Week Four College Football Winners and Losers

            Although there hasn't been a big shake-up in the college football landscape compared to previous weeks, this week has been known for one other thing: redemption. Teams whose playoff hopes were hanging by the wayside suddenly discovered newfound hopes for the postseason. Here's who won week four and who lost it.

Winner: Wisconsin: The Badgers came into this week looking a little limp. They barely escaped Georgia State the week before and were facing a daunting schedule ahead. #11 Wisconsin responded by throttling #8 Michigan State by the score of 30-6. The Badgers picked off Tyler O'Conner three times and recovered a fumble for a touchdown, putting up a defensive performance that'll send a message to the committee. Wisconsin could be a serious contender if they do well against Michigan and Ohio State.
Winner: Tennessee: Speaking of redeeming themselves, the Volunteers got a big win themselves. In spite of close calls against Appalachian State and Ohio in previous games, #14 Tennessee rallied from a 21-3 halftime deficit to beat rival Florida 38-28. The win snapped an 11-game losing streak against the #19 Gators and stamped a quality win on Tennessee's resume. Coupled with Georgia's loss to Ole Miss, Tennessee now has a fairly firm grasp on the SEC East.
Winner: Florida State: After getting embarrassed by Louisville the previous week, the Seminoles didn't want to look flat this week. They certainly didn't as they handled South Florida by a score of 55-35. Dalvin Cook had a big running day, rushing for 267 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. Included in those rushes was a 75-yard run. In fact, all Florida State rushers recorded a touchdown in this game. Jacques Patrick had 124 rushing yards of his own on 20 carries and ran for a touchdown.
Loser: Les Miles: Do Michigan fans remember the days before Harbaugh, when Les Miles was rumored to be in the running for the head coach job at Michigan? Boy, did the Maize and Blue dodge a bullet. Another underwhelming performance in a season of high expectations has cost Les Miles his job at LSU. There will be plenty of schools that will want Miles as their head football coach. However, Miles has led this squad to yet another whimper of a season as the Tigers try and compete in the tough SEC West division.
Loser: Notre Dame: Losing to Duke has Brian Kelly calling open-season on all starting jobs for the Fighting Irish. A 1-3 start has led to Notre Dame canning their defensive coordinator and has raised questions about whether Notre Dame is overrated. Being out of the playoff mix, the Fighting Irish can only hope to salvage a spot in a bowl game.
Loser: Georgia: Kirby Smart's squad looked terrible against Ole Miss, confirming suspicions of underwhelming play. A 45-14 shellacking exposed the Bulldogs as a fraudulent team, leaving Georgia looking up against an upbeat Tennessee squad in the SEC East. Fortunately for Georgia, they didn't completely fall out of the rankings.

Other Winners: Next week's Stanford/Washington match-up, Amba Etta-Tawo, Lamar Jackson (again), Texas A&M
Other Losers: USC (again), LSU for not getting a game-winning touchdown off in time, Florida's 2nd-half performance against Tennessee, Northern Illinois

My Playoff Four:

1. Alabama
2. Louisville
3. Ohio State
4. Houston