Week three of the 2019 season saw a weekend with no ranked matchups for the first time since October of 2017. With weekends like that, many times that’s when the biggest upsets happen. That’s exactly what happened as three top 25 teams lost as Michigan State, Maryland, and USC all lose. And, who could forget the Kansas Jayhawks with a 24-point road win over Boston College? Could our week four college football watch guide provide us with even more drama?
Now, this week we have some appealing matchups. There are three matchups within the top 25 including one that will have direct playoff implications. Let’s take a look around the country with our week four college football watch guide.
Note: All game times are in central standard time
Week Four College Football Watch Guide
Friday
8:00 PM
Air Force at (20) Boise State 
This could be a matchup of the best two teams in the Mountain West Conference regardless of division. Air Force did something that the Nebraska Cornhuskers couldn’t do. That’s defeat Colorado in Boulder. They look for two in a row as they hit the smurf turf in Boise. The Broncos have their eyes on a New Year’s Six Bowl, but the Falcons should be their toughest challenge to date.
8:00 PM
(10) Utah at USC 
Can the Utes overcome a classic upset scenario here at the Colisseum? Utah comes in 3-0 and ranked in the top 10 in the country with a realistic shot at a PAC 12 championship and an outside shot at the playoff led by Tyler Huntley and Zack Moss. Meanwhile, freshman phenom Kedon Slovis struggled in his first road start in the Trojans loss to BYU. Can he bounce back at home and give the Trojans a big home win?
Saturday
11:00 AM
(11) Michigan at (13) Wisconsin 
Outside of Ohio State, Wisconsin has been the most impressive team in the Big 10 this season. They have outscored their opponents to the tune of 110-0 this season. Jack Coan and Quintez Cephus are becoming a lethal combination on offense. And, Jonathan Taylor is becoming one of the best running backs in college football history. Poor Michigan. The offense is struggling and two weeks ago they narrowly avoided a huge upset. How could they hope to compete in this one? This will be a dog-fight to the end.
Tennessee at (9) Florida 
Few have had a tougher start to their 2019 season than the Tennessee Volunteers. Coming into the season with big expectations, they find themselves at 1-2. However, they got some much-needed confidence in a victory last weekend. Comparatively, the Gators are coming into this contest undefeated and ranked in the top 10. Kyle Trask is now the leader of the offense after a gruesome injury lost Feleipe Franks for the season.
(23) California @ Mississippi 
California has sprung the biggest upset in the PAC 12 this season in beating Washington for the second consecutive year. With that, now comes expectations. The Bears face Oregon, Utah, and Stanford on the road in conference play so a 4-0 start could be huge. Meanwhile, Ole Miss struggled offensively in the opener and have bounced with back to back wins. Can the Rebels make it three in a row and get back into possible bowl contention.
2:30 PM
(8) Auburn at (17) Texas A&M 
Aggieland hosts its first big weekend of the season as the Auburn Tigers come calling. Auburn performed brilliantly late in the opening weekend in a victory over Oregon. Meanwhile, Texas A&M struggled offensively in a loss to Clemson two weeks ago. This appears to a quarterback game. Both Bo Nix and Kellen Mond have been a bit inconsistent this season. But, the one that limits his mistakes could very well lead his team to victory.
(15) at Pittsburgh 
UCF battles its second power-five opponent in as many weeks. The Knights defeated Stanford last week in a game that was not nearly as close as the 18-point margin would suggest. On the other side, Pittsburgh played Penn State tough last week and could have forced overtime if not for some questionable play-calling towards the end of the game. UCF can once again put themselves in the New Years Six conversation after yet huge win.
(22) Washington at BYU 
After losing in opening Thursday of the season, the Cougars have won back-to-back games in overtime. The murders row schedule continues this week as the entertain Washington. BYU is looking for more productivity out of the passing game as Zach Wilson has only thrown two touchdown passes this year. Meanwhile, Washington finds itself near the bottom of the top 25 after the upset loss to Cal. However, the schedule is favorable for the Huskies down the stretch if they can escape Provo with a win.
6:00 PM
(16) Oregon at Stanford 
The Ducks have rebounded well against inferior opponents over the last couple of games. But, Justin Herbert has been on fire. He has completed 73% of his throws with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. After back to back blowout losses, is it time to panic for the Cardinal? An upset win against the Ducks will go a long way to right the ship.
6:30 PM
Oklahoma State at (12) Texas 
Oklahoma State has one of the most exciting offenses in the country that includes perhaps the best player you’ve never seen. Chuba Hubbard of the Cowboys has two 200-yard rushing games and is a Heisman darkhorse contender. Now, Texas is playing well on offense as well. Sam Ehlinger is ranked seventh in the country in passing and Texas has been very efficient on offense. This has the makings of a “last team with the ball wins” kind of games.
7:00 PM
(7) Notre Dame at (3) Georgia 
Non-conference games like this are what is great about college football. Two storied programs hit the field for a game that has playoff implications. Georgia has dominated weaker competition to start the season but will rely on the steady Jake Fromm and the powerful running of D’Andre Swift along with a punishing defense. It feels like Ian Book will need to carry the Fighting Irish in this one. He may be able to do it as he’s been special early on in the season.
9:00 PM
Colorado at (24) Arizona State 
After getting a huge comeback win over Nebraska, the Buffaloes came home and lost in a letdown game against Air Force on Saturday in a surprising upset. Now, we could possibly have a similar scenario transpiring here as Arizona State returns home after upsetting Michigan State last week. Could we have an upset here in PAC 12 after dark?
