

matchup is this Saturday at home against Stanford, at 7:30 p.m. PHX on FS1.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: Kansas

For the first time in 13 years, the Jayhawks are 3-0. After steamrolling Tennessee Tech and Big 12 rival West Virginia, Kansas had its toughest test at Houston, the preseason AAC pick that was nationally ranked. The Jayhawks fell behind 14-0, but then dominated their way to a statement-making 48-30

Quarterbackwin.

Jalon Daniels, Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, threw for 158 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 123 yards and two TDs. His 97.5 QBR is the highest in the country, and he leads an offense that averages 51 points per game—the nation’s fifth-highest.

Lance Leipold’s Jayhawks look to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2008. Their next matchup is at home against 3-0 Duke at 9:00 a.m. PHX on FS1. Kansas won two games in the previous two seasons combined and notched three wins in a season only twice in the last seven years.

This SEC meeting promises to be a thriller on Rocky Top. It’ll be 2-1 Florida’s third matchup in four games against a ranked opponent, and undefeated Tennessee’s second.

Nearly every year since 1992, Florida and Tennessee have played on the third Saturday of September, contributing to a longstanding rivalry between the two squads. This will be the first meeting since 2017 in which both Florida and Tennessee are nationally ranked. The Gators have won 16 of their last 17 meetings with the Vols, and the Vols look to stave off Florida QB Anthony Richardson to reverse the trend and improve their playoff chances.

The betting line opened with Tennessee as a 10-point favorite. Kickoff is Saturday, September 24, at 12:30 p.m. PHX on CBS.

COLLEGE

GUARANTEED RATE BOWL:

Big NEWS

The Guaranteed Rate Bowl features Bowl Season’s only Big Ten vs. Big 12 matchup. As we eagerly await the Dec. 27 kickoff, we’re bringing you weekly game highlights, player reports, and other updates from the two conferences. Here’s the BIG news for week four:

Big Ten

• The Big Ten has three teams in the AP Top 25 heading into week four: No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Michigan and No. 14 Penn State. Also receiving votes were Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

• Michigan and Minnesota currently rank among the top 10 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Wolverines lead the country in scoring offense (55.3 points per game) and rank fourth in scoring defense (5.7 points per game). The Gophers rank fourth nationally in scoring defense (5.7 points per game), while placing seventh in scoring offense (49.7 points per game).

• Six of the top 20 FBS running backs in rushing yards per game play for Big 10 teams: Illinois’ Chase Brown, Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim, Nebraska’s Anthony Grant, Penn State’s Nicholas Singleton, Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen and Northwestern’s Evan Hull.

Big 12

• The Big 12 has four teams in the AP Top 25 this week: No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 9 Oklahoma State, No. 17 Baylor and No. 22 Texas. Kansas also received votes, for the first time since the 2009 season.

• Three conference games are set on the week four schedule (No. 17 Baylor vs. Iowa State, No. 22 Texas vs. Texas Tech, Kansas State vs. No. 6 Oklahoma), while Kansas, TCU and West Virginia will wrap up non-conference play.

• In all games, Big 12 teams allow an FBS-low 315.9 yards per game. The 18.1 points allowed is the second-fewest.

• Sixty percent of Big 12 teams are in the top 20 nationally in scoring offense, with over 42 points per game: Kansas (#5-51.0), Oklahoma State (#7-49.7), TCU (#9-48.5), West Virginia (#11-46.0), Baylor (#16-43.7) and Oklahoma (#20-42.3).

ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT:

Isaiah Simmons & Byron Murphy Jr.

The eighth-overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Fiesta Bowl and Clemson alum Isaiah Simmons is in his third season with the Arizona Cardinals. Simmons, known for his ability to play almost any defensive position, is a Swiss Army knife for the Cardinals. Teammate and Scottsdale native Byron Murphy Jr., a cornerback out of Washington and 2017 Fiesta Bowl participant, was Arizona’s 2019 second-round pick.

On Sunday, Arizona rallied from a 20-0 halftime deficit against Las Vegas to force overtime.

Arizona’s first defensive stand in OT saw several butbyalmost-fumble-recovery“almosts”—anfollowedanalmost-interception—thenSimmonsandMurphy

combined to make the game-winning play. On a short pass to Hunter Renfrow, Simmons forced a fumble that Murphy scooped up and returned for a TD—sealing an epic Cardinals comeback.

The Cardinals take on division-rival Rams on Sunday at 1:25 p.m. PHX at State Farm Stadium, the home of the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.

Al McCoy NAMED VRBO FIESTA

BOWL PARADE PRESENTED BY LERNER & ROWE GRAND MARSHAL

Last week, the Fiesta Bowl announced legendary Suns announcer Al McCoy as its 2022 Grand Marshal for the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade presented by Lerner & Rowe. McCoy, the longest-tenured announcer in NBA history entering his 51st season, personifies this year’s parade theme of “Legends Made Here” and shares the Fiesta Bowl’s commitment to making a positive impact on Arizona.

McCoy will lead the December 17 parade through its two-mile route in Central Phoenix, beginning at 10 a.m.

The Fiesta Bowl once again invites and encourages groups to submit an application and be one of those selected entries by Friday, September 23, 2022, to be a part of the Parade.

MORE THAN JUST A GAME

CHARITY SPOTLIGHT: FIESTA BOWL CHARITIES UNVEILS RENOVATED LOUNGE AT Alhambra High School

As part of its commitment to youth and education across Arizona, Fiesta Bowl Charities unveiled a fully renovated staff and teacher lounge earlier this month at Alhambra High School, a Title I school in Central AlhambraPhoenix.educators

In what has become one of Arizona’s most impactful teacher support initiatives, the Palo Verde Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers program provides grants to Arizona teachers for use in their classrooms. The seventh annual program will provide $2,500 awards to 400 teachers, for a total of $1 million in donations.

Applications are now open for all Arizona K-12 public and charter school teachers through Friday, September 30 at 5 p.m. Teachers simply fill out the online application at www.WishesForTeachers.org, detailing the teacher’s school or classroom need.

Created in 2016, the Fiesta Bowl organization saw that many teachers spent their own money to enhance their classroom experience and developed a program to aid teachers in that effort. In its six years, Wishes for Teachers granted $4.7 million to 1,200 Arizona teachers, impacting 500,000+ students across the state.

and school staff support more than 2,000 students from grades 9-12, many of whom are high need. Alhambra also comprises a large refugee population, with 52 countries and more than 44 languages represented among its student body. The refreshed staff and teacher lounge celebrates Alhambra employees and their commitment to the students and families they serve.

REWARD A TEACHER WITH PALO VERDE FIESTA BOWL CHARITIES Wishes for Teachers