College Football Week 4: Iowa Upsets Michigan, Texas A&M Crumbles, and Biggest Winners and Losers

Week 4 marks the formal start of conference play across college football, and the big-time matchups delivered. No. 17 Iowa pulled a stunner against No. 18 Michigan to win at Michigan Stadium for the first time since 2010 on the last play.

But while there's been plenty of highs, a few high-profile players struggled in big moments. Trinidad Chambliss was unable to keep up the magic against Florida, while Oklahoma's John Mateer collapsed against Georgia. The ACC race also took a wild turn after Wake Forest upset Louisville.

In the night slate, a few more titans fell as No. 12 USC, No. 13 Penn State and No. 23 Texas A&M all dropped. The losses shake up conference title and postseason pictures, but can teams recover? Here are the biggest winners and losers of Week 4.

Loser: Texas A&M

Expectations were low for the Aggies when they traveled to face No. 10 LSU. But in one fell swoop, a 35-6 loss, No. 23 Texas A&M's season effectively ended. Quarterback Marcel Reed was regrettably the primary culprit, completing a paltry 10 of 26 passes for 106 yards and an interception. The backup, Brady Hart, threw an interception on his only pass attempt.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Texas A&M allowed more than 300 yards passing and nearly 200 yards rushing. Frankly, the Aggies are just a bad football team at this point. Outside of a few talented wide receivers, who can't get the ball due to bad quarterback play, it's hard to find a single advantage Texas A&M can create against opponents.

No. 1 Texas, No. 8 Alabama and No. 14 Tennessee are still on the schedule, along with a road trip to Oklahoma. Will the Aggies make a bowl game?

Winner: Oklahoma State

The Cowboys officially turned the page on their season-opening loss to Tulsa by storming back from an early deficit to beat West Virginia 41-24 on the road. The Mountaineers were right on the edge of the rankings last week after beating No. 25 Virginia, and took a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter.

But when faced with adversity, quarterback Drew Mestemaker and wide receiver Wyatt Young again rose to the occasion. Young was unstoppable with eight catches for 192 yards and a touchdown in the win. Mestemaker shook off an interception to finish with 389 yards on only 27 pass attempts, 270 yards of which came in the second half.

The win over West Virginia was Oklahoma State's first Big 12 win in more than 1,000 days, snapping an 18-game losing streak. The last win was amazingly before the Cowboys played in the 2023 Big 12 title game. A new era is afoot.

Loser: USC

Once again, USC was presented with the opportunity to get over the hump. After knocking Dante Moore out of the game with a dirty play, they were even playing at home against a backup quarterback. But when the game was decided, the Trojans were again too soft.

USC faced multiple opportunities to extend drives, but went 2 of 11 on third down. The Trojans failed to contain backup Dylan Raiola on fourth down and got bullied in high-leverage spots. This Trojans team is young, but excuses just keep piling up every year. With No. 5 Indiana, No. 7 Ohio State and No. 13 Penn State left on the schedule, when will it happen?

Winner: Wisconsin

The Badgers needed something positive to happen in the Luke Fickell era. Old Dominion quarterback transfer Colton Joseph was ready to deliver. In the last 3:31, Joseph threw two touchdown passes to stun No. 13 Penn State, including a 72-yard pass to Jacob Harris with only 73 seconds remaining. It was the most complete defensive performance we've seen the Badgers put together, holding Penn State to only 233 yards. This was the kind of game Fickell was hired to win. There's a long season ahead, but can Fickell build on it?

Winner: Iowa

Iowa's win against No. 18 Michigan to stay undefeated was a perfect Kirk Ferentz football game. The Hawkeyes puttered about for the first 40 minutes of play, only staying within striking distance because of a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. And then, Hank Brown came to life.

The Hawkeyes got one of the great plays in program history, a game-winning touchdown with no time left on the clock by Brown to Reece Vander Zee for an unbelievable touchdown. The win was the first for Iowa in Michigan Stadium since 2010. More importantly, it seriously launched the No. 17 Hawkeyes into the Big Ten title and postseason conversation. With conference frontrunners Ohio State and Oregon already possessing losses, Iowa could easily crash the party.

Loser: QB John Mateer, Oklahoma

Playing Georgia is never a recipe for success, but Oklahoma's QB1 put together one of the most stunningly poor performances of the season. After going down 14-0 in the second quarter, Mateer dropped one of the worst fumbles you'll ever see that turned third-and-goal into a Georgia defensive touchdown. He threw another interception, and then dropped the ball yet again to set up a short 11-yard touchdown drive for Georgia.

By the time the dust settled, Oklahoma was trailing 28-0 at halftime, part of a 41-13 loss against the Bulldogs in Athens. Statistically, Mateer was able to fight back in garbage time to finish with a respectable stat line, but the damage was done.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables acknowledged that he considered making a change at halftime, but backup Whitt Newbauer has never played real snaps. There's no real answer on this Sooners roster, and Mateer is the face of the dysfunction.

Winner: Florida

The Gators announced their return to major college football under Jon Sumrall on Saturday, finishing off an emphatic 52-28 win over No. 4 Ole Miss. The Gators obliterated the Rebels behind a combined 268 yards and four touchdowns rushing from Jadan Baugh and Duke Clark, finishing with more than 300 yards on the ground as a team.

While an emotional letdown was expected for the Rebels after the dramatic win over Lane Kiffin and LSU last weekend, Florida looks the part of a serious national contender for the first time in years. The Gators still have No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Georgia on the schedule, but the Florida team we saw in Week 4 can hang with anyone.

Loser: Louisville

The Cardinals can't make anything easy. One week after taking control of the ACC championship race with a win over SMU, Louisville lost a stunner against a streaking Wake Forest squad 30-27. With the loss, the Cardinals are no longer an at-large contender for the College Football Playoff field with two early losses. SMU still has a shot, and there are a few loose undefeated ACC teams left, but Louisville looked like the top competition to Miami. Now, things are much more complicated.

Winner: Boise State

Boise State officially took their place as kings of the Group of Six race after obliterating Western Michigan 32-7 in a marquee matchup. The Broncos were fantastic in the win, holding WMU to 3.8 yards per pass attempt and 2 of 11 on third down, while getting an efficient 204 yards and three touchdowns from Maddux Madsen. With wins over Memphis and Western Michigan, Boise State becomes the heavy favorite to reach the College Football Playoff -- if it can survive a stacked Pac-12.

Loser: QB Will Hammond, Texas Tech

Texas Tech put a lot of faith in Hammond coming off of an ACL tear, but the redshirt sophomore has struggled to meet the moment after taking over as the starter. Hammond threw three interceptions in the first half against Sam Houston and looked out of sorts as the Bearkats pulled within 21-14 at the half.

Hammond managed to get back on track in the second half, but it's been multiple games of inconsistent play for a team that hoped to contend for the Big 12 title. The running game got going in the second half, but teams just don't trust Hammond's downfield passing, and it's making life harder. The talent is there, but the consistency has to come soon with the heart of Big 12 play on the horizon.

Winner: WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State