College football Week 4: Scores, Top 25 analysis, game picks, news and highlights

NCAAF

College football’s Week 4 has arrived with a slate of important games that could start to shape conference races. Here’s how to watch, along with our picks, news updates and highlights that include a crowd-surfing coach after Tulane’s huge, last-second win on Thursday night.

Jump to:

Top 25 games | Best of Week 4

Injury updates and latest news

Picks and gambling tips

play

2:48

After a rough Week 3, Scott Van Pelt picks his winners for Week 4 of the college football season.


Week 4’s best moments

Hello from the other side
You can try a thousand times. But that’s now how it works.

play

0:22

J.T. Shrout attempts to talk into a telephone without picking up the handset.

A striking celebration
Rutgers offensive lineman Michael Maietti has an interesting touchdown celebration, just straight-up [punching quarterback Artur Sitkowski](https://twitter.com/espn/status/1175458088813551616) in the face.

Stonewalled
Watch LSU’s Adrian Magee (No. 73) crush two defenders in the middle of the line who are attempting to rush Joe Burrow.

play

0:29

LSU OL Adrian Magee levels two defenders with huge blocks as Joe Burrow finds Stephen Sullivan with a 28-yard pass.

Atop the Wave
Houston raced out to a 28-7 lead on Tulane in the second quarter on Thursday night. But after the Green Wave rallied, Houston kicked a field goal to tie the game 31-31 with 21 seconds remaining, with overtime seeming imminent. However, the Green Wave pulled off a remarkable combo to shock the Cougars. After a fake kneel-down led to an 18-yard run, Justin McMillan hit Jalen McCleskey over the middle and McCleskey broke away to score a 53-yard touchdown with three seconds left.

play

1:03

Justin McMillan finds Jalen McCleskey down the middle for a 53-yard touchdown, giving Tulane the lead over Houston with three seconds left.

Green Wave coach Willie Fritz followed it up with a little crowd-surfing in the locker room.

SVP vs. sucker MCs
LSU shouted out Scott Van Pelt in its uniform reveal for the week, using a clip from his show and turning him into a rapper in the process.

Ratted out the social media folks

Jalen Hurts might have left Alabama, but Alabama hasn’t left him. Two years after Nick Saban’s infamous “rat poison” rant — about how the media is saying too many good things about his team and making players overconfident — Hurts delivered the same message via an Oklahoma social media post about the Sooners’ top-ranked offense (you may have to click to see his reply).

Kickin’ it up a notch

FIU defensive lineman David Reynolds snags a heads-up interception off the foot of a teammate when Louisiana Tech quarterback J’Mar Smith was trying to throw it away.

Dawg bite
Former Georgia coach and ACC Network analyst Mark Richt gives his legendary 10-bite sandwich breakdown to get you ready for in-game snacking action.


Top 25 games

Miami (Ohio) at No. 6 Ohio State
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
How to watch: Big Ten Network
Line: Ohio State -38.5
And our best line: Ohio State is 26-0 all-time against MAC teams, winning those games by an average of 28.3 points per game.

No. 8 Auburn at No. 17 Texas A&M
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
How to watch: CBS
Line: Texas A&M -4
And our best line: Since Texas A&M joined the SEC in 2012, the road team has won six of the seven meetings between these teams. The lone exception was last season, when Auburn overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 28-24.

No. 15 UCF at Pittsburgh
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
How to watch: ABC and ESPN App
Line: UCF -11
And our best line: UCF has won 27 straight non-bowl games, the longest active streak in FBS, but is 1-7 all-time in road games against ACC teams.

No. 22 Washington at BYU
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
How to watch: ABC and ESPN App
Line: Washington -6.5
And our best line: Washington plays its first road game of the season. The Huskies have lost four of their past six games as road favorites dating back to 2017.

SMU at No. 25 TCU
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
How to watch: FS1
Line: TCU -8.5
And our best line: This will be the 99th meeting between TCU and SMU in the Battle for the Iron Skillet. The Horned Frogs have won seven straight and are 15-2 against the Mustangs under coach Gary Patterson.

No. 16 Oregon at Stanford
Time: 7 p.m. ET
How to watch: ESPN and ESPN App
Line: Oregon -10.5
And our best line: Stanford is the only team in the Pac-12 with a winning record versus Oregon this decade. Oregon’s three-game losing streak against Stanford is its longest since 1995-97.

Old Dominion at No. 21 Virginia
Time: 7 p.m. ET
How to watch: ESPN2 and ESPN App
Line: Virginia -28
And our best line: Old Dominion is 1-9 when facing ACC opponents since its FBS transition season of 2013. But the Monarchs’ one win came against No. 13 Virginia Tech last season.

Charlotte at No. 1 Clemson
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
How to watch: ACC Network and ESPN App
Line: Clemson -41.5
And our best line: Clemson is looking for its 14th straight win by at least 14 points, which would tie the third-longest such streak in the AP poll era.

Oklahoma State at No. 12 Texas
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
How to watch: ABC and ESPN App
Line: Texas -6.5
And our best line: Oklahoma State has won the past four against Texas and seven of the past nine, including five straight wins in Austin. That is the longest home losing streak against any team in Texas history.

No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 3 Georgia
Time: 8 p.m. ET
How to watch: CBS
Line: Georgia -14.5
And our best line: Over the past 25 years, Notre Dame teams in the top 10 are 3-13 when facing another top-10 team.

Colorado at No. 24 Arizona State
Time: 10 p.m. ET
How to watch: Pac-12 Network
Line: Arizona State -8
And our best line: Since Herm Edwards took over last season, the Sun Devils are 5-1 in games decided by three points or fewer, most in the FBS over that span.

UCLA at No. 19 Washington State
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
How to watch: ESPN and ESPN App
Line: Washington State -18.5
And our best line: With a loss, UCLA would start 0-4 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1920-21. Chip Kelly didn’t lose more than three games in any of his four seasons at Oregon.

What the results mean

USC 30, No. 10 Utah 23
Utah looked nothing like a fringe CFP contender at USC, and the Utes have much to clean up if they want to challenge for their first Pac-12 title. A veteran team built on discipline and not beating itself must take a long look in the mirror after committing 16 penalties, repeatedly coming up empty in plus territory and giving up a safety at the worst time. USC’s receivers exposed cracks in a talented but untested Utah secondary. The Utes’ hold-happy offensive line clearly needs a reset, especially if top running back Zack Moss (shoulder injury) misses any length of time. Utah can still win the Pac-12 South but needs a much cleaner performance next week against surging Washington State. — Adam Rittenberg

No. 20 Boise State 30, Air Force 19
The deeper Boise State gets into the season, the less noteworthy quarterback Hank Bachmeier‘s true freshman status becomes. On paper, the Broncos’ first third of the season figured to be more difficult than the four-game stretch they’re about to enter. Still, three of the next four games are away from the blue turf, including a trip to BYU on Oct. 19. If UCF is the favorite of the Group of 5 schools to reach a New Year’s Six bowl, then Boise State is a close second. — Kyle Bonagura

Products You May Like

Articles You May Like

Trent ties franchise mark with 9 3s to lift Bucks
Usman, back from layoff, faces Buckley June 14

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *