Four Down Territory: Conference Play Means Upping Your Game

We’re now into conference play for almost every team in the country. The logjam of SEC and Big Ten teams in the top 12 or 13 will start to break up as they start to play each other. And nowhere will that be more on display that Saturday night in Tuscaloosa when #2 Georgia travels to face #4 Alabama. More on that later…..

The schedule of games lines up nicely with four Saturday time slots presenting a range of interesting options for food and beverage. For those watching at home you will need a TV, an iPad (or other tablet), a laptop and a phone to track all the action. For those tailgating, the start of conference play means upping your tailgate game from Friday Night "pre-gaming" all the way through late night Saturday.

With that here are your offerings this weekend…..

Pre-Gaming: Friday Night Action: Virginia Tech (2-2) at #7 Miami (4-0) 7:30 ESPN: Miami QB Cam Ward is playing at a level that puts him on par with the play of every other QB in the current top 10. Amid all of the ‘Canes’ struggles the past few years, QB play has been one spot that has held them back. Va Tech is struggling to get back to their best days after losses to Vanderbilt and Rutgers…..Washington (3-1) at Rutgers (3-0) 8:00 FOX: And speaking of Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights are 10-6 since the start of the 2023 season. Their rise has been fueled by defense, toughness and running the football. RB Kyle Monogai is the nation’s 3rd-leading rusher, and he has been helped by a more consistent passing game and fellow RB Samuel Brown. As for Washington, they are playing good defense giving up just 9 points per game. Only a 4th down stop by Washington State has kept UW from being undefeated. This is a game to watch to see which of these teams can move up in the Big Ten pack.

First Down: High Noons or Bloody Marys Because it's 12 O'Clock Somehwere: Kentucky (2-2) at #6 Ole Miss (4-0) 12:00 ABC: After giving up 31 points in a big loss at South Carolina, Kentucky had been left for dead. But they found their mojo on defense holding Georgia to just 13 points. Ole Miss has been rolling on offense behind QB Jaxson Dart, but it has been against a pretty weak non-conference schedule. This will be a great test for both the Ole Miss offense and for the Kentucky defense……..Minnesota (2-2) at #12 Michigan (4-0) 12:00 FOX: Michigan has now won 2 big games against Top10 caliber teams under Sherrone Moore by just running the ball. Against Penn State late last year they passed for just 60 yards and ran the ball on 32 straight plays. Against USC last week with new QB Alex Orji, Michigan piled up 290 yards on the ground and threw just 12 passes. Key turnovers and a ninety-yard game-winning drive with 8 runs and 2 passes clinched the game. This would be a good game to try and establish a pass game with Orji. No doubt there will be games ahead on the schedule where they will need to pass the ball. Minnesota will need to improve their run defense to force the Orji to beat them throwing the ball…….#20 Oklahoma State (3-1) at #23 Kansas State (3-1) ESPN: Kansas State suffered a bad loss to BYU last week, while Oklahoma State got edged by Utah. It may still be September, but a loss here puts one of these teams in a bad spot in trying to get to the Big 12 title game…..#22 BYU (4-0) at Baylor (2-2) 12:00 FS1: Ans speaking of BYU, this game pits the two teams who were part of the most exciting plays of the weekend. Baylor was victimized by a Colorado Hail Mary that led to an overtime loss. BYU’s Parker Kingston had a ridiculous 90-yard punt return that words cannot do justice. BYU wants to prove it is for real, while Baylor wants to start to right the ship…..Ball State (1-2) at JMU (3-0) 1:30 ESPN+: The most jaw-dropping result last week was JMU beating UNC 70-50. This one could be a lot worse.

Second Down: Time For Session Beers, Sipping Bourbon and a Mid-Day Snack: Wisconsin (2-1) at #13 USC (2-1) 3:30 CBS: Wisconsin is coming off a bye week with extra time to get new starter Braedyn Locke ready for his 4th career start. Expect USC’s defense to try to force the Badgers into relying on the pass game. Ultimately, this game will be won upfront. The USC o-line had their hands full against a relentless Michigan pass rush, so look for the Badgers to try and get to QB Miller Moss. If they can't get to him, he can pick them apart…….#15 Louisville (3-0) at #16 Notre Dame (3-1) 3:30 Peacock: Games like this have become essentially playoff games for Notre Dame. The Notre Dame offense continues to be a work in progress, while the defense is among the national top 20 in a number of categories. They will be tested by a pass-heavy Louisville offense that likes to push the ball downfield and has yet to throw an interception……#21 Oklahoma (3-1) at Auburn (2-2) 3:30 ABC: Auburn is reeling, and Oklahoma has made a change at quarterback. But Oklahoma is finding out that there are no easy outs in the SEC……Arkansas (3-1) at #24 Texas A&M (3-1) 3:30 ESPN in Arlington, TX: These two teams put this game in AT&T Stadium for fifteen years and this is the last year it will be played there. A&M has some questions at QB, but they can rely on their top-10 rushing offense. Arkansas would like to run the ball too…..Mississippi State (1-3) at #1 Texas (4-0) 4:15 SEC Network: No matter who plays QB for Texas it probably won’t matter. The array of skill players Texas has on offense is impressive. But the Texas defense has been even more impressive. But they have yet to face a balanced offense with the QB and skill players to test them. That test probably won’t arrive this week.

Third Down: Primetime Like Fine Wine: #3 Ohio State (3-0) at Michigan State (3-1) 7:00 Peacock: Ohio State’s non-conference schedule was supposed to include a game against Washington this year, but that changed when the Huskies joined the Big Ten. As a result, this is the first step towards finding out how good the Buckeyes really are. Marshall moved the ball against OSU and scored the only 2 TDs allowed by the Buckeyes all year. The o-line, the main question about the OSU offense made strides last week but a bigger test awaits them this week. MSU has one of the most productive pass rush units in the country. But MSU has also been very generous in turning the ball over….Stanford (2-1) at #17 Clemson (2-1) 7:00 ESPN: The Cardinal went to Syracuse last Friday and won. Eight days later they are back in the Eastern time zone. Clemson’s offense and QB Cade Klubnik found their footing in bombing Appalachian State for 66 points and NC State for 59…..#19 Illinois (4-0) at #9 Penn State (3-0) 7:30 NBC: The biggest area of improvement for Illinois from last year has been in the turnover department. They threw 13 INTs last year and have none this year. They got 7 INTs all of last year and have made that many in just 4 games. Last year against Penn State they were -5 in turnover margin and lost by 17. Look for Illinois to mix up coverage to get the right run support and focus on covering PSU TE Tyler Warren. The PSU WRs may have to prove they can be the difference in a game. Amid the 718 yards of PSU offense last week, a disappointing number was the lack of any run plays of over 18 yards against the nation’s worst defense. When PSU is on defense watch the play of the LBs and secondary. Illinois has big physical RBs in Kaden Feagin (6-3 250) and Josh McCray (6-1 235). They also have two speed backs to complement that power rushing attack. If their RBs get into the second level, the pressure falls onto the PSU LBs and secondary to be physical. As for the passing attack, Penn State’s pass rush has just 4 sacks on the season. That has to change to force Illinois QB Luke Altmyer into making some mistakes…….#2 Georgia (3-0) at #4 Alabama (3-0) 7:30 ABC: It’s only September and already the SEC has a big rumble on its hands. Georgia’s defense is tough again. The last team to score a TD against Georgia was Alabama in the SEC title game last year. Alabama QB Jalen Milroe was key in that game because of a lack of turnovers. Georgia is still searching for the explosive downfield threats in the pass game. Kentucky dared them to test them down the field and Georgia could only muster a 33-yard completion and a 20-yard completion. Expect Alabama to look at that tape and challenge the Georgia offense the same way. Part of the key to Kentucky holding the UGA offense in check was going 9/16 on third downs and holding the ball for over 35 minutes. The blueprint is there for the Tide. Both teams are coming off bye weeks, so they both have extra time to tinker with what they’ve done so far this year. Look for some new wrinkles to be thrown at each other.

Fourth Down: Nightcaps and Late Night Snacks: There is some football worth staying up for this week so gas up on Red Bull or espresso or Mountain Dew to stay up……Washington State (4-0) at #25 Boise State (2-1) 10:00 FS1: Boise State’s only loss was a near miss at Oregon, while WSU averted a near miss against Washington. The Cougars would love crash the playoff party and to do that they will have to slow Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty, the nation’s leading rusher at 195 yards per game….Arizona (2-1) at #10 Utah (4-0) 10:15 ESPN: Arizona took a big step back with a loss to Kansas State. Utah outlasted Oklahoma State to jump into the Top 10 and they got it done without starting QB Cam Rising. Will he play this week? It’s not clear. But Utah RB Micah Bernard really stepped up after missing all of last year. That will help Utah no matter who is playing QB…..#8 Oregon (3-0) at UCLA (1-2) 11:00 FOX: Big Ten after Dark? Yes this is a Big Ten Tilt. UCLA continues on a ridiculous three week stretch that included last week’s loss at LSU, this game at home against Oregon before a trip next week to Penn State (a game that will kick off at 9 a.m. Pacific time). Oregon fans have been worried about the offensive line especially now that Big Ten play is starting. UCLA played much better at LSU than they did the week before. Oregon has thrown the ball well, but the run game production has fallen off from last year. Oregon Coach Dan Lanning is all about physical football, so don’t be surprised if he is trying to establish that run game early and often.