Week 4 Recap

We had a couple of close, competitive games last week, as well as a few that were substantially more one-sided than both Vegas and I thought. Indiana may just be the real deal, Texas Tech is possibly the best team in the Big 12, and Luke Fickell will likely be relieved of duty soon enough. An absolutely stacked slate of games awaits us this week, headlined by two heavyweight slugfests in the Big Ten and SEC.

Top 25 Matchups

Rankings are from AP Poll (CFP Poll after release)

Friday 9/26:

• #8 Florida State @ Virginia, 7PM, ESPN

Saturday 9/27:

12:00-3:00PM

• #21 USC @ #23 Illinois, FOX
• #16 Georgia Tech @ Wake Forest, ESPN
• #22 Notre Dame @ Arkansas, ABC
• Utah State @ #18 Vanderbilt, SECN

3:30PM-6:30PM

• #1 Ohio State @ Washington, CBS
• #4 LSU @ #13 Ole Miss, ABC
• Auburn @ #9 Texas A&M, ESPN
• #11 Indiana @ Iowa, Peacock
• #15 Tennessee @ Mississippi State, SECN

7:00-10:30PM

• Arizona @ #14 Iowa State, ESPN
• #6 Oregon @ #3 Penn State, NBC
• #17 Alabama @ #5 Georgia, ABC
• Massachusetts @ #20 Missouri, ESPNU
• #25 BYU @ Colorado, ESPN

Most Interesting Matchups

Alabama @ Georgia: The Crimson Tide’s Week 1 loss to Florida State does admittedly dull the shine on this matchup a bit, but the squad from Tuscaloosa has admittedly looked better since then. Both teams are coming off bye weeks, and you know the home crowd in Athens are dying to see Georgia get revenge for a wild loss last season.

Oregon @ Penn State: Oregon seemingly hasn’t missed a beat on offense despite major losses to the NFL, while the Nittany Lions defense looks as stout as ever. It will be strength-on-strength this Saturday night in Happy Valley, and the always raucous White Out crowd may prove to be the deciding factor.

LSU @ Ole Miss: Two teams who are unbeaten, both overall and in the SEC, clash in Mississippi for an early leg up in the SEC championship positioning battle. The winner either way would also be in a de-facto playoff spot, and will have a good win on the resume come Selection Sunday.

BYU @ Colorado: BYU has cruised through their first four games despite the unexpected loss of their presumptive starting quarterback, while Colorado has not adjusted quite as well to the loss of their own starter from last year. Coach Prime has a chance to make a real statement in Boulder with a ranked win here, and the Cougars need to keep the pressure on with the resurgence of Texas Tech in the Big 12 race.

USC @ Illinois: The Fighting Illini return home after an absolutely embarrassing loss to Indiana and must quickly pivot to another game against a ranked team. The Trojans are off to the patented Lincoln Riley fast start, but it remains to be seen if this version can finally play a complete season.

FCS Game of the Week

Brown @ Harvard, 9/27 6PM, ESPN+

It’s time for the nerds to play football! Crimson and Bears clash in Cambridge, Massachusetts this Saturday. I hear that town is beautiful this time of year – great clam chowder.

Selected Pick ATS

Last Week: 1-4 Season: 7-16 (This is why I don’t gamble)

• Alabama @ Georgia (-2.5)
• Oregon (+3.5) @ Penn State
• LSU (+1.5) @ Ole Miss
• BYU @ Colorado (+6.5)
• USC @ Illinois (+6.5)