Week four of 2015 looks a lot like week four of 2014. Good games on paper are few and far between, but if 2015 can rekindle the chaos of 2014, week four is sure to incite parties and break hearts across the country.
Last year week four saw Indiana stun Missouri in Columbia; Mississippi State make its presence known nationally with a win at LSU; and Oregon barely survive Washington State in Pullman. This year week four is a minefield for those who misstep. Let’s jump in.
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GAME OF THE WEEK: MISSISSIPPI STATE at AUBURN
Let’s go back a year. This was the week’s GameDay game. It featured number-two State hosting number-three Auburn. It was a mega game. This year it’s all about subplots. Neither team is ranked. State lost to LSU in its only real test of the season. Auburn is a raging dumpster fire in need of something to right the ship. Sean White will get the keys to Auburn’s offense, and it can’t be worse than it was under Jeremy Johnson. Auburn is trying to reset and State is trying to get some momentum heading into a rough date at Texas A&M next week. Dak Prescott will be the player on the field, but the game is at Jordan-Hare. Make sure you’re done with dinner before this one kicks off, because it will demand your attention.
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UPSET SPECIAL: OKLAHOMA STATE at TEXAS
Texas is slowly putting it together. After laying a monster egg on opening night at Notre Dame, the Longhorns have made great strides on the field. Last week’s loss to Cal, certainly a punch to the gut, featured a Texas offense that was able to move the ball. This team is on the brink of turning a corner, and Saturday is a day to make that turn.
Oklahoma State hasn’t played much of anyone this season. An opening night win at Central Michigan has been the Cowboys’ toughest test thus far. Central Arkansas and UTSA have rounded out OSU’s schedule, and playing at DKR-Memorial is tough even on an easy night.
A game at TCU beckons next week for Texas, at 11 a.m. local time no less, so a win in Austin on Saturday could put the Longhorns on the right track.
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NERDOUT OF THE WEEK: VIRGINIA TECH at EAST CAROLINA
2014: ECU 28, Tech 21
2013: Tech 15, ECU 10
2011: Tech 17, ECU 10
2010: Tech 49, ECU 27
2009: Tech 16, ECU 3
2008: ECU 27, Tech 22
Look at those scores. Take out the 2010 game and this is one of the most competitive rivalries in the country. I love this game, especially when the two teams play in Greenville as they will on Saturday. I don’t care that both ECU and Virginia Tech are down. This will always be a favorite game of mine because it’s a Power 5 team growing a rivalry with a Group of Five team that has flourished. The willingness of the schools to play each other has turned this meeting into a must-see game in the region. It also features two of the best uniforms in college football. Virginia Tech’s maroon and orange always looks good. ECU’s Pirate Carolina helmet and amazing centerfield logo are the best in the game.
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UNIMPORTANT GAME OF IMPORTANCE: KANSAS at RUTGERS
My father would call this game a stinker, but there’s a lot going on here. Kansas hasn’t won a non-conference game against a Power 5 team since beating Georgia Tech in 2010, and has won only one of its last 10 games. Rutgers coach Kyle Flood is still suspended, and the team got whipped from pillar to post at Penn State last weekend. These are two free-falling programs in need of grabbing onto a ledge to catch their breath.
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ODDITY OF THE WEEK: LSU at SYRACUSE
Look at that SEC team scheduling a non-conference game at a Power 5 school! And I thought Bigfoot wasn’t real. Aside from Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and South Carolina, which all have an in-state rival from a Power 5 league, this is only road game any SEC team will play at a Power 5 school. The SEC fan base loves to talk about how it is the best league, which is highly debatable at best, but the league heavily schedules the JV in non-conference play. TCU played at Minnesota, Ohio State went to Virginia Tech, and Michigan State and Oregon just finished a home-and-home series. The SEC, though, schedules cupcakes and other pastries for much of its non-conference slate. Saturday’s game, at the lone indoor venue in the Eastern time zone, is LSU’s first trip to the Northeast since playing at Boston College in 1947.
