Tucker’s Top 10: Week 4 College Football Matchups

Written By Tucker Harlin

By Tucker Harlin

We’ll be a third of the way through the college football season by the time this week ends. Wrap your head around that.

Week 4 is usually the week when we begin to see less of the awful non-conference matchups and are entertained by high stakes conference matchups instead.

Only one of my Top 10 matchups in Week 4 is a non conference game, but it’s a traditional rivalry. Oddly, four of the in-conference matchups are between teams meeting for the first time as conference foes, and one of those is a first ever meeting.

I was only 5/10 last week on my Top 10 games living up to the hype, but I’m optimistic I’ll do better as we get further into conference play.

10. CALIFORNIA (3-0) @ FLORIDA STATE (0-3)- FSU -2, 7 PM ESPN2

Schadenfreude is a term used to describe the feeling of enjoyment one gets when watching someone else suffer.

Many fan bases in the college football landscape have Schadenfreude when watching the 2024 Florida State Seminoles.

D.J. Uiagelelei is somehow worse than he was at Clemson at the start of his career and the Seminoles have been manhandled on both sides of the line of scrimmage all season. This team really won 13 games last year, complained about exclusion from the playoffs when its star quarterback went down, and has now lost four straight games in pathetic fashion dating back to the 63-3 beatdown in took in the Orange Bowl.

Adding to the bizarre intrigue of this game is the behavior of Cal fans on the interwebs ahead of this game.

Here’s an example:

As for the game itself, these two teams have never played before. The Noles are slight favorites, but it would be the least surprising thing ever if Cal came out on top.

9. IOWA (2-1) @ MINNESOTA (2-1)- IOWA -2.5, 7:30 PM NBC

Credit: University of Minnesota Athletics

The Floyd of Rosedale has to be one of the coolest trophies in all of college football.

The Golden Gophers lead the Hawkeyes 63-52-2 all time, but the Hawkeyes have won more often than not within the last 40 years, including eight straight from 2015-2022.

As crazy as this may sound, the Hawkeyes are actually averaging just shy of 33 points per game, something Brian Ferentz could only dream of when he was the OC.

Minnesota is the same ground and pound, boat rowing offense that depends heavily on its defense under P.J. Fleck.

A Minnesota team that finished the year 5-7 left Iowa City with a 12-10 win over the last ever Big 10 West champion, and I’m sure whoever wins this time around will do so in similar fashion.

8. TCU (2-1) @ SMU (2-1)- TCU -3, 5 PM CW

The Iron Skillet only has two more scheduled meetings (this being one) so enjoy it while it lasts.

The Horned Frogs lead the series 53-42-7 all time and Sonny Dykes has won each of the last four.

SMU has gotten less than desired results out of Preston Stone so far, leading Rhett Lashlee to turn to Kevin Jennings at quarterback this week. Jennings played in much of the Mustangs’ loss to BYU in Week 2, a rather horrific outing where he finished the day just 15/32 for 140 yards and a pick.

The Horned Frogs are coming off the heartbreaker of heartbreakers, a loss to UCF in which they surrendered a touchdown in the final minute and missed a game winning field goal from 58 yards out in the final seconds.

TCU has definitely been the stronger of the two on the offensive end to start the season, so as long as the defense hold Kevin Jennings in check this could be a blowout for TCU. But if the Horned Frogs can’t slow down the Mustangs, the result could be similar to their game against UCF last week.

7. FLORIDA (1-2) @ MISSISSIPPI STATE (1-2)- FLA -5.5, NOON ESPN

Credit: Mississippi State University Athletics

These two last met in Starkville back in 2018, Florida prevailing 13-6 thanks a well drawn safety blitz on a 4th and 10.

There is a very sick and twisted part of me that lives for awful yet competitive football games like the one we’re about to watch in Starkville this weekend.

Both of these teams are coming off horrible losses in Week 3.

Mississippi State was pounded at home in a 41-17 loss to Toledo, a game in which the Rockets quarterback absolutely carved up the Bulldogs defense. That was a week after they had surrendered 346 rush yards to Arizona State. The offense looks fine through the air, but the line gets no push to help the rush attack.

But at least Mississippi State has some hope for things to get better in the near future, unlike its opponent.

Florida was beaten thoroughly by a decent but rebuilding Texas A&M team on its home turf in Week 3. The Gators can’t settle on a quarterback right now and the fan base wants nothing more than to chase Billy Napier out of Gainesville on foot.

Here’s the real question.

Is it better to: A. Win decisively in Starkville to delay the inevitable OR B. Lose to Mississippi State to speed up the process? Florida fans and fans of other SEC schools have differing answers.

I fully anticipate a close game full of competitive, terrible football in Davis Wade Stadium Saturday.

6. GEORGIA TECH (3-1) @ #19 LOUISVILLE (2-0)- LOU -10.5, 3:30 PM ESPN2

Credit: Georgia Tech Athletics

These two ACC foes don’t have a whole lot of history as all three of their meetings are in the last six years.

The two opened the 2023 season with a terrific battle in the Mercedes-Benz Dome on a Friday with the Cardinals coming back to win 39-34.

The Cardinals sure are getting a lot of love for wins over Austin Peay and Jacksonville State. They started the season unranked and moved up to #19 in the poll after those two games. I don’t know, maybe it has something to do with the fact Harrison Bailey’s on the roster.

Georgia Tech had the benefit of playing a standalone game in Week 0 against Florida State and exposing what was then the #10 team in the country. The Yellowjackets stumbled at Syracuse in Week 2, but the Orange is one of the more underrated bunches in the ACC.

The Cardinals’ best path to victory is if Tyler Shough is able to recreate the performance Kyle McCord had two weeks ago, which would take a lot because McCord is a much better quarterback. The battle tested Yellowjackets can absolutely give the Cardinals fits on the ground should they not be ready for it.

Regardless, the spread is way too generous to Louisville. The Yellowjackets should cover.

5. ARKANSAS (2-1) @ AUBURN (2-1)- AUB -3, 3:30 PM ESPN

Credit: Auburn University Athletics

Auburn has won eight of 10 against Arkansas, and the most recent meeting ended in a 48-10 beatdown in Fayetteville.

Both of these teams have started the season on a rough note with deflating non conference losses in Week 2 and group of five wins in Week 3 that left a lot to be desired.

Auburn has experimented at quarterback by starting Hank Brown over Payton Thorne against New Mexico. Brown performed at an optimal level against the Lobos, but the only competition he’s seen comparable to the Razorbacks was when he was brought in during a 31-13 blowout loss to Maryland in the Music City Bowl.

There’s no doubt Arkansas will do everything it can to win this game on the ground. Ja’Quinden Jackson will be the strongest running back the Tigers will have faced to this point, and Taylen Green is going to pose a threat to the defense both through the air and on the ground.

No matter which side of the game you’re on, it’s a metaphorical fork in the road for both programs.

For Auburn, Hugh Freeze’s options are to take a step in putting Auburn back on the map of SEC relevance or delay the rebuild another year until Walker White or a transfer can make thing right at quarterback.

For Arkansas, you either win one of the handful of games you have a shot in or take another step toward what felt like an inevitable firing of Sam Pittman before the season started.

4. #24 ILLINOIS (3-0) @ #22 NEBRASKA (3-0) (Friday)- NEB -8, 8 PM FOX

Credit: University of Illinois Athletics

Happy Nebrnois week to all who observe.

The Cornhuskers are 7-4 against the Illini as a Big 10 program, but last year’s win for the Cornhuskers in Champaign broke a three year losing streak.

Dylan Raiola is the best thing that’s happened to the Nebraska football program in well over a decade, even if he’s just a goofy Mahomes impersonator.

But Illinois is by far the biggest test for the Huskers at this point in the season. They’ve played FCS Northern Iowa and what’s basically an FCS equivalent in UTEP. The only power conference foe they’ve faced is a Colorado program that isn’t serious about winning.

Between the two, Illinois’ win over Kansas has to be the best looking. The Jayhawks don’t have the explosive capability they did a season ago on offense, and the Illini defense turned Jalon Daniels over four times in the 23-17 win.

Illinois is only able to win this game if it slows it down to an optimal tempo for its offense to work with. If Raiola goes out there and starts slinging the football around the yard, I don’t see a way Nebraska loses.

3. #11 USC (2-0) @ #18 MICHIGAN (2-1)- USC -5.5, 3:30 PM CBS

Fun fact: eight of the Trojans and Wolverines’ 10 meetings are Rose Bowls.

Their last meeting in the regular season was the back end of a home and home in 1958, but this will be their first contest as conference opponents.

The Trojans enjoyed a week off last week while the Wolverines won in ugly fashion against Arkansas State in Ann Arbor last weekend. Part of the ugly was Davis Warren’s three interceptions, prompting Sherrone Moore to make a change at quarterback in favor of Alex Orji.

The Wolverines had better hope Orji is the answer at quarterback because the last time they faced a team that aired the ball out, it didn’t end well for them.

The athletes surrounding Miller Moss on offense are something Michigan isn’t used to seeing in conference play, and USC (at least two games in) appears far more disciplined on defense this season.

The 5.5 feels too kind toward Michigan. I think USC could win this one by two scores.

2. #12 UTAH (3-0) @ #14 OKLAHOMA STATE (3-0)- UTAH -2, 4 PM FOX

A fight for a Big 12 championship berth could very well be on the line in Stillwater Saturday.

It’s funny to type that out knowing the last time these two met was in a 1945 non conference game. Both quarterbacks were wee lads at that point and both coaches were just getting their careers off the ground.

In all seriousness, the combined age of Cam Rising and Alan Bowman is 49 years and the combined tenures of Kyle Whittingham and Mike Gundy at their respective institutions comes out to 40 years.

On the note of Rising, it sounds like he will play this week after sat out last week’s win over Utah State and the second half of the Baylor game with an injury.

The matchup to watch here will be the Oklahoma State offense against the Utah defense. We’ve seen flaws in the Pokes’ defense once against a run heavy offense in Arkansas, and it could very well be a problem against the Utes. All that to say Oklahoma State is in desperate need of a strong offensive outing to get a win over Utah Saturday

1. #6 TENNESSEE (3-0) @ #15 OKLAHOMA (3-0)- TENN -7, 7:30 PM ABC

Credit: University of Oklahoma Athletics

There are simply too many big storylines involved in Tennessee’s trip to Oklahoma to not put it at #1.

For one, it’s Oklahoma’s first SEC game, something ESPN understood when sending College GameDay to Norman.

On the Tennessee side, Josh Heupel and Joey Halzle return to Norman for the first time since Heupel was fired from his offensive coordinator position by Bob Stoops.

While Tennessee’s offense has always been the focal point in the Josh Heupel era, the Vols are just as sound on the defensive end to start the season. They are averaging a 64-4 victory in the first three weeks of the season.

Oklahoma is also 3-0, but its victories have been a bit tighter than Tennessee’s. After its blowout win against Temple, Oklahoma struggled to a 16-12 victory over a bad Houston team and followed that with another 34-19 survival against Tulane.

Surprisingly, the most impressive part of this Sooners team through three weeks has to be the defense.

Maybe it’s not all that surprising considering Brent Venables’ history as a defensive mind, but the offense is not performing at the level we’re used to seeing.

Jackson Arnold was a coveted recruit in the 2023 class, but he’s been unable to avoid turnover troubles in three of his four games to begin his time as the Sooners’ starter. Additionally, the third down efficiency from the Sooners has been pretty rough, the best outing an 8/16 performance against Tulane last week.

The final and most concerning issue for the Sooners is injury troubles. Arnold is down two receivers in Jayden Gibson for the season and Jalil Farooq for several more weeks. The offensive line has also dealt with its fair share of injuries, something a group largely comprised of transfers can ill afford.

Keep your eyes on the line of scrimmage when Oklahoma has the ball. The injury riddled offensive line will have its work cut out against a stout Vols defensive front.

Tucker Harlin
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