What a treat! Starting with four games Friday, we have incredible action all weekend. The slate is balanced, too, with major implications for every conference already, and the games are spread out well during the time slots. Noon gives us an ACC playoff game, some Big 12 drama, and some SEC showdowns. The midday window features a pair of massive Pac-12 showdowns, and the primetime slot gives us the two biggest brands in the sport. Late night, we’ve got the two best quarterbacks in the sport plying their trade. 

It’s a treat, and I can’t wait to enjoy it all with you. 

Below, I’ve listed the nationally-televised games, sorted by viewing window for you to keep track. All times are Eastern, because, well, duh. Included is each team’s rank in Bill Connelly’s preseason SP+ rankings to give you a sense of the matchup.

Let’s get it on in Week 4!

Friday, September 22:

Wisconsin (25) at Purdue (67) – 7 PM on FS1

Two Big Ten West teams meet in the first year of their new coaching staffs and new identities. Ryan Walters is stapling his man-to-man defensive principles onto Jeff Brohm’s old offense-first squad, while Luke Fickell and Phil Longo are bringing the Air Raid to Wisconsin. This is the headline matchup of a pretty solid Friday night slate.

NC State (46) at Virginia (94) – 7:30 PM on ESPN

NC State quarterback Brennan Armstrong and offensive coordinator Robert Anae head back in tandem to Virginia, where the two once ripped through the ACC. 2021 must feel like a long time ago to the Cavaliers faithful. 

Air Force (59) at San José State (88) – 10:30 PM on FS1

Boise State (57) at San Diego State (84) – 10:30 PM

This could be an interesting pair of games — Air Force and Boise State are emerging as the class of the conference (along with Fresno State), but both are in tricky road spots here. Boise’s passing game isn’t mature enough to survive playing with its food, and San José State’s Chevan Cordeiro is a good enough quarterback to give Air Force all it can handle. 

Saturday Noon:

Army (85) at Syracuse (35) – 12 PM on ACCN

Auburn (23) at Texas A&M (16) – 12 PM on ESPN

Let’s get weird.

Florida State (13) at Clemson (12) – 12 PM on ABC

Florida State will need to beat Clemson for the first time since 2014 in order to stay on track for the goals it has set for this season. 

Kentucky (24) at Vanderbilt (77) – 12 PM on SECN

Rutgers (64) at Michigan (3) – 12 PM on BTN

Feels like every year we have to do the “hey, Rutgers! Look at that! This is the year it might be decent!” thing because the Scarlet Knights start the year with wins over, like, Wagner and Buffalo. And then Big Ten play starts and they embark on the next step in their journey to a 3-9 record. Right around when the pumpkin items start hitting the shelves at Trader Joe’s is when Rutgers turns back into a pumpkin. Fitting, really. 

Oklahoma (7) at Cincinnati (50) – 12 PM on Fox

Cincinnati begins its Big 12 era by hosting the league’s traditional power. After a down year in 2022, the Sooners have been flirting with being a top-shelf team again this year with a few comfortable home wins. 

SMU (48) at TCU (27) – 12 PM on FS1

Tulsa (107) at Northern Illinois (119) – 12 PM on CBS Sports Network

Virginia Tech (78) at Marshall (72) – 12 PM on ESPN2

Perhaps the worst Power Five offense collides with arguably the best Group of Five defense. Micah Abraham — Donnie’s son —  is an excellent cornerback for Marshall; too bad there’s no one healthy on this Virginia Tech team worth locking down. 

Western Kentucky (90) at Troy (73) – 12 PM on ESPNU

This is a fun rematch of a really good non-conference game last season. Western Kentucky can really sling it around and might be able to find some room against a Troy defense that isn’t creating nearly as much havoc as it did last season.

Saturday Midday:

Boston College (83) at Louisville (34) – 3:30 PM on ACCN

BYU (47) at Kansas (55) – 3:30 PM on ESPN

BYU beat Ar-kansas last week and will look to complete the sweep of Kansases. The “BYU is an old team” internet kerfuffle this week is one of the dumbest controversies of recent vintage, in a sport built out of dumb controversies. 

Colorado (76) at Oregon (11) – 3:30 PM on ABC

Welp, here we go. The Buffs have been incredible in the first level of the game and have upped the difficulty settings this week. Colorado has a few blue-chip playmakers on the perimeter and an excellent quarterback play; Oregon has blue-chip players everywhere and excellent quarterback play, too. On paper, Oregon should be able to dominate this game with vastly superior trench play, but nothing about the Deion Sanders era in Colorado has been “on paper,” has it?

Duke (32) at Connecticut (132) – 3:30 PM on CBS Sports Network

Richard Hamilton was one of my favorite college players of all time. Just such a silky smooth mid-range game and introduced a young and budding basketball fan to the concept of catching and shooting running off screens. 1999 was a great year for college hoops.

Louisiana Tech (96) at Nebraska (65) OR Florida Atlantic (92) at Illinois (52) – 3:30 PM on BTN

Maryland (31) at Michigan State (54) – 3:30 PM on NBC

Not sure why Maryland fans are so aghast about their team’s penchant for starting slow. I don’t understand the angst. Haven’t y’all been winning that way since your matchup with Hare? 

Miami (FL) (22) at Temple (103) – 3:30 PM on ESPN2

Ole Miss (14) at Alabama (6) – 3:30 PM on CBS

The SEC is always something closer to a football-adjacent soap opera than just pure football, and this game is a great new episode. The lead-up has given us Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban sparring through the media all week, and Alabama’s white-hot quarterback crisis. Think about all the chaos in Tuscaloosa if Kiffin and Pete Golding dethrone the emperor. 

UCLA (19) at Utah (17) – 3:30 PM on Fox

An excellent early-season Pac-12 collision. Utah has been scraping by without the help of quarterback Cameron Rising and tight end Brant Kuithe, but the Utes are hopeful to play this week. UCLA might have some real juice; running back Carson Steele is wrecking shop, and blue-chip true freshman quarterback Dante Moore has been more than impressive in the early going. 

Oklahoma State (51) at Iowa State (56) – 4 PM on FS1

This is the Petros Papadakis Game, and it is spiritually a Traditional Unwatchable Big Ten Network Noon Game of the Week. 

Rice (105) at South Florida (115) – 4 PM on ESPNU

UTSA (66) at Tennessee (18) – 4 PM on SECN

In the offseason. this had all the makings of a shootout. Tennessee’s Joe Milton III received heaps of offseason hype and was expected to continue the high-octane ways of the Hendon Hooker teams. UTSA’s Frank Harris is the elder statesman of college quarterbacks, with 76 career touchdown passes to his name. But the Volunteers have stalled and Milton’s inconsistency has been a factor; Harris has struggled to begin the season and is dealing with turf toe. 

Saturday Primetime:

Georgia Tech (80) at Wake Forest (45) – 6:30 PM on The CW

Appalachian State (75)  at Wyoming (89) – 7 PM on CBS Sports Network

This is a really fun Group of Five game — Wyoming has been impressive in the early season, and App State still has a big-play offense. It’s buried in a landslide of great primetime matchups, but it’s worth your attention. Both teams have tough, fun quarterbacks who have been making big plays on the season, Andrew Peasley for Wyoming and Joey Aguilar for App State.

Arizona (58) at Stanford (98) – 7 PM on PAC-12N

Arkansas (33) at LSU (15) – 7 PM on ESPN

The Hogs are coming off a tough home loss to BYU, probably don’t have Raheim Sanders again, and are starting to look around nervously. Someone has to finish at the bottom of this division every year. 

Oregon State (20) at Washington State (8) – 7 PM on Fox

This is a really good game, and the future of the Pac-2 conference. What’s the plan: are they just going to play each other 10 times next year? 

Akron (130) at Indiana (81) OR Minnesota (42) at Northwestern (87) – 7:30 PM on BTN

The Traditional Unwatchable Big Ten Network Noon Games of the Week, now under the lights!

Iowa (28) at Penn State (9) – 7:30 PM on CBS

Social media has created a lot of societal ills — I’m going somewhere with this — but is a great source of quick, instant dopamine, if you want it to be. Feeling down? Go scroll some silly cat videos on Instagram. Need a pick me up? Tell your Twitter timeline to send you pictures of their dogs.

Okay, now that is how Gary Danielson will feel at about 7:45 p.m. Saturday night when he gets his first glimpse of the Iowa offense in person.

Memphis (41) vs .Missouri (37) (in St Louis, Mo.) – 7:30 PM on ESPNU

Mizzou, the official team of MOYCFW, earned an emotional win last week against Kansas State, the kind of win that could potentially define a season and a coaching tenure. Luther Burden III was dominant in that game; he is all that and a bag of chips. The Tigers take on a good Group of Five outfit in St. Louis this weekend in a decaying old NFL dome. 

MIssissippi State (39) at South Carolina (40) – 7:30 PM on SECN

Ohio State (1) at Notre Dame (4) – 7:30 PM on NBC

Okay, I’ll say it: last year’s matchup between these two teams kinda stunk. It was a rock fight, but not the good kind. Notre Dame’s offense has improved tremendously since then, with the addition of Sam Hartman and the emergence of tailback Audric Estimé. 

Texas (10) at Baylor (49) – 7:30 PM on ABC

Texas’ farewell tour through the Big 12 begins in Waco. Recent Baylor outfits were better equipped to give the Longhorns a goodbye loss; this Bears team is thin in the trenches and will again be without starting quarterback Blake Shapen. 

UAB (104) at Georgia (2) – 7:30 PM on ESPN2

North Carolina (26) at Pitt (44) – 8 PM on ACCN

UCF (29) at Kansas State (21) – 8 PM on FS1

This would be a lot more interesting with healthy quarterbacks – UCF’s John Rhys Plumlee is out, and Kansas State’s Will Howard suffered an injury last week at Missouri.

Saturday Late Night:

California (53) at Washington (8) – 10:30 PM on ESPN

This is the “do you want to see a dead body?” game of the week. 

Kent State (133) at Fresno State (61) – 10:30 PM on CBS Sports Network

USC (5) at Arizona State (82) – 10:30 PM on Fox

With USC and Washington both playing in the late night spot, the two best offenses in the sport are in action at the time when games get weird.