FAVORITE TEAMS

Here’s my takeaway from Week 4:

• The Big Ten should still be cautious of their situation. Michigan didn’t look like they wanted to play last Saturday. Now undefeated Ohio State, Penn State and Minnesota have road games that could be potential trap games.
• The Top 8 college football teams have made themselves look elite thus far.
• The Pac-12 has yet to figure out who’s the best in the conference. Right now, it’s California but I’m not sold on them.
• Appalachian State and Boise State could make a serious run for an undefeated season.
• UCF’s loss eliminates all conversations about them making a playoff run.
• Can Notre Dame bounce back into playoff conversation with basically Virginia and maybe USC left on their schedule?
• Florida, Penn State, and Iowa are quietly climbing up the Top 25 rankings.

5) #5 OHIO STATE (4-0 OVERALL; 1-0 BIG TEN) AT NEBRASKA (3-1 OVERALL; 1-0 BIG TEN) – 4:30PM PT/ 7:30PM ET [ABC]

Nebraska has another opportunity of upsetting Ohio State. The Huskers are currently 6-0 at home since winning their first game against Minnesota last year. Quarterback Adrian Martinez will be looked upon from Nebraska. He’ll also be looked upon from the Ohio State defense since he’s Nebraska’s catalyst. After FAU, they haven’t allowed more than 10 points in the last three games. But if anyone can recall what happened to the Buckeyes when they lost badly to Purdue and Iowa in the past two seasons, they can’t expect a slip up. Nebraska could keep this game close and get a huge home win if Adrian Martinez and this offense plays A+ football.

4) #12 PENN STATE (3-0 OVERALL; 0-0 BIG TEN) AT MARYLAND (2-1 OVERALL; 0-0 BIG TEN)- 5PM PT/ 8PM ET [FOX SPORTS 1] (FRIDAY)

While the majority of the Big Ten, including Michigan attracted the attention, Penn State quietly starts 3-0, including a win over their rival Pitt. Besides Pitt, they haven’t played anyone good, which is why they’re under the radar. But now they’ll be tested on the road under Friday night lights against Maryland, who were fairly impressive despite a three point loss to Temple. They tore it up on offense in their first two games before hitting a wall against Temple’s defense. If that’s the case, they have another defensive squad to deal with. Both teams tore apart their first two opponents before scoring only 17 points in their third game. Maryland could pull off an upset since they’re at home while Penn State plays their first road game, but they must find a way to play past their strong defense after struggling against Temple’s defense last week.

3) KANSAS (2-2 OVERALL; 0-1 BIG 12) AT TCU (3-1 OVERALL; 0-0 BIG 12) – 9AM PT/ 12PM ET [FOX SPORTS 1]

Manydon’t pay attention to this matchup, but Kansas has been in close games with TCU and finally upset them last season. Since TCU jumped into the Big 12 conference, Kansas has hammered at the Horned Frogs for six of the seven matchups and nearly upset them three times before succeeding last season. TCU could challenge the Big 12 along with Texas, Oklahoma, and maybe Iowa State, but the loss to SMU due to a slow start and offensive inconsistencies puts this team at risk of missing out on their second conference title appearance. Kansas looked like Kansas in their first two games with a seven-point win over Indiana State and a loss to Coastal Carolina. Then looked good by upsetting Boston College on the road and going toe-to-toe with West Virginia despite a 5-point loss. I haven’t seen a blowout loss by Kansas thus far this season. And in my recent years as a Big 12 fan that’s seen them fail for over a decade, this is a major improvement. TCU’s basically a 16-point favorite and the reason could be their defense. Unfortunately, I don’t trust their offense so the spread could be closer than the experts think. This is Kansas’s potential upset opportunity and they could finally defeat one Big 12 opponent twice in a row for the first time in a long while.

2) COASTAL CAROLINA (3-1 OVERALL; 0-0 SUN BELT) AT APPALACHIAN STATE (3-0 OVERALL; 0-0 SUN BELT) – 12:30PM PT/ 3:30PM ET [ESPN+]

Not many focus on the Sun Belt conference, these teams, or these types of matchups. But it’s time to consider watching out because this could be a good game. Appalachian State could roll over Coastal Carolina since they’re home, but I wouldn’t assume they’ll crush them. Coastal Carolina has slowly improved their roster and should at least compete for a bowl bid. Since losing to Eastern Michigan by a touchdown, they won three straight, including an upset win at Kansas. They’re #2 in the conference in rushing and has the best time of possession in the conference. Appalachian State got a huge win over UNC last week. Now they come into the conference with a chance of rolling through their schedule. But as I said before, they can’t assume they’ll easily win this game. They allowed 41 points against Charlotte and allowed 31 points against UNC, while Coastal Carolina averaged 54 points in the last two games. This is an underrated matchup that could yield plenty of points. The winner has early control over the Sun Belt East division.

1) #18 VIRGINIA (4-0 OVERALL) AT #10 NOTRE DAME (2-1 OVERALL) – 12:30PM PT/ 3:30PM ET [NBC]

I don’t hear much about this matchup and it’s overlooked by other seemingly big game matchups of the weekend. Virginia is undefeated and Notre Dame’s searching for redemption. Virginia’s currently successful thanks to their defense, quarterback Bryce Perkins and coach Bronco Mendenhall. Their only drawbacks are turnovers and the run game beyond Bryce Perkins. The run game is key because Notre Dame’s defense is currently struggling in that category. Notre Dame’s close road loss to Georgia doesn’t sound that bad, but early strugglesquestion whether this team can still compete for the playoffs again? Notre Dame’s defense for the most part has proven it, but the offense needs more work, especially from the receivers beyond Chase Claypool. Hosting ranked Virginia is their opportunity to bounce back and also looking at Notre Dame’s schedule from here on out, there’s not much left for them to prove. If Virginia upsets Notre Dame, the Irish’s playoff run ends and the Cavalier’s potential run for the ACC Coastal division and conference title bid begins.