The theme of college football’s Week 4 schedule is teams in big games making their debuts in new conferences. A number of teams are going right into the deep end of their new conferences with marquee matchups.
No. 15 Oklahoma hosts No. 6 Tennessee in the headliner this week. The Sooners are making their SEC debut in primetime. While Tennessee has been blowing away its opposition, which other than NC State has been weak, OU has seen Houston and Tulane hang around in Norman into the fourth quarter. The Vols are favored by about a touchdown on the road.
No. 11 USC is also making a noteworthy conference debut. The Trojans open Big Ten play at No. 18 Michigan. The Trojans already have a quality win against LSU while the Wolverines have a quarterback problem. Davis Warren has thrown six interceptions through three games, leading to Alex Orji being named Michigan’s starter for this one. Orji is a dangerous running threat, but has yet to show he can be a competent passer as well. USC is favored on the road against the defending champs.
In the Big 12, No. 12 Utah goes to No. 14 Oklahoma State in the Utes’ first Big 12 game. The Cowboys are barely favored in a big game in what is expected to be a wide open conference race.
For the second week in a row there is a top-25 matchup on Friday night. No. 22 Nebraska hosts No. 24 Illinois with the Huskers favored by more than a touchdown. Nebraska’s best win is only Colorado, although freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola has looked good early. Meanwhile, Illinois knocked off a Kansas team that was ranked but is now 1-2. It’s so early that, despite being ranked, we don’t know if either of these teams are any good, but it’s an intriguing matchup on a Friday night.
Elsewhere, the search for Florida State’s first win goes on. The Seminoles host Cal, making its ACC debut, and are small favorites to avoid going 0-4.
There weren’t many upsets last week. The only top 25 teams to lose, Arizona and Boston College, did so at the hands of other top 25 teams. Will this week see more chaos?
Three top 25 teams are on bye this week: No. 2 Georgia, No. 4 Alabama and No. 9 Oregon. Georgia could perhaps be in need of the bye after squeaking by Kentucky. The bye will allow Kirby Smart another seven days to yell at his team for that performance. Georgia and Alabama face off next week and both will be coming in off a bye.
Here are the odds and schedule for every game featuring an AP Top 25 team, plus a few other notable games in Week 4.
Odds update live and are from BetMGM. All kickoff times are Eastern. Rankings from the AP Poll. For information on streaming, click here.
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Friday, Sept. 20
No. 24 Illinois at No. 22 Nebraska — 8 p.m. on FOX
Saturday, Sept. 14
Marshall at No. 3 Ohio State — Noon on FOX
NC State at No. 21 Clemson — Noon on ABC
Kent State at No. 10 Penn State — 3:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network
No. 11 USC at No. 18 Michigan — 3:30 p.m. on CBS
Miami (Ohio) at No. 17 Notre Dame — 3:30 p.m. on NBC
Georgia Tech at No. 19 Louisville — 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2
Buffalo at No. 23 Northern Illinois — 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+
UCLA at No. 16 LSU — 3:40 p.m. on ABC
No. 12 Utah at No. 14 Oklahoma State — 4 p.m. on FOX
Vanderbilt at No. 7 Missouri — 4:15 p.m. on SEC Network
No. 8 Miami at South Florida — 7 p.m. on ESPN
Cal at Florida State — 7 p.m. on ESPN2
No. 6 Tennessee at No. 15 Oklahoma — 7:30 p.m. on ABC
Bowling Green at No. 25 Texas A&M — 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
Georgia Southern at No. 5 Ole Miss — 7:45 p.m. on SEC Network
UL Monroe at No. 1 Texas — 8 p.m. on ESPN+
Michigan State at Boston College — 8 p.m. on ACC Network
Baylor at Colorado — 8 p.m. on FOX
No. 13 Kansas State at BYU — 10:30 p.m. on ESPN
(Photo of Nico Iamaleava: Brandon Sumrall / Getty Images)
