Week 4 Preview: Anxiety Football

The cupcake non-conference schedules are starting to finish up as college football’s version of the preseason is pretty much over. With October right around the corner, that means games with stakes are arriving on Saturday. With multiple conference matchups this weekend, things are starting to heat up.

With those stakes comes a certain amount of anxiety. Preseason hype either becomes real or fake pretty instantly once teams get into league play. For the last weekend in September, we are going to be treated to quite a few games that could create some tense moments throughout the college football landscape and create storylines for weeks to come.

Let’s dive in.

The Slate

— Virginia at Syracuse (7:00 ET Friday, ESPN)

— Maryland at No. 4 Michigan (Noon, FOX)

— Duke at Kansas (Noon, FS1)

— No. 5 Clemson at No. 21 Wake Forest (Noon, ABC)

— No. 17 Baylor at Iowa State (Noon, ESPN2)

— Missouri at Auburn (Noon, ESPN)

— TCU at SMU (Noon, ESPNU)

— Minnesota at Michigan State (3:30, Big Ten Network)

— James Madison at Appalachian State (3:30, ESPN+)

— No. 22 Texas at Texas Tech (3:30, ESPN)

— Notre Dame at North Carolina (3:30, ABC)

— No. 20 Florida at No. 11 Tennessee (3:30, CBS)

— Indiana at Cincinnati (3:30, ESPN2)

— Georgia Tech at UCF (3:30, ESPNU)

— No. 15 Oregon at Washington State (4:00, FOX)

— Marshall at Troy (7:00, NFL Network)

— No. 10 Arkansas vs. No. 23 Texas A&M (7:00, ESPN)

— Iowa at Rutgers (7:00, Big Ten Network)

— Vanderbilt at No. 2 Alabama (7:30, SEC Network)

— Wisconsin at No. 3 Ohio State (7:30, ABC)

— Kansas State at No. 6 Oklahoma (8:00, FOX)

— Boston College at Florida State (8:00, ACC Network)

— No. 7 USC at Oregon State (9:30, Pac-12 Network)

— Stanford at No. 18 Washington (10:30, FS1)

— No. 13 Utah at Arizona State (10:30, ESPN)

Gambling corner

The picks against the spread content will not slow down at Kentucky Sports Radio. Last week, the Pick 3 crew had a very solid weekend, and Luckett’s Locks was so, so close to an undefeated run. We’re all back this week with another six-pack and more picks.

Don’t be afraid to dig into some intriguing money lines.

Tennessee’s big moment

Things have gone very well in Josh Heupel’s first 16 games at Tennessee. The Vols have found a star at quarterback and have shown proof of concept with their version of Art Briles spread that uses crazy spacing to create running lanes and huge passing areas while using tempo as a major weapon. There are still big defensive questions, but the Big Orange has a great chance to record the program’s first double-digit win since 2007.

Now their long-time nemesis stands in the way.

Florida rolls into town owning a 16-1 record over the last 17 games in this series with numerous blowout wins. The Gators come into the game with some struggles as Anthony Richardson can’t get much going at quarterback, but this program should have a lot of confidence as they have owned Tennessee for the last two decades.

Tennessee is the better team, and the Vols are laying double-digits for a reason. However, Florida has been battle tested having faced a pair of top-20 teams — Kentucky and Utah — in games that were decided late in the fourth quarter. If things are close late, there could be a lot of nervous energy in Neyland Stadium.

Any result could generate crazy overreactions for a Tennessee fan base that is starving for success. In an ultimate SEC East swing game, things could get juicy in Knoxville.

Everything is bigger in Texas

There are a lot of good games on the slate this week, but you simply can’t enjoy this upcoming Saturday without having eyes on what is happening in the Lonestar State.

— Down in Dallas, TCU and SMU will be battling for the Iron Skillet as Sonny Dykes makes his return to Gerald J. Ford Stadium. In last year’s season-finale, fans heckled Dykes during a home loss to Tulsa when reports leaked that the head coach was taking the job with crosstown rival TCU. Since then, SMU brought back former offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee as these two programs are very familiar with each other. Expect some offensive fireworks and a pumped up crowd.

— Moving over to West Texas, Steve Sarkisian’s Texas program will hit the road for the first time this season after an impressive start to the season. The Longhorns look like a Big 12 contender, but they must get by a Texas Tech program with an Air Raid offense and a new energy under new coach Joey McGuire. Expect a jacked up crowd at Jones AT&T Stadium.

— For the night cap, Texas A&M and Arkansas will meet at the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington. The Aggies got a much-needed home win against Miami last week, and Arkansas is off to a quick 3-0 start and will bring a top-10 ranking to the contest. The old Southwest rivalry usually provides fireworks as the winner could emerge as Alabama’s top competitor in the SEC West.

Everything is truly bigger in Texas this weekend.

Significant games in the Pac-12

Quietly, the Pac-12 has made an early statement to begin the 2022 season. Both Oregon and Washington picked up big ranked home wins last weekend. Washington State currently owns a road win against Wisconsin. USC looks like a legit top-10 team. The often maligned conference has made some early noise and will have a pair of huge conference games this week.

— Oregon at Washington State: Dan Lanning’s first Oregon team has bounced back strong as the Ducks have been an efficiency machine led by Auburn transfer Bo Nix. Now the quack attack heads to the Palouse to face a Washington State team playing good defense tagged with an Air Raid offense. The winner could be in the early driver’s seat in the North.

— USC at Oregon State: Lincoln Riley’s first offense is putting up monster numbers, and quarterback Caleb Williams looks like the early Heisman Trophy frontrunner, but the Trojans can’t stop the run. That is dangerous heading to Corvallis going against an Oregon State offense that does a great job of scheming up the ground game. There could be some big fireworks at Reser Stadium (too bad the game is on the Pac-12 Network).

It’s your time to shine, Pac-12. Let’s see what you got.

Luckett’s notebook

— Could Saturday be the final straw for Bryan Harsin at Auburn? We’ve already seen both Nebraska and Arizona State make changes as the Tigers need to get off the mat with Missouri rolling into town. Eliah Drinkwitz’s third team has quietly been sneaky good on defense and has a huge opportunity on Saturday to pickup a signature win. Another home loss for War Eagle could start a coaching search on the Plains.

— Speaking of in-season firings, it seems headed in that direction at Colorado. The Buffs went winless in the non-conference and were outscored 128-30. Karl Dorrell’s seat is very hot after athletic director Rick George apologized to the fan base this week. UCLA is a four-possession road favorite and could put an end to Dorrell’s tenure with a big win in Boulder.

— Kansas football is undefeated and sold out its stadium for a contest with undefeated Duke. Good for Rock Chalk. Meanwhile, Rutgers also has a sellout with Iowa coming to town to see two of the worst offenses in college football. New Jersey loves punts.