College Football Week 4: Coach Potato Guide To the Best Games To Watch
Week 4 of the college football season is upon us.
National championship implications abound in this week's schedule, with plenty of big conference games and several clashes between teams from the power conferences.
Here are 10 games that you should flip on the TV and enjoy this Saturday.
If I've missed a game that you'll be watching this weekend, make sure you leave it in the comments section.
No. 10: Arizona Vs. Cal
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After a big upset of Iowa at home last week, the Wildcats play host to California this week and look to build on their momentum.
Arizona is ranked 14th in the nation, and the Wildcats need to worry about a possible let-down game after a big, emotional win. California isn't the toughest opponent in the Pac-10, but the Golden Bears have the offense to give the Wildcats a run for their money if they don't show up to play on Saturday night.
It'll be interesting to see how Arizona handles the increasing national attention.
No. 9: Oklahoma Vs. Cincinnati
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While the Big East has been atrocious in non-conference games—I'm looking at you, Pittsburgh—I'm watching this one to see how the Sooners handle an opponent they should dominate.
Oklahoma has struggled mightily this year in the transition from the Sam Bradford era. I thought the Sooners had turned it around when they blew the doors off of the Seminoles, but Oklahoma has struggled since that game.
The Sooners are inexperienced, and I just don't think Bob Stoops is a great coach, especially in big games. Stoops will lead them to success sooner or later, but he's treading water a bit this year.
No. 8: Florida Vs. Kentucky
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Florida is another team that has struggled in the transition away from a great quarterback. John Brantley has to fill the enormous shoes of Tim Tebow and the Gators have had to plug that hole along with plenty of others after losing talent to the draft.
The Gators are still finding their stride and they'll take on undefeated Kentucky. I'm curious to see how Florida will respond, especially with all of the talk surrounding the program about the large number of arrests that have happened on the team since Urban Meyer took over as head coach.
I think Florida will respond well but it'll be interesting to see if the Wildcats can pull a shocker.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 7: TCU Vs. SMU
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With all of the talk about Boise State, no one's talking about how if the Broncos lose, TCU will be right there in prime position to be another BCS buster who could make it to the national title game.
The Horned Frogs are currently ranked fourth in the nation and any slip ups ahead will have TCU in prime position to get one of the two spots in the title game. The Horned Frogs already beat Oregon State in the season opener and you know TCU is going to be watching with extreme interest as Boise State plays the Beavers on Saturday night.
I think TCU will take care of business but I think they're going to do it with some style points.
No. 6: Stanford Vs. Notre Dame
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Notre Dame has come up with the short end of the stick the last two weeks with tough losses against Michigan and Michigan State and I want to see how Brian Kelly can rally the troops up for another big game, this time against Stanford.
The Cardinal are ranked 16th in the nation and a win for Notre Dame would get some of the prominence and hype back that they lost with two losses already this season. The Fighting Irish haven't exactly been impressive and I expected that. It will take a while for Kelly to get his guys into the system and get things rolling.
However, a win tomorrow and it would be a big momentum boost for Notre Dame
No. 5: Texas Vs. UCLA
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One of the bigger cross-conference matchups this week is Texas playing host to UCLA. The last time the Bruins traveled to Austin, they thrashed the Longhorns to the tune of 66-3 in 1997.
However, times have changed and UCLA has lost 15 straight road games against ranked teams and currently share the worst record in the Pac 10. At the same time, Texas has won 17 straight games at home in non-conference play.
It's not going to be pretty for UCLA but I'm watching to get a look at the maturation of Garrett Gilbert, who's tenure started with the national championship game last winter.
No. 4: LSU Vs. West Virginia
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This is the biggest test for a team in the Big East this week as the Mountaineers will travel south to take on LSU in Baton Rouge.
Going into that environment is tough even for the most battle-tested SEC teams and I'm not sure West Virginia is going to like the result they're going to get. However, with the speed of West Virginia and the solid quarterback play they've been getting from Geno Smith, anything can happen.
This is the type of game that could save Bill Stewart's job in Morgantown with a victory. However, I'm not sure that's going to happen for Stewart and the Mountaineeers.
No. 3: South Carolina Vs. Auburn
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One of the bigger SEC games on the schedule, South Carolina plays Auburn, who is coming off of a hard-fought victory against Clemson last week.
I'm not really buying into Auburn just yet. Clemson had chances to win that game or extend it in overtime and just had some bad breaks. It will be tough for the Tigers to rebound so quickly and take on South Carolina but hosting the game should help matters for Auburn.
The Gamecocks are underdogs in this game and I think South Carolina is going to use that as a motivating factor heading into Saturday.
No. 2: Alabama Vs. Arkansas
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The biggest SEC game on the schedule features the national champs heading to Arkansas to take on Ryan Mallett and the Razorbacks.
I'm looking for Mallett to make some big plays against this Alabama secondary. There have been plays open against them this year that opponents simply have just missed the chance to make. Mallett will be the best quarterback the Crimson Tide will have seen all year and I think he will make things happen for Arkansas.
If the Razorbacks can slow Alabama's fearsome running attack, it will put Arkansas in a great position to walk away with the win on Saturday.
No. 1: Boise State Vs. Oregon State
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This is the big game this week. College Gameday will be there under the prime time lights on Saturday night.
Boise State doesn't just need to win this game, they need to win it by a wide margin. If the Broncos don't beat up on Oregon State so badly that people just say "wow," they might as well kiss their chance at the national championship goodbye because Virginia Tech's awful performance against James Madison destroyed the credibility of that win in most people's eyes.
I think the Broncos will win, but maybe not with the style that they need to help their national championship hopes.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
