AFC West Battle of the Haves and the Have-Nots – Oakland Visits Denver
The Super-Bowl favorite Denver Broncos have been as advertised so far this season- undefeated and looking virtually unstoppable on defense. Unfortunately the Oakland Raiders are also as advertised – a win against the Jacksonville Jaguars while nice, hardly acted to squash the notion that the Raiders are among the league worst teams.
The No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies will have to get past their loss to Alabama quickly, as they face a formidable foe on Saturday in the Southern Methodist Mustangs. The Aggies have dominated the series in recent years, but they could be in some trouble in a possible letdown spot.
The No. 16 Miami Hurricanes dropped a spot in the AP Top 25 poll during their bye week, which surely left many of the players and coaches irked, but they’ll get a chance to move back up in the standings by beating up on the lowly Savannah State Tigers.
Arkansas State is among the group of contenders in the Sun Belt Conference this season, after winning the title last year. This program has been on the come for the last couple of seasons but they have to win this game on the road to show that they are really developing as a program not just feasting on the Sun Belt.
The Baylor Bears are scary on offense. For the third year in a row they have had a different quarterback pulling the strings but they are putting up the kind of numbers you usually only see when you an experienced QB, not a sophomore first time starter.
This is Arkansas’ final game before they start the gauntlet that is the SEC – they will be playing 4 games in a row against teams that have been ranked in the Top 10 at one point or another this season.
You might have noticed that Northwestern was in the preseason Top 25 but you might have lost track and not seen that they worked their way into the teens (#16) by getting off to a 3-0 start.
Louisville is doing its best to impersonate an elite team but last week’s win over Kentucky was a little lacklustre, inviting debate as to whether they are really of that calibre.
The rivalry between Utah and BYU continues as the Utes try to add to their series lead. After this clash between old foes, the Utes and Cougars won’t be playing each other for the next two years, the first such anomaly since 1945. Two evenly matched teams with explosive offenses collide in Provo.
USC is still reeling after a big loss, but bounced back last week to soundly beat Boston College. Utah State started their season with a painful loss, but haven’t looked back since. With a high powered offense against a talented defense, this is sure to be a show down in the City of Angels.
Conference play begins for two Big Ten teams looking to make comebacks. Purdue looks to return to glory after falling from grace in the Big Ten with a new head coach while Wisconsin is doing its best to make the same transition to a new head coach while staying competitive…and hopefully stay in the top 25.
The No. 19 Florida Gators and the Tennessee Volunteers are set to face one another in Week 4 during a battle of one-loss SEC teams. Both squads are coming off of tough showings in their previous matchups.
The Arizona State Sun Devils and the Stanford Cardinal are set to open their Pac-12 seasons against one another on Saturday, Sept. 21 in a matchup featuring two ranked teams. No. 23 ASU will travel to the state of California to take on the No. 5 Cardinal.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have already faced one rival from the state of Michigan this season, falling to the Wolverines 40-31 on Sept. 7. Now they’ll look to bounce back with a win over the Michigan State Spartans. The Fighting Irish are coming off of a 31-24 win against Purdue in Week 3.
The Oregon State Beavers may have dropped their Week 1 contest to Eastern Washington (FCS), but they’ve done a decent job of bouncing back entering Week 4. Now they’re set to take on the San Diego State Aztecs, who are 0-2 after losing to Eastern Illinois and the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Hawaii Warriors are set to travel to Mackay Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 21 to take on the Nevada Wolf Pack. Nevada is 1-2 through the first three weeks, while Hawaii is 0-2. Neither team has been explosive on offense, but then again, neither has dominated defensively, either.
