This Weekend in College Football: Week 4

Once again, this is going to be the express edition because a) I am tired and b) I haven’t actually watched like any games in the first three weeks. Expect a proper writeup next week.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech (ESPN): Both these teams have had what one might generously call “up-and-down” seasons so far. After beating Ohio State by two touchdowns, VPI lost to East Carolina. But wait, haven’t I in this column been saying like all summer that ECU is a very common darkhourse? So it’s not like they should’ve been surprised.
    Meanwhile, Georgia Tech has yet to play a coherent game of football. They’ve had excellent halves, sure. But the second half against Georgia Southern was basically a disaster. The first half against Tulane was similarly puzzling. There’s maybe a good team somewhere in that jumble, but with the ACC slate now completely in front of us we really need to figure out it out starting immediately.
  • Bowling Green @ Wisconsin (ESPN2): Wisconsin.
  • Iowa @ Pittsburgh (ESPNU): Pitt.
  • Western Illinois @ Northwestern (ESPNEWS): Northwestern.
  • Old Dominion @ Rice (FSN): Rice.
  • Troy @ Georgia (SEC): Georgia. (Seriously. Troy is super bad this year. They lost to Abilene Christian last week. Abilene Christian is a transitional FCS team. As in, they just moved up. To FCS.)
  • Eastern Michigan @ Michigan State (BTN): Sparty.

12:30:

  • Maryland @ Syracuse (ACC): Not a conference game! Also this one is hard to call. Maryland?
  • Tulane @ Duke (ACC/RSN): Duke.

2:00: Hawaii @ Colorado (Pac12): Colorado.

3:30:

  • Florida @ Alabama (CBS): Alabama.
  • Utah @ Michigan (ABC/ESPN2): Michigan.
  • Texas Agricultural and Mechanical @ Southern Methodist (ABC/ESPN2): TAMU.
  • Virginia @ Brigham Young (ESPN): BYU, though I’m having a hard time dealing with the reality that UVA might not be awful this year.
  • North Carolina @ East Carolina (ESPNU): ECU.
  • Louisville @ Florida International (FS1): Louisville.
  • Central Michigan @ Kansas (FSN): Central Michigan.
  • Rutgers @ Navy (CBSS): Navy?

4:00:

  • Texas State @ Illinois (ESPNEWS): Illinois.
  • Massachusetts @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): Penn State.
  • San Jose State @ Minnesota (BTN): Minnesota.
  • Indiana @ Missouri (SEC): Mizzou.

6:00: Georgia State @ Washington (Pac12): UDub.

7:00:

  • Mississippi State @ Louisiana State (ESPN): LSU.
  • Northern Illinois @ Arkansas (ESPNU): Arkansas.
  • Miami @ Cincinnati (CBSS): Ciny.

7:30

  • Oklahoma @ West Virginia (FOX): Oklahoma.
  • South Carolina @ Vanderbilt (SEC): South Carolina. (Seriously, what the hell happened to Vandy?)

8:00

  • Clemson @ Florida State (ABC): FSU? (Downgraded from a ‘.’ with Winston being suspended for the whole game.)
  • Miami @ Nebraska (ESPN2): Nebraska.

10:00: California @ Arizona (Pac12): Cal? (This would be their first conference win since… October 2012. Hard to tell at this point, though. This is the first week of conference play in most leagues, which is at least nice because in a couple weeks we’ll start to have a much more coherent picture of the landscape.)

10:30:

  • Oregon @ Washington State (ESPN): Oregon.
  • San Diego State @ Oregon State (FS1): Oregon State?
  • Louisiana-Lafayette @ Boise State (CBSS): Boise.