Why College Football Fans Should Prepare for Chaos in Week 4

College football fans, get your ice packs and ointment ready for all the jaw-dropping that will happen this weekend.

Not even a quarter of the way through the season and we’ve already had a year’s worth of craziness, chaos and wild action.

What have we learned from all this? Expect the unexpected. Not just this weekend, but for every Saturday until December...when it becomes a daily expectation thanks to bowl season.

Expect GIF-worthy moments

Expect ridiculous penalties called, such as for phantom punches that don't land. That's what happened when BYU center Tejan Koroma tried to swing at a Houston blocker but ended up getting only air, yet he was ejected.

Expect players, coaches and fans to act and react in ways that only a few of us will notice in real time but thanks to the beauty of the Internet will get captured (and looped into an animated GIF, or a Vine) for posterity so that we can all enjoy it over and over again.

Like this awesome display of ball boy speed:

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Auburn's ball boy has wheels  | https://t.co/qSUYa460lg

— Six Second Sports™ (@SixSecSports) August 30, 2014"

Or footage from one of the worst fake punts in college football history, but will forever be remembered for one player executing the "fainting goat" in an effort to trick the defense:

The big touchdowns and long runs will get plenty of views on TV and online in video form, but it's the little, off-the-wall moments that stick with us.

Expect the skies to open up

Through three weeks there have been more than a dozen games delayed by lightning and rain, including one cancellation with Florida's opener against Idaho washed out Aug. 30 after The Swamp became a, well, swamp and too many bolts hit too close to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.

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And with the remnants of a hurricane that hit Mexico and rolled into the Southwest U.S. expected to impact weather throughout the Midwest on Saturday, storm delays are possible.

Expect a major upset. Or several

There weren't many people who predicted Virginia Tech to go to Ohio Stadium and beat Ohio State in Week 2, and even fewer who picked Boston College to rise up and run past USC in Week 3. Some backed Texas A&M at South Carolina in Week 1, but to project the Aggies would not only win but dominate, that wasn't part of anyone's expectations.

That means teams like Oregon (at Washington State), Oklahoma (at West Virginia) and Wisconsin (vs. Bowling Green), among others, should be on upset alert.

It also means the 11 FBS schools playing FCS teams this week shouldn't be surprised if that team that got paid a lot of money to come in and (presumably) lose big decides to actually put up a fight. Five FCS teams have won already this season, and though North Dakota State's win at Iowa State counted as the most significant there were several other close calls.

Purdue is hosting a 3-0 Southern Illinois team, and could join that infamous list this Saturday.

Expect to be entertained

Even with nearly 20 percent of FBS teams on a bye this week, including nine ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, there are only a handful of big-time matchups on the schedule. One of those kicks off the slate on Thursday night, between Auburn and Kansas State, while on Saturday we'll see four conference games pitting unbeaten teams against each other.

But if the first few weeks have taught us, the best games don't have to be the most anticipated ones. Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee went three overtimes last week, as did Florida and Kentucky, while last Friday a quarterback who was top-rated passer in the 2012 recruiting class went out and had the kind of debut—Gunner Kiel threw for 418 yards and six touchdowns in Cincinnati's 59-38 win over Toledo—that made it hard to believe he had to sit out two seasons before getting into a game.

What will wow us this weekend? We can't say for certain, but we do know this: when it happens, we should have been expecting it.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.