Get Your Popcorn Ready 🍿

09/22/2023

By: Jeff Yoder

#19 Colorado at #10 Oregon? #6 Ohio State at #9 Notre Dame? Colossal Week 4 Matchups Could Break Viewing Records

Get your popcorn ready! The first three weeks of college football has been a bit lackluster, providing just a handful of great conference matchups thus far. Tomorrow? Oh my. It’s a CFB slate that makes me want to grab some couch for 12 straight hours. We have a dozen college games on our must-watch list this week, but two, in particular, could be heavyweight blockbusters that move the Richter scale.

Deion Goes Duck Hunting: The marquee clash of Saturday afternoon will see Deion Sanders and his Colorado Buffaloes march into Eugene to take on the high-flying Oregon Ducks. Oregon is averaging 58 points per game (2nd in FBS), but the Buffs and their talented playmakers are averaging 41. Both teams are 3-0, but this feels more like a reality check for Colorado. A year ago, this game wouldn’t have registered as a September must-see event. Now, based on the Buffs’ recent TV ratings boom and ever-escalating hype train, it’s a different story. Is this the first loss for the Sanders family in their Colorado tenure? Or does Coach Prime have another timely upset ready?

Buckeyes in South Bend: It’s a battle of college football royalty on Saturday night when the Silver and Scarlet roll into South Bend for a clash with the Gold and Green (yes, they’re wearing the green unis for this one). The Buckeyes and Irish are two of the sport’s most storied programs, but this is just their eighth meeting in over a century of football. Both teams are tied with the most Heisman Trophy winners (7), and they’re 1-2 in producing All-Americans with Notre Dame (107) and Ohio State (92) above all other programs. In 2023, Ohio State has allowed just 20 points in three games. The Irish have scored 184 points in a 4-0 start (46 ppg) — the most by ND since 1914. Oh, and Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman? He was once an all-conference linebacker at, you guessed it, Ohio State. Fiery storylines.

Elsewhere, Clemson hosts #4 Florida State before #13 Alabama hosts #15 Ole Miss. Find your favorite chair and strap in.

Must-See Week 4 Games

*#4 Florida State at Clemson (Noon ET)

Auburn at Texas A&M (Noon ET)

*#19 Colorado at #10 Oregon (3:30 pm ET)

#22 UCLA at #11 Utah (3:30 pm ET)

*#15 Ole Miss at #13 Alabama (3:30 pm ET)

Arkansas at #12 LSU (7:00 pm ET)

#14 Oregon State at #21 Washington State (7:00 pm ET)

#3 Texas at Baylor (7:30 pm ET)

*#6 Ohio State at #9 Notre Dame (7:30 pm ET)

#24 Iowa at #7 Penn State (7:30 pm ET)

UAB at #1 Georgia (7:30 pm ET)

#5 USC at Arizona State (10:30 pm ET)

*Potential CFB Playoff Implications

Forbes: Notre Dame Looks to Defeat Ohio State for First Time Since 1936

Photo: Dustin Bradford / Getty Images