Week four of the college football season is going to be SOS week. Now, I am not talking about the distress signal, SOS, (unless you are launching a search and rescue for Jameis Winston’s maturity). I am referring to strength of schedule because after another week of surprising outcomes, we get to start taking a comparative look at wins and losses and opponents’ wins and losses and see if we can find any big picture meaning. Virginia Tech loses to a decent East Carolina team a week after shocking Ohio State. Does the Hokie loss hurt Ohio State’s SOS and playoff bid? USC cracks the top 10 after a strong win at powerhouse Stanford, and then gets steamrolled by a mediocre Boston College team. We find ourselves looking not only at what this does to SC, but what it means to Stanford. So many questions; let’s look at week four in hopes of getting some clarity.
Week 4 College Football Preview
Kansas State (2-0) vs. Auburn (2-0); The Thursday night game is intriguing. Auburn takes a very rare trip outside of the deep south for a non-conference game. Everyone in the Big 12 is looking for a team other than Oklahoma to make a notable statement for the strength of the conference. Auburn’s offense has so much motion and activity it can be daunting to prep for. They have gained 210 yards rushing before contact this season. But this is also the Tigers’ first non-creampuff game of the season, so what they have done so far this season may have little bearing on Thursday night. Kansas State has only given up 22 yards rushing before contact and defensive discipline will be critical. An interesting stat to keep in mind as you watch; the Wildcats will be fielding a team that has 58 former or current walk-on players for Head Coach Bill Snyder.
Florida State (2-0) vs. Clemson (1-1); An ACC conference matchup between two Atlantic Division teams that screams SOS. First, the aforementioned Mr. Winston. He has been suspended from the first half of the game for jumping on a table at the school cafeteria and repeating profane lyrics from an internet meme. For all of the angst he has caused Florida State over the last two years, this is actually the first time he has been suspended from football. But let’s be real. It’s Florida State’s toughest divisional match-up, so he will sit for only a half. For more on Winston, please check out Donald King’s great analysis for LWOS. As for the game, it is also SOS time for Clemson. They got hammered by a Georgia team in week one that subsequently got beat by South Carolina last week. What do we make of Clemson? To paraphrase former college and NFL coach Dennis Green, we will find out if they are who we thought they were. There is a lot of clamoring among Tiger fans for a change at QB to the more athletic Deshaun Watson. Dabo Swinney will get him snaps, but with this being Clemson’s best remaining chance to get back into the national spotlight, how much will he use him? Florida State is undefeated at home against ACC opponents since 2011.
West Virginia (2-1) vs. Oklahoma (3-0); The Big 12 does not have enough teams (hint…it’s fewer than 12), to have a conference championship game, so the few big matchups that do exist are the only spotlight available to get a look at SOS with regards to a playoff bid. Oklahoma dominated an up-and-coming Tennessee team last week, but this is the first real test for the Top 5 ranked Sooners. West Virginia got a very emotional win last week with a last second field goal at Maryland. Morgantown on a Saturday night is no easy task for visiting teams.
Nebraska (3-0) vs. Miami (2-1); Remember those great matchups for national titles between these two teams decades ago? Bernie Kosar, Turner Gill, Jimmy Johnson, Tom Osborne, “fumblerooski?” Yeah, this isn’t that. This is two programs with head coaches who have felt significant heat over the last few years (Bo Pelini of Nebraska) to now, (Miami’s Al Golden). This is a Miami team that was dominated by Louisville in week one and then rolled over two patsies in following weeks and brings a yet-to-be-refined freshman quarterback in Brad Kaaya. Back QB Kevin Olsen was dismissed from the team this week after a DUI arrest. Nebraska may still prove to be the Big 10’s best hope for an undefeated team, but this is the Cornhuskers’ first real test of the season, so we will have a good SOS sense Saturday night.
Alabama (3-0) vs. Florida (2-0); Florida’s new offense has put up huge numbers and scored a lot of points against lesser opponents, including needing a three overtimes to beat Kentucky last week. However, it will be the Gator defense that will be key. Florida has been effective against the run, and so Bama QB Blake Sims could be forced to throw more than offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin would like. Bama has won nine straight versus SEC East opponents by an average margin of 30 points per game.
Washington State (1-2) vs. Oregon (3-0); An off-the-radar game Pac 12 game. WSU’s only win came against a weak Portland State team. Oregon has proven to be deserving of a top two ranking. But we are going to keep our eye on the game because either Marcus Mariota is going to further his Heisman Trophy campaign, or we will finally see the legendary wild and wide open Mike Leach Cougars offense that we have been waiting three years for.
Arizona (3-0) vs. California (2-0); Two teams that were mostly ignored by Pac 12 analysts, appropriately so, based on recent years’ performances. Cal has a win over Northwestern, which seemed huge at the time, and is the biggest program either has played so far. But we have learned to look at the Big 10 with a skeptical eye for now. That means this is the first big game for both teams. One will emerge as surprisingly undefeated, and the other will be back to reality.
Vanderbilt (1-2) vs. South Carolina (2-1); Following a big win over Georgia in a game that will forever be known for “the spot,” South Carolina is suddenly back in the race for the SEC East title. Vanderbilt and first year head coach Derek Mason have not lived up to anyone’s expectations after coming off back-to-back nine win seasons for the first time in school history.
One last shout out; A “shame on you” to the Washington Huskies. We know that football schedules are worked on years in advance, so the fact that you are playing Georgia State at home falls on Steve Sarkisian, but come on. I can almost justify schools in the South playing Georgia State as a regional matchup of benevolence. But tell me UW, do you expect to be able to start recruiting the state of Georgia because you ran up a huge margin of victory against a school nearly 3,000 miles away that didn’t even have a football program until 2006? So much for your SOS.
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