College Football Picks Week 4: Top 25 Odds, Box Score Predictions, Rankings, Schedule
September 16, 2024College Football Picks Week 4: Top 25 Odds, Box Score Predictions, Rankings, Schedule
The new normal in the SEC will be front and center in Week 4 of the college football season.
The Oklahoma Sooners will host their first-ever SEC game on Saturday night against the Tennessee Volunteers.
Tennessee comes into Norman off one of the fastest starts in the FBS, and its offense should give Oklahoma a good feel for how it stacks up in its new conference.
Tennessee-Oklahoma will not decide the top team in the SEC, but it will help sort out the second tier of programs beneath the Georgia Bulldogs and Texas Longhorns.
The Big 12 will begin an important two-week sorting-out process on Saturday, when the Utah Utes visit the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Three Big 12 teams reside in the Top 15 of the AP Top 25, but only one of them may be left there by the end of September.
Week 4 Top 25 Schedule and Odds
Friday, September 21
No. 24 Illinois at No. 22 Nebraska (-9) (8 p.m. ET, Fox)
Saturday, September 22
Marshall at No. 3 Ohio State (-39.5) (Noon ET, Fox)
NC State at No. 21 Clemson (-17) (Noon ET, ABC)
Arkansas State at No. 20 Iowa State (-21) (2 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Kent State at No. 10 Penn State (-49) (3:30 p.m. ET, BTN)
No. 11 USC (-5.5) at No. 18 Michigan (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
Miami (Ohio) at No. 17 Notre Dame (-27) (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
Georgia Tech at No. 19 Louisville (-10.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Buffalo at No. 23 Northern Illinois (-14) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
UCLA at No. 16 LSU (-22.5) (3:40 p.m. ET, ABC)
No. 12 Utah at No. 14 Oklahoma State (-3) (4 p.m. ET, Fox)
Vanderbilt at No. 7 Missouri (-21) (4:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
No. 8 Miami (-17) at South Florida (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 6 Tennessee (-7.5) at No. 15 Oklahoma (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Bowling Green at No. 25 Texas A&M (-23.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Georgia Southern at No. 5 Ole Miss (-35.5) (7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
UL-Monroe at No. 1 Texas (-45) (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
No. 13 Kansas State (-7.5) at BYU (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 6 Tennessee (-7.5) at No. 15 Oklahoma
Nico Iamaleava has been one of the best performers in all of college football through three weeks.
The Tennessee quarterback is a star in the making and he should add to his growing legend in Norman on Saturday night.
Iamaleava is a far more explosive quarterback than Oklahoma's Jackson Arnold, who entered the season in the same category as the Vols signal-caller as players potentially ready to take the next step into stardom.
Iamaleava has 200 more passing yards than Arnold and he's led the Vols offense to three straight 50-point performances.
Oklahoma scored 50 points in the last two weeks after putting up 51 on the Temple Owls in Week 1.
The Sooners' struggles at home with the Houston Cougars and Tulane Green Wave are concerning because a few bad drives against Tennessee could put them in a multi-score hole.
Tennessee has not waited around for anyone, and while Iamaleava received a lot of the praise, the defense, led by potential No. 1 NFL Draft pick James Pearce, has given up 13 points in three games.
Oklahoma should win a handful of SEC games, but it's hard to see a path to it sticking within a touchdown of the Vols, even at home.
No. 12 Utah at No. 14 Oklahoma State (-3)
The Utah-Oklahoma State game has an injury cloud hovering over it.
Utah quarterback Cam Rising has unfortunately been one of the more injury-prone players in the FBS in recent years and he sat out the Week 3 win over the Utah State Aggies with a hand injury.
Rising is expected to play in Stillwater on Saturday, but it is concerning that Utah's most important player will not be at 100 percent.
Oklahoma State scored at least 39 points in each of its first three games behind one of the most experienced offenses in the country.
Running back Ollie Gordon is the star of the show, but veteran quarterback Alan Bowman has played well too with 967 passing yards.
OK State is in a far more cohesive rhythm on offense going into Saturday, and that combined with the home-field advantage in Stillwater, could give the Cowboys the edge at the start of an important two weeks.
Mike Gundy's team visits the Kansas State Wildcats in Week 5, and if it wins both games, it will be the Big 12's favorite to reach the College Football Playoff as conference champion.
No. 11 USC at No. 18 Michigan (+5.5)
It's still hard to believe the USC Trojans and Michigan Wolverines reside in the same conference.
That reality hits home on Saturday with USC's trip to Michigan Stadium.
Michigan needs a win more than USC so it can prove it can compete with the best programs in the country and that the loss to Texas was a one-off result.
The Wolverines have a clear identity of running the ball and playing tough defense. That could pose a problem to Miller Moss in his first true road start of the campaign.
USC looks like it could play a grind-it-out style game with its new-look defense that allowed 20 points in two weeks.
However, Michigan has perfected winning that type of game in recent years, and its defense could rattle Moss into some turnovers.
The Wolverines need much better quarterback play out of Davis Warren to pull off the upset, but if they minimize his high-risk throws and run the ball effectively, they can creep back up the rankings in Week 5.
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