4 Weeks in and now we start to get into the thick of things with more conference matchups, top 25 battles, and rivalry matches. Let’s go over which games I have my eye on headed into week 5.
Thursday, September 25
East Carolina vs Army
We get 1 Thursday game again this week, and as far as G5 matches go this one should be pretty interesting as a primetime game.
Friday, September 26
Virginia vs Florida State
Arizona State vs TCU
Oregon State vs Houston
We get a tripleheader of power conference matchups, that is if you count Oregon State, on Friday night. Florida State gets a slight test on the road but is still expected to beat Virginia. The most interesting game of the group though is Arizona State vs TCU with both teams battling for position in the Big 12.
Saturday, September 27
12:00 EST – Illinois vs USC
Arkansas vs Notre Dame
Syracuse vs Duke
These are the 3 that jumped out to me in the opening slate. I am very interested in what comes of Notre Dame, especially in what can almost be considered a trap game. Illinois vs USC is a double ranked matchup and Syracuse is an intriguing team to me.
12:45 – Vanderbilt vs Utah State
1:00 – Central Michigan vs Eastern Michigan
1:30 – James Madison vs Georgia Southern
3:00 – UL Monroe vs Arkansas State
Only games in these time slots, they overlap with better games but might be worth a tune into after the first slate ends.
3:30 – Ole Miss vs LSU
Texas A&M vs Auburn
Washington vs Ohio State
Ole Miss vs LSU leads this slate as one of the best games of the week. Texas A&M & Auburn should be an entertaining SEC clash as well.
4:00 – Tulsa vs Tulane
4:10 – Air Force vs Hawai’i
4:15 – Mississippi State vs Tennessee
Another of what I call an intermediate slate, Mississippi State vs Tennessee has potential to be a worthwhile watch.
6:00 – Old Dominion vs Liberty
6:30 – Western Michigan vs Rhode Island
7:00 – Iowa State vs Arizona
A few more in between games, Iowa State vs Arizona has potential to be a great game, ODU vs Liberty has some appeal as well.
7:30 – Penn State vs Oregon
Georgia vs Alabama
I only listed 2 games for this slate because they might be the 2 best games of the week, and unfortunately they are on at the same time
7:45 – South Carolina vs Kentucky
8:00 – Louisiana vs Marshall
9:00 – UTEP vs Louisiana Tech
10:15 – Colorado vs BYU
Final group of games from the week will be worth tuning into after the 7:30 games finish up. I am especially interested in South Carolina’s performance as well as BYU.
Hot Takes:
1. 7+ Top 25 teams lose this week
4 Top 25 matchups guarantee at least 4 losses but Florida State, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Iowa State, and BYU are less than 7 point favorites and TCU is actually an underdog in their matchup. I think the bottom of the top 25 right now is weak and we could see some major shakeup with 7 teams losing this week.
2. Ole Miss, Georgia, and Penn State win their matchups by a combined 30 points
These 3 ranked clashes are seen as tight matches that could go either way by most. While it may not be the hottest take in the world to pick all 3 home favorites, I would pick the same 3 teams if all 3 games were at a neutral site. I think they all win by at least 7, and combine for 30 points more than their opponents in LSU, Alabama, and Oregon.
3. 6+ Big 12 Teams win on the road this week
The Big 12 plays 8 games this week and I think the road teams run away with it. 4 road teams are favored this week but TCU @ Arizona State, Cincinnati @ Kansas, UCF @ Kansas State, and Arizona @ Iowa State all have a chance to pull an upset off.
