Clemson and Michigan were able to maintain their chances of making the playoffs early in the season on Saturday, even though there are still some questions about both teams.

The No. 21 Tigers were the more convincing team with a 59-35 win over NC State, as No. 18 Michigan needed a late fourth-down touchdown to avoid a second-half collapse in a 27-24 home victory over No. 11 USC.

Let’s start with Clemson, where the Tigers’ offense looks much different than it did in their 34-3 loss to Georgia in Week 1. Clemson (2-1) has scored 101 first-half points in its last two games since losing, and opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game on Saturday when QB Cade Klubnik ran 55 yards for a touchdown.

The Tigers led 28-0 after the first quarter and played the rest of the game confidently against an NC State team that featured freshman QB CJ Bailey, making his first career start after former Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall was injured in Week 3 against Louisiana Tech. When NC State scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, Clemson just wanted to run out the clock.

You can’t argue with how good Clemson looked in its wins over Appalachian State and the Wolfpack, but you can also question how genuine they are. Appalachian State fell to 1-3 with a crushing home loss to South Alabama on Thursday, and NC State was trounced by Tennessee with a healthy McCall in Week 2.

Michigan was able to close the gap to 3-1 thanks to a heroic performance by Kalel Mullings in the fourth quarter. After USC took the lead for the first time in the fourth quarter, Mullings ran 63 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown with 37 seconds left. He ran 17 times for 159 yards and scored two touchdowns, despite Michigan QB Alex Orji not threatening him with a forward pass.

Orji completed 7 of 12 passes for 32 yards on Saturday while Michigan ran 46 plays. The plan of attack of running the ball was exactly what coach Sherrone Moore wanted.

Michigan has long been a team that values ​​running over passing, but this is a new extreme. Michigan’s quarterbacks have thrown for 491 yards on 90 attempts through the first four games of the season.

Is it sustainable to keep winning with passing numbers like that? The Wolverines certainly hope so, but there are plenty of reasons to doubt whether it will work. There were certainly plenty of Michigan fans who were pessimistic about the team’s chances of a comeback before Mullings made the big run. This team is clearly not built to be behind in late-game situations.

But that philosophy could work throughout October, too. Michigan’s next four games are against Minnesota, Washington, Illinois and Michigan State before No. 9 Oregon comes to Ann Arbor in early November. Given the performance of the Michigan defense on Saturday, it’s not inconceivable that even without significant improvements in the passing game, Michigan’s offense will be enough to push the Wolverines to 7-1 through the first two months of the season.

Clemson should continue to win. Given Florida State’s struggles, the Tigers appear to be the best in the ACC besides Miami and don’t face a ranked team until November 2 against Louisville. It’s not too early to imagine a matchup between the Tigers and Hurricanes for the ACC title, although one would like to see a little more of Clemson’s offense to brighten the memory of the Georgia game.

Here are the rest of this week’s winners and losers.

winner

JamesMadison: The Dukes scored 53 points in the first half in an incredible 70-50 win at North Carolina. QB Alonza Barnett III had the game of the weekend, completing 22 of 34 passes for 388 yards and five touchdowns while also completing 13 runs for 99 yards and two touchdowns.

JMU racked up 611 total yards of offense against the Tar Heels, while UNC lost the ball five times, three fumbles and two interceptions, including a pick-6. It’s an embarrassing loss for North Carolina after the Heels started the season 3-0, but it’s also an apologetic win for James Madison after coach Curt Cignetti left for Indiana in the offseason and QB Jordan McCloud transferred to Texas State.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers made a great comeback from a long thunderstorm in their 32-28 victory over Kansas. Thunderstorms delayed play in the fourth quarter and Kansas took a 28-17 lead with 5:39 left. West Virginia cut the deficit to three points with 3:27 left and then scored the game-winning touchdown with 26 seconds left when Rodney Gallagher III caught a 15-yard pass from Garrett Greene.

The win moves West Virginia back to 2-2 and Kansas to 1-3 as QB Jalon Daniels continues to struggle. He fumbled on the Jayhawks’ last possession and also threw an interception. Greene threw two interceptions of his own but completed 15 of 30 passes for 295 yards and ran 17 times for 87 yards.

Buffalo: The Bulls picked up their first win over a ranked team since beating No. 12 Ball State in the 2008 MAC title game with a 23-20 overtime victory at No. 23 Northern Illinois. Buffalo trailed 14-3 at halftime, tied the game in the fourth quarter and took a 20-17 lead with 3:28 left. NIU managed a field goal to force overtime, but Kanon Woodill’s 42-yard field goal attempt in overtime was blocked. That set the stage for Upton Bellenfant, who nailed a 37-yard field goal to clinch the win and demoralize the Huskies in their first game since beating Notre Dame in South Bend.

Indiana: The Hoosiers are 4-0 after an easy 52-14 home win over Charlotte. Former Ohio quarterback Kurtis Rourke completed 16 of 20 passes for 258 yards and scored two total touchdowns, while eight players combined for 41 carries for 222 yards and six touchdowns. Indiana’s opening schedule wasn’t incredibly tough; its best win was against UCLA in Week 3. But with Maryland and Northwestern on the schedule over the next two weeks, Indiana has a very good chance of being bowl eligible by the end of Week 6 and could even sneak into the AP Top 25 on Sunday.

Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson: Johnson took charge in the third quarter of Iowa’s 31-14 victory over Minnesota. He scored runs of 15 and 40 yards in the third quarter to turn a 14-7 Minnesota lead into a 21-14 lead the Hawkeyes never relinquished. Johnson finished the game with a career-high 206 yards and three touchdowns on just 21 carries, helping Iowa improve its record to 3-1.

loser

Auburn: The Tigers still have a quarterback problem. Quarterback Hank Brown made his second start of the season but threw three interceptions in the Tigers’ 24-14 home loss to Arkansas. Brown was replaced in the second half by Payton Thorne, the man who started Auburn’s first two games. Thorne found KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a 67-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that brought the Tigers within three points, but Arkansas launched a 12-play drive that lasted 6:12 and tied the game with a touchdown run by Ja’Quinden Jackson. We’ll see who coach Hugh Freeze names the starter before next week’s game against Oklahoma. The matchup will be the first of three consecutive games against seeded opponents for the Tigers.

Memphis: Much like Northern Illinois, the good feelings didn’t last long after Memphis’ big win over a power conference opponent. The Tigers lost 56-44 at Navy in a game that could deal a major blow to Memphis’ season-ending playoff hopes. After stopping Florida State’s running game in Week 3, Memphis was shredded by Navy’s option attack, allowing 361 yards and five touchdowns on just 39 attempts. The Midshipmen were also effective through the air, as Blake Horvath completed 9 of 12 passes for 192 yards and two scores in addition to his 90-yard touchdown run and three more running touchdowns.

Virginia Tech: The Hokies have now lost 12 straight non-conference games against power conference opponents after Rutgers earned a 26-23 road victory. The Scarlet Knights jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and never trailed, although Virginia Tech came back with back-to-back touchdowns in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 23-23.

However, Jai Patel made a 24-yard field goal with 1:56 left and Kyron Drones threw a third-down interception with 1:24 left to tie the game. After losses to Vanderbilt in Week 1 and Rutgers on Saturday, Virginia Tech’s last win against a power opponent is a victory over West Virginia in the 2017 season opener.

Florida International: The Panthers lost 45-42 at home to FCS-level Monmouth after a brutal fumble near the end zone. Monmouth kicked a field goal to go up three points with less than two minutes left, and FIU stormed down the Monmouth 21-yard line with 41 seconds left. Keyone Jenkins completed a pass to Eric Rivers, and while Rivers was scrambling to score after running down the field… he fumbled. Monmouth recovered the ball and ended the game.

Houston: It’s going to be a long first season for coach Willie Fritz. The Cougars were beaten 34-0 in Cincinnati and fell to 1-3. Quarterbacks Donovan Smith and Zeon Chriss combined to throw for 92 yards and one interception on 21 attempts. Houston also fumbled twice, becoming the first power conference team to not concede a goal in 2024. The Cougars played Oklahoma tough in Week 2, but the rest of the season has little more than a few Big 12 wins on the schedule, as three of their four home games have come against higher-ranked opponents.