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College football conference play is (mostly) underway, and the stakes are set to rise accordingly. The sport dips its toes this weekend with ranked matchups in the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC featuring College Football Playoff favorites and a few remaining question marks.
Let’s rank the top 10 matches of Week 4, starting with a few honorable mentions and counting down.
Honorable Mention: JMU at North Carolina, Rutgers at Virginia Tech, Memphis at Navy, TCU at SMU, Iowa at Minnesota
(All point spreads are from BetMGM; click here for live odds. All kickoff times are Eastern and Saturday unless otherwise noted.)
10. San Jose State (3-0) at Washington State (3-0), Friday, 10 p.m., The CW
What a win for Wazzu last week. It stunned Washington in a new, weird version of the Apple Cup rivalry, secured by a dramatic goal-line stand by the Cougars. Quarterback John Mateer is a dual-threat firecracker, head coach Jake Dickert brought a celebratory cigar to the postgame press conference and Washington State is one of the feel-good teams in the field. Now the Cougars have a grudge match of a different kind against San Jose State, which may feel slighted by WSU for helping the Pac-12 conquer the Mountain West. The Spartans haven’t faced anyone as good as Wazzu, but former Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo forwent the triple option and has SJSU off to an undefeated start, including an away win over Air Force.
Line: Washington State -11.5
Tough start for NC State. After a 51-10 loss to Tennessee, the Wolfpack lost starting quarterback Grayson McCall to injury in a 30-20 win over Louisiana Tech. True freshman backup C.J. Bailey will start against Clemson and led the comeback against Louisiana Tech, but NC State has not looked like a team deserving of its preseason Top 25 ranking at all. This will also be an interesting test for Clemson, coming off a bye following its loss to Georgia and win over App State. Are the Tigers still a legitimate threat in the ACC and playoff race? The spread in this game suggests so. Either way, Saturday’s result should bring us a little closer to those answers.
Line: Clemson -20.5
Clemson QB Cade Klubnik threw for a career-high 378 yards on a 92.3 percent completion rate against App State. (Alex Hicks Jr. / USA Today Sports via Imagn Images)
8. Arkansas (2-1) at Auburn (2-1), 3:30 p.m., ESPN
It’s hard to put into words, but this game feels like college football at the turn of the leaves. It’s now on ESPN instead of CBS, neither team is expected to be in the mix for the SEC title or the CFP, Arkansas’ Sam Pittman is in the hot seat — but there’s an indescribable nostalgia hit to this matchup. It should be an interesting quarterback matchup between Arkansas’ dual-threat Taylen Green and Auburn’s Hank Brown, who threw for four touchdowns in his first start against New Mexico last week. Both teams have gantlet schedules ahead of them and could really use a win to keep fans from getting restless.
Line: Red-brown -3
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How about Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils? The second-year head coach has led ASU — picked last in the Big 12 preseason poll — to an undefeated start with three solid wins, including a blowout victory over Texas State on Thursday. Quarterback Sam Leavitt is hard-working, running back Cam Skattebo is a wrecking ball and Dillingham’s dedication to Texas recruiting is already paying off. Whether ASU can make any noise in the Big 12 race remains to be seen, but it could start against an enigmatic Texas Tech team that escaped in overtime against Abilene Christian, got blown out by Wazzu and then scored 66 points against North Texas.
Line: Texas Technology -3
6. Georgia Tech (3-1) at No. 19 Louisville (2-0), 3:30 p.m., ESPN2
Georgia Tech was right to blow out VMI after a close loss to Syracuse, and with a brief stint in the Top 25, it’s clear the Yellow Jackets are better than most expected this season. But Louisville is the team I’m most curious about. The Cardinals have almost automatically climbed into the Top 20 thanks to easy wins over Austin Peay and Jacksonville State. Transfer quarterback Tyler Shough has impressed against lesser competition, but with a road trip to Notre Dame next week, this game should give a much better idea of ​​how viable an ACC and playoff contender Louisville can be this season.
Line: Louisville -10.5
5. No. 8 Miami (3-0) at South Florida (2-1), 7 p.m., ESPN
Mario Cristobal’s third-year warpath makes an intriguing stop in Tampa. Quarterback Cam Ward has been spectacular for the Hurricanes, ranking second in FBS in passing yards, first in passing touchdowns, third in yards per attempt and fourth in QB rating, which landed Miami in the top 10. But now it must face a USF team that has given Alabama trouble for 3 1/2 quarters. Bulls quarterback Byrum Brown has run the ball effectively but struggled through the air, and USF’s defense cracked late in the game against the Tide, allowing 21 points in the final six minutes. A decisive road win, in primetime on ESPN, would kick the Miami hype train into high gear.
Line: Miami-16.5
Cam Ward transferred from Washington State to Miami during the offseason and is leading the Hurricanes toward their CFP aspirations. (Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
4. No. 24 Illinois (3-0) at No. 22 Nebraska (3-0), Friday, 8 p.m., Fox
The ranked Big Ten game you didn’t know you needed in your life. Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola and his Patrick Mahomes cosplay get another chance in the spotlight Friday night against the undefeated Illini. Raiola has been impressive for a true freshman with high expectations and a fan base desperate to get back to winning ways. The Cornhuskers haven’t been to a bowl game in seven seasons, haven’t beaten a ranked team since 2016 and haven’t done so at home since 2011. Enter an Illinois team that’s second in FBS with a plus-8 turnover margin. The Illini haven’t been elite in other areas so far, but they’re strong enough to give Lincoln some optimism.
Line: Nebraska -8.5
3. No. 11 USC (2-0) at No. 18 Michigan (2-1), 3:30 p.m., CBS
It’s Alex Orji’s turn for Michigan. The speedy junior takes over for Davis Warren, who threw six interceptions in three games at the helm of a lousy offense. Can Orji provide enough spark to turn the tide? The Wolverines are home underdogs for the second time in three weeks. They were trounced by Texas in Week 2 and now host USC after a week of inactivity. The Trojans are on the rise The Athletics‘s Playoff Projector after an opening-week win over LSU and what appears to be a much-improved defense under new coordinator D’Anton Lynn. A road win over Michigan would further bolster those CFP hopes, especially with a favorable schedule the rest of the way: no Ohio State, no Oregon, and Penn State, Nebraska and Notre Dame all at home.
Line: USC-6
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2. No. 12 Utah (3-0) at No. 14 Oklahoma State (3-0), 4 p.m., Fox
Utah quarterback Cam Rising is expected to play after suffering a throwing hand injury in the Week 2 win over Baylor. The Utes have been strong on defense as expected and remain the top-ranked team in the Big 12, but travel to the Thunderdome of Stillwater. The Pokes are a bit of an enigma. Doak Walker-winning running back Ollie Gordon II has been largely held in check, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry, but seventh-year quarterback Alan Bowman has picked up the slack. Bowman ranks sixth in FBS in passing yards, along with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. This is a crucial stretch for Oklahoma State, which travels to Kansas State next week and is still missing star linebacker Collin Oliver. With Utah traveling to Arizona next week, we should have a better handle on the top of the Big 12 by the end of the month.
Line: Netherlands -2.5
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1. No. 6 Tennessee (3-0) at No. 15 Oklahoma (3-0), 7:30 p.m., ABC
The big story is that Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is returning to Oklahoma, where he led the program to a national championship and was later fired as offensive coordinator. Joe Rexrode wrote a great retrospective about how the reunion unfolded for everyone involved (worked out for Tennessee!), as well as the stakes for a game that Joe describes as an “early College Football Playoff clarifier.” The Vols look like a wagon, leading the FBS in points per game with 63.7. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s 10.4 yards per attempt ranks eighth among all quarterbacks, and the offense is averaging 8.1 yards per play. The Sooners are on the other end of the spectrum, averaging just 4.9 yards per play under quarterback Jackson Arnold, who is averaging 5.6 yards per attempt and is still trying to find his rhythm. (Potentially, getting wide receivers Nic Anderson and Andrel Anthony back from injury could help.) Brent Venables’ defense is solid, but it’s Tennessee that’s allowing 3.1 yards per play and 4.3 points per game, both of which rank in the top three in FBS. ESPN’s “College GameDay” heads to Norman to see if the Sooners can slow Tennessee in the first SEC showdown at Oklahoma.
Line: Tennessee -7
(Top photo of Jackson Arnold: Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)
