CFB Week 4

As we enter Week 4 of the College Football season, I feel I need to clarify a couple of things with regards to some of these lists. If you’re only interested in watching your team and no one else, this list is not for you. You can stop reading here and I don’t fault you. If you love college football and recognize that you need plenty of games to fill up your Saturday, this list is for you. We try to give you an idea of the who and why when it comes to the slate of games and today we’ve got five rock solid matchups you should definitely give some interest too.

Saturday

SMU vs TCU

What To Watch For: Think back to two weeks ago. I told you that SMU vs Baylor was going to put on a show and it did. Now I’m back again to tell you that this matchup may be even better. After sucking the air out of Kenan Stadium and Bill Belichick’s college coaching debut, the story of the Horned Frogs has been focused around their offense and Junior QB Josh Hoover. He’ll match up with SMU QB Kevin Jennings, who’s been a large part of the SMU renaissance over the last couple of seasons. This is also another old school Southwest Conference legacy matchups and I do love those. The projected total for this game is 63.5, so again defense is optional. This is also the last slated matchup in what has been a Texas state rivalry dating back to 1915, with the winner claiming the Iron Skillet. I love rivalries, I love cool trophies and I’m particularly fond of skillets. Hopefully, this is not the final matchup between these two schools.

Texas Tech vs Utah

What To Watch For: This game, more than anything, is a really good measuring stick for the Big 12. A lot of people came into this season with high hopes about this Texas Tech Red Raider team. They’ve spent a lot of money since the introduction of NIL and now they show real promise for the first time in years, currently ranked 17th in a topsy turvy Top 25. On the other side, you have the 16th ranked Utah Utes. Many people, myself included, wanted to see what shape this team would take after Cam Rising played his 25th and final season of college football. We wanted to see what Kyle Whittingham and company had up their sleeve after a disappointing 5-7 season last year. While there’s not a ton to take away from dismantling the three non conference teams they’ve played so far, this matchup at noon should tell us an awful lot about both sides.

Auburn vs Oklahoma

What To Watch For: It’s a good old QB revenge game for Jackson Arnold. Look, whether or not you believe in revenge or the idea of anyone putting extra stock into a game just because they left one school for another, this matchup is still really interesting. Let’s start with the obvious, Jackson Arnold is matching up against Oklahoma, the school he once played at before being benched halfway through the 2024 season. He then made the move to Auburn and under Offensive Coordinator Guz Malzahn he’s looked like every bit of the player he was destined to be at Oklahoma. Oklahoma got a big tone setting win against the Michigan Wolverines two weeks ago and now look to add to their resume with their first conference matchup with the Tigers. Sooners QB John Mateer has also looked really good to start this season, making the offense look far more competitive than we’ve seen most of the time with Coach Venables’ teams. Let’s see if this Oklahoma defense is really destined for more.

Tulane vs Ole Miss

What To Watch For: It’s a battle of unbeatens but don’t let the optics of this game fool you. Tulane is not some Group of Five conference cupcake ready to lay down for the big time SEC name Ole Miss. Tulane has been one of the 3 or 4 best of the non power conference teams for years now and could easily find themselves with a case for a playoff spot before all is set and down. Ole Miss on the other hand is ranked number 13, for doing what I’m not really sure (beating Kentucky and Arkansas, two teams projected to finish near the bottom of the SEC). So on paper this shouldn’t be a game but that’s a lazy man’s perspective. Now, could Ole Miss blow out Tulane, yes. I just think this has the potential to be a game you’ll want to click over too late because Ole Miss is not the Ole Miss of the last two or three years.

Illinois vs Indiana

What To Watch For: This one’s pretty easy breakdown. Illinois is ranked number 9 and is featuring a sleeper Heisman candidate in Luke Altmyer. Indiana is ranked number 19 and sporting an early breakout QB candidate of their own in Cal transfer Fernando Mendoza. Illinois got a good win in week 2 by blowing out Duke 45-19. Aside from one semi competitive matchup with Old Dominion, Indiana has gone scorched earth on the other two non conference opponents, making them a bit tougher to read. Much like I said about the Texas Tech/Utah game, this will be another great measuring stick game for just how good some of these pre-season ranked teams are.