What to Watch in Week 4

Thursday Night

#5 Clemson @ Georgia Tech- 7:30 ESPN

Clemson heads to Atlanta looking to pick up their first win at Georgia Tech since 2003.  The Tigers have struggled this season, particularly on offense, and the Yellow Jackets will be their first real test.  GT looked very good last week, blowing out Vanderbilt.  GT has only given up 31 points in 3 games so far this season, but they have yet to face an offense like Clemson.

Friday Night

USC @ #24 Utah- 9:00 FS1

The wheels are flying off of Clay Helton’s first season in Los Angeles.  They have been blow out in 2 of their first three games, and have already replaced their starting QB.  Utah, on the other hand, is undefeated, which includes a last second victory over rival BYU.  If BYU gets up early, this one could get ugly.

Saturday Day

#12 Georgia @ #23 Ole Miss- 12:00 ESPN

#11 Wisconsin @ #8 Michigan State- 12:00 Big Ten Network

#13 Florida State @ South Florida- 12:00 ABC

East Carolina @ Virginia Tech- 12:30 ACC Regional Networks

Two big conference games take place at noon.  Georgia takes on Ole, while Wisconsin heads to Michigan State.  Georgia needed a last minute 4 and 10 touchdown to beat Missouri, while Ole Miss lost a 20 point lead for the second time this season.  They are the only team to lose when having a 20+ point lead, and they have done it twice so far this season.  In the other game Wisconsin is still riding high from upsetting LSU to open the season.  Michigan State is coming off of a big win at Notre Dame. This is the first of a brutal stretch of three games, where Wisconsin plays Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State, all in a row.  If Wisconsin wants to win the Big Ten West, they must win at least one of these games against top 10 opponents.  Elsewhere, Florida State heads to South Florida looking to rebound after getting blown out by Louisville, and Virginia Tech takes on East Carolina, who has a 6 game winning streak against the ACC.

Saturday Afternoon

#19 Florida @ #14 Tennessee- 3:30 CBS

Penn State @ #4 Michigan- 3:30 ABC

Pittsburgh @ North Carolina- 3:30 ESPNU

BYU VS West Virginia (@ Washington D.C.)- 3:30 ESPN2

Tennessee looks beat Florida for the first time in 12 years in the Third Saturday of September rivalry (which is being played on the fourth Saturday this year.)  Florida has won 18 out of the last 23 matchups in this series.  Tennessee struggled in their first game against Appalachian State, and came out slow against Virginia Tech before turning it on in the second half and winning easily.  The Gators enter the game undefeated, without being challenged in their first 3 games.  The winner becomes the clear favorite to win the SEC East.  Penn State heads to the Big House as they try to upset Michigan. Michigan played a sloppy game against Colorado last week, whereas Penn State snuck out a win against Temple.  Penn State should struggle to stop the Wolverine offense.  Pittsburgh plays at North Carolina in a matchup of the two top teams in the ACC Coastal from a season ago.  This game features two of the most underrated running backs in the country in Pitt’s James Conner, and Carolina’s Elijah Hood.  In the game with the most contrasting fan base, BYU plays West Virginia in Washington D.C.  This one will be a contrast in styles as BYU has both yet to give up and score more than 20 points all season, while West Virginia likes to play shootouts. 

Saturday Night

#18 LSU @ Auburn- 6:00 ESPN

Oklahoma State @ #16 Baylor- 7:30 FOX

#7 Stanford @ UCLA- 8:00 ABC

Its as battle of the tigers as LSU plays Auburn.  Both of these teams have struggled on offense this season, while being led by excellent defenses.  Look for this one to be very low scoring.  At 7:30 Oklahoma State coming off of a big win over Pitt, takes on Baylor.  This is Baylor’s first real test of the season under new coach Jim Grobe.  Oklahoma State would be undefeated and ranked if not for a controversial loss to Central Michigan.  In the ABC game, Stanford heads to their second home at the Rose Bowl against UCLA.  Both teams are coming off of impressive wins over USC and BYU respectfully.  UCLA will have to slow down superstar Christian McCaffrey if they want a shot to win.

Saturday Late Night

#17 Arkansas VS #10 Texas A&M (Arlington TX)- 9:00 ESPN

California @ Arizona State- 10:00 ESPN2

#9 Washington @ Arizona- 10:30 Pac 12 Network

The Southwest Classic features the two surprise teams of the SEC this season.  Arkansas had a big upset win on the road against TCU, while Texas A&M began the season with an upset of UCLA.  A&M has won this rivalry four straight seasons, with the last two coming in overtime.   Later, Cal heads to Arizona State.  Cal is coming off of a big upset home victory over Texas.  Arizona State is undefeated, including a shootout victory over Texas Tech.  Look for a lot of points to be scored in this one.  In the final game of the night, Washington faces their first real test against Arizona.  Many wonder why Washington is ranked in the top ten as they are coming off of a 6-6 regular season from a year ago, and have yet to play a quality opponent this season.  Arizona lost a close one to BYU to open the season, and won two easy games since then.  This will be a good test to see if Washington is for real this season.