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It’s Week 4 … already! Conference play is picking up and teams are starting to show their true selves. Here’s a preview of the weekend.
Friday Night Lights
Big Ten showdown
Week 4 kicks off today with South Alabama at Appalachian State (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). But the action picks up on Friday. Here’s what to expect (all times ET):
- Stanford at Syracuse (7:30 p.m., ESPN). Former Ohio State QB Kyle McCord has been lighting it up for the 2-0 Orange. He has recorded four TDs and more than 350 passing yards in each of his team’s wins.
- No. 24 Illinois at No. 22 Nebraska (8 p.m., Fox). It’s the first-ever Friday night game at Memorial Stadium, and who would have thought this would be a ranked matchup? Matt Rhule has managed to make Nebraska “cool” again while Illinois is on the rise thanks to noticeable improvements from QB Luke Altmyer. This is the Friday night feature I’ll be tuning in to.
- San Jose State at Washington State (10 p.m., The CW). Wazzu should be feeling good after its Apple Cup win against Washington. And there might be some animosity here with the Cougars of the Pac-12 poaching San Jose State’s Mountain West peers.
Check out the full Week 4 schedule here.
Matt Rhule’s Nebraska Cornhuskers are 3-0 entering their game Friday against Illinois. (Steven Branscombe / Getty Images)
Saturday Viewing Guide
Old QBs and new ones
Here’s a look at the Saturday matchups for every ranked team this week. The darker the highlight = the higher the intrigue.
Early
- Most important game: NC State at No. 21 Clemson. If you tuned out Clemson’s offense after its three-point showing in Week 1 against Georgia … think again. The Tigers set program records in points scored and yards gained in a half against Appalachian State, winning 66-20 in Week 2. Now comes their first ACC test. NC State will start freshman QB CJ Bailey in place of injured starter Grayson McCall. Bailey came in for McCall last week against Louisiana Tech and crafted a come-from-behind victory.
- Most underrated game: Florida at Mississippi State (ESPN). These teams are desperate for a win. Alarms went off in Gainesville after Florida lost 33-20 to Texas A&M at The Swamp while Mississippi State bottomed out in a 41-17 home loss to Toledo last week. The Bulldogs are still adjusting to a new system under first-year coach Jeff Lebby while former Baylor QB Blake Shapen has played well despite two consecutive losses (834 passing yards on a 70.1 percent completion rate through three games). Florida, meanwhile, is trending in the hot-seat direction.
Afternoon
- Most important game: No. 12 Utah at No. 14 Oklahoma State. The Utes are hopeful starting QB Cam Rising will play after he sat out last week against Utah State with a finger injury on his throwing hand. If he does play, it will be a battle of the seventh-year QBs. Alan Bowman (formerly of Texas Tech and Michigan) is the starter for the Cowboys. I’m calling this one the Old QBs Bowl with Rising (25 years old) and Bowman (24) combining for an age of 49, five years older than the combined age of the starting QBs in the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts vs. Chicago Bears matchup on Sunday. Of course, this is an important game in the Big 12 with both teams considered top-three favorites in the conference.
- Most underrated game: Georgia Tech at No. 19 Louisville. The Cardinals rank third in the country in scoring offense — but their only two games were against Austin Peay and Jacksonville State. That offensive identity will be put to the test against a Georgia Tech team that spent a week in the Top 25 and is off to a 3-1 start.
Night
- Most important game: No. 6 Tennessee at No. 15 Oklahoma. Tennessee is on fire — the Vols have outscored their opponents 191-13 through three games. They’ll play their first true road game as Oklahoma makes its SEC debut. The Sooners are still finding their way behind first-year starting QB Jackson Arnold, and things will have to come together quickly if they want to stay competitive against the Vols. Meanwhile, it will be a homecoming for Tennessee coach Josh Heupel, who quarterbacked OU to a national championship in 2000 and was later fired from his job as the Sooners OC after the 2014 season.
- Most underrated game: ULM at No. 1 Texas. It’s a fair question to wonder why this game was highlighted with “high intrigue” in the heat map. After all, the Longhorns are 44.5-point favorites. But with Texas starter Quinn Ewers recovering from a strained oblique, backup Arch Manning will make his first career start. The redshirt freshman from football royalty lit up UTSA with five touchdowns last week (four passing, one rushing) in a performance coach Steve Sarkisian said showed his poise and composure. Let’s not forget about Louisiana-Monroe. The Warhawks have their own QB with a famous name — meet General Booty (yep, the Oklahoma transfer). The only problem here is you’ll have to find a friend with ESPN+ to watch.
Need tickets? Go here. Stream the games on Fubo for free.
Best Bets
Here are Austin Mock’s two best bets for the week.
- Boston College -6.5 (-115) vs. Michigan State (8 p.m. ACCN). Bill O’Brien has made an immediate impact at Boston College, and it’s a good bet against a banged-up Michigan State squad. Michigan State has had an unsustainable amount of success on third and fourth down early this season, and with that regression, combined with Boston College being the better team, I don’t believe the Spartans will be able to stay within the number.
- Kansas State -6.5 (-110) at BYU. Kansas State wants to run the ball, and it should have a big advantage against this BYU rush defense. Kansas State has a top-25 rush offense per my projections, and BYU’s rush defense ranks outside the top 75. BYU doesn’t have the efficiency on offense to keep up if Kansas State has a dominant performance on the ground.
Read the rest of Austin’s Week 4 best bets here.
Until Saturday’s Upset Special (1-1): Arkansas 27 (+3), Auburn 21 (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Tulane wasn’t able to close it out against Oklahoma last week, but I’m feeling more confident in this week’s upset pick. Arkansas had no business losing two weeks ago when it outgained Oklahoma State 648-385 and held the Cowboys to 59 yards on the ground. The Razorbacks won’t let another opportunity like that pass them up. Auburn is starting redshirt freshman Hank Brown, who replaced a benched Payton Thorne last week against New Mexico. And while Brown got off to a good start, Arkansas should be able to pull this off so long as it avoids silly mistakes.
Quick Snaps
Twelve years ago, Nebraska’s Jahmal Banks and his family endured one of the hardest days of their lives. Now, they’re healing as Jahmal lives out his purpose on and off the football field.
Oddly specific predictions are back this week! Is Virginia Tech on upset watch versus Rutgers?
USC’s trip to Michigan will be the first Big Ten road game for any of the league’s four newcomers. Antonio Morales details how fans are dealing with the extra travel.
There’s a new layer to the Florida State, Clemson and ACC drama. But the Seminoles and Tigers’ concept of a new revenue sharing plan isn’t likely to fly, Brendan Marks writes today.
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(Top photo of Sam Pittman: Wesley Hitt / Getty Images)
