This past Saturday was largely a day of chalk in College Football.
As Week 4 approaches, the playoff contenders are separating from the pack, and their stiffest remaining tests are becoming further apparent.
Week 3 Quick Hits
Georgia 13 Kentucky 12 – Georgia has had a number of close games with Kentucky in recent years. Georgia HC was quick to credit the approach of Kentucky’s Mark Stoops.
Texas 56 UTSA 7 – Arch Manning comes off the bench for an injured Quinn Ewers, and throws 4 TD’s on 12 attempts.
Alabama 42 Wisconsin 10 – Wisconsin QB Van Dyke was injured early and the game just got away from the Badgers. Bama’s Jalen Milroe has thrown for 8 TD’s, and run for 6 more.
Ole Miss 40 Wake Forest 6 – Rebels Jaxon Dart threw for 377 yards, and Henry Parrish ran for 133. Three Ole Miss WR’s had at-least 75 yards. Ole Miss also had 4 sacks.
Missouri 27 Boston College 21 – Solid effort from BC, but Missouri was 11 of 19 on 3rd down, and the Tigers ran for 176 yards.
Tennessee 71 Kent State 0 – Kent State isn’t good at all, but the Volunteers dominating to that degree is impressive. Three different Volunteers rushed for 99+ yards.
Oregon 49 Oregon State 14 – The Ducks rolled their in-state rival on the road.
Miami 62 Ball State 0 – The Hurricanes had eight different players catch at-least 2 balls.
Kansas State 31 Arizona 7 – Wildcats over WIldcats. The game did not count in the Big 12 standings, but a good showing for K-State over their new conference foe.
Utah 38 Utah State 21 – The Utes dominated possession against their in-state rival. The Aggies put up 385 yards in defeat.
LSU 36 South Carolina 33 – LSU came back from being down 17-0. LSU allowed 243 yards on the ground.
Michigan 28 Arkansas State 18 – The result was never in doubt, but you would have liked to have seen a larger disparity in the final score if you were a Wolverines fan. Michigan is making a switch at QB.
Notre Dame 66 Purdue 7 – 580 yards for the Irish, including 364 on the ground.
Memphis 20 Florida State 12 – The Seminoles were a very good team last year, up until not reaching the CFP. Then they had their prebowl departures, the beating from Georgia, followed by their now 0-3 start to begin ’24. Mike Norvell doesn’t figure to be in danger here, but it’s wild seeing FSU go from 12-0 last December, ACC Champs; to their fans wearing bags over their heads in a mid-September game the following season.
Week 4 Games Of Note
Illinois at Nebraska – Two ranked teams going at it Friday night.
NCST at Clemson – The Wolfpack got throttled by Tennessee in Week 2, but should be a solid team. Clemson is 21st Nationally. Their schedule sets up well for the Tigers to go on a run.
James Madison at North Carolina – Two undefeated teams. UNC a 69% favorite to win according to ESPN’s Matchup Predictor.
USC at Michigan – A Big Ten conference game. USC favored here.
Utah at Oklahoma State – A very important game in the Big 12. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor is giving the Cowboys a 60.2% chance of winning.
Tennessee at Oklahoma – A SEC conference game. Tennessee has outscored their three opponents 191-13. The Sooners are a 7 point dog at home, ESPN’s predictor giving them just a 29% chance of winning. Does Tennessee welcome the Sooners to the SEC, or does Sooner Nation introduce themselves to their new conference?
Kansas State at BYU – Two undefeated Big 12 teams. K-State expected to win. The Cougars were just 2-7 in Big 12 play last year, and did not face Kansas State.
Conference Overviews
AAC – Memphis is 3-0, Tulane 1-2. Tulane’s losses are a are 7 point game to Kansas State, and a 15 point game at Oklahoma.
ACC – Miami, Louisville, and Clemson are ranked. Syracuse, California, Duke, Miami, UNC, Pitt, and Louisville are undefeated. Miami and Clemson don’t face each other in the regular season.
Big 12 – Kansas State, Utah, Oklahoma State, and Iowa State are ranked. Those four teams, plus UCF, Arizona State, and BYU are undefeated.
Big Ten – Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, USC, Michigan, Nebraska, and Illinois are ranked. Those seven teams, plus Indiana, Michigan State, and Rutgers are undefeated.
Conference USA – Liberty is 3-0. Sam Houston looks like the toughest conference game on the schedule. The Sun Belt’s Appalachian State is also on the schedule.
Independents – Notre Dame has two ranked teams left on the schedule (Louisville, and at USC).
Mid-American – Northern Illinois is ranked. They and Toledo are undefeated. Northern Illinois has a trip to NCST on the 28th.
Mountain West – San Jose State and UNLV are undefeated. Conference favorite Boise State is 1-1, with a 3 point loss at Oregon. The Broncos have some competitive games left on the schedule, but they’ll be favored to win out.
SEC – Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma, LSU, and Texas A&M are ranked. All of the ranked teams aside from LSU and A&M are undefeated. Six of the top seven ranked teams in the country are in the SEC. The head-to-head matchups are coming.
Sun Belt – Coastal Carolina, James Madison, Louisiana, and UL Monroe are undefeated. Texas State is 2-1, with a 3 point loss vs. Arizona State.
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.