Weekend Watch Guide: An Oklahoma State Fan’s Guide to Week 4 of the College Football Season

Week 4 of the college football season means more teams are beginning conference play, but there are still others with some big cross-conference games.

With Oklahoma State playing Friday night, that gives Cowboy fans the opportunity to plop down in front of their TVs Saturday and fill a quad-box with games. Here’s a look at some of the weekend’s best matchups.

Big 12 Schedule

Tulsa (1-2) at Oklahoma State (1-1) — 6:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN
No. 17 Texas Tech (3-0) at No. 16 Utah (3-0) — 11 a.m. Saturday on FOX
SMU (2-1) at TCU (2-0) — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2
North Carolina (2-1) at UCF (2-0) — 2:30 p.m. on FOX
West Virginia (2-1) at Kansas (2-1) — 5 p.m. Saturday on FS1
Arizona State (2-1) at Baylor (2-1) — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on FOX
BYU (2-0) at East Carolina (2-1) — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2
Wyoming (2-1) at Colorado (1-2) — 9:15 p.m. Saturday on ESPN

Texas Tech-Utah: These might be the two best teams in the Big 12, and they’re meeting in a conference opener. Tech hasn’t played any team of substance to this point, but the Red Raiders outscored their first three foes by an average of 46 points a game. Wyoming is probably the best team the Utes have toppled, and they’ve outscored their first three opponents by an average of about 37 points a game.

SMU-TCU: The Mustangs and Horned Frogs will do battle for an iron skillet and conference bragging rights. SMU beat TCU 66-42 last season before the Mustangs went on to make the College Football Playoff in their first year in the ACC. The Mustangs have won three of the past five in the series, but TCU has won seven of the past 10.

North Carolina-UCF: Bill Belichick will be in the Bounce House this weekend when his North Carolina squad plays the Knights. Belichick is 0-1 against the Big 12 with that loss being his UNC debut beatdown at the hands of TCU. UCF is off to a 2-0 start in Scott Frost’s second stint, but the Tar Heels will be the first Power Conference squad the Knights have faced.

West Virginia-Kansas: Speaking of a coach in his second stint at a program, Rich Rodriguez pulled off a big win for the state of West Virginia last week when the Mountaineers beat rival Pitt 31-24. WVU will travel to the newly renovated David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium to face a Jayhawk squad looking to bounce back from a nine-point loss to rival Missouri.

Arizona State-Baylor: This is just the first Big 12 game of the season for both of these teams, but it feels big considering both suffered a Power Conference loss in the noncon. Baylor bounced back from a opening-week loss to Auburn by picking up a ranked road win against SMU and then clobbering Samford. Arizona State has beaten Northern Arizona and Texas State with a Mississippi State loss sandwiched between. This will also be an outstanding quarterback matchup between Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson and Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt.

Other Games to Watch

No. 22 Auburn (3-0) at No. 11 Oklahoma (3-0) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
Tulane (3-0) at No. 13 Ole Miss (3-0) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN
No. 21 Michigan (2-1) at Nebraska (3-0) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS
South Carolina (2-1) at No. 23 Missouri (3-0) — 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN
Florida (1-2) at No. 4 Miami (3-0) — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
No. 9 Illinois at No. 19 Indiana (3-0) 6:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC
Michigan State (3-0) at No. 25 USC (3-0) — 10 p.m. Saturday on FOX

Auburn-Oklahoma: A ranked SEC matchup will take place in Norman, but the game also features the storyline of Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold returning to Norman after being the Sooners quarterback last season.

Tulane-Ole Miss: The Green Wave has a solid shot at being the Group of Five’s representative in the College Football Playoff, and Tulane could really make a push at that by finding a way to upset the Rebels in Oxford.

Michigan-Nebraska: Nebraska has an opportunity to take a firm step into national relevance for the first time in some time when the Wolverines come to town this weekend. The Cornhuskers have a relatively favorable schedule, and a win here could go a long way in Nebraska pushing for a playoff spot come December. After losing to OU, this is also a big game for Michigan and its CFP hopes.

Illinois-Indiana: Two Big Ten schools that are usually more in the spotlight for basketball, Illinois and Indiana meet in a battle of ranked unbeatens. Illinois has outscored its first three opponents a combined 135-22. Indiana has beaten its first three a combined 156-23.