Week 4 may be one of the more underrated weeks of this season of college football. They aren't the massive super contests like there were in Week 1, but several teams are beginning conference play and that is always a guarantee for extremely competitive matchups.
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Week 3 saw our upset alert correctly pick three upsets. Will the same happen this week? Let's find out!
No. 5 USC
Sept. 23 at California
More fun coming for USC.
The Trojans have struggled a bit in the face of a high preseason ranking, but they still have started off with a 3-0 record. Cal is also surprisingly 3-0 so far, with wins over North Carolina and Ole Miss on their resume already.
Probably to little surprise, USC quarterback Sam Darnold will be the key in this game. Darnold has already thrown six interceptions through three games this season, and Cal has started to show improvement on defense this season under new defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter. Cal is also capable of putting up points, so Darnold does not need to be giving them free opportunities in this game.
No. 7 Washington
Sept. 23 at Colorado
The Pac-12 is really good this season, so don't be surprised to keep seeing their teams on here going forward.
Washington dominated Colorado last season in the Pac-12 championship game, but the Buffs will be looking for payback with the game in Boulder this time around. Washington has looked better in recent weeks after a "meh" performance against Rutgers in their season opener, but those games were against Montana and Fresno; Colorado — a 10-win team from last year — ranks a little higher on the totem pole than that.
Again, the key here will be at quarterback. Washington won last year because their defense forced turnovers, not because of starter Jake Browning. Browning played poorly in the Pac-12 title game last season, and a repeat performance may not be covered up by the defense this time around.
No. 12 Florida State
Sept. 23 vs. N.C. State
The old rest vs. rust argument will come into play here.
Florida State will certainly be motivated in this game, but they also haven't played since the Sept. 2 opener against Alabama. They also will be breaking in a new quarterback, as starter Deondre Francois is out for the season with a knee injury.
The Seminoles still have a talented defense to fall back on, but this game could get weird in a hurry if N.C. State is able to jump out to a quick start.
