Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - We're onto Week 4 of the 2024 college football season, and there's already been plenty of exciting and juicy headlines around the college landscape!
Let's check out what we’ve got coming up this weekend:
New team atop the AP Poll
For the first time since October 2008, the Texas Longhorns are the AP No. 1 team in the nation.
Texas has been dominant for the first three weeks of the season, covering the spread in all three games, including a double-digit win at The Big House against the University of Michigan.
It’s been a long time coming for Longhorn fans, but Steve Sarkisian has truly brought the Texas program back. And he has done so by building both through the high school ranks and the transfer portal.
Maybe the story for this week is the health of starting quarterback Quinn Ewers, and the emergence of backup and highly-touted quarterback Arch Manning. Manning took over for an injured Ewers this past week, who is now week-to-week with a strained abdomen.
In last week's win over UTSA, Manning scored five touchdowns, and looked to have solidified the hype surrounding him as the “Next Manning”.
For the Longhorns, the first big test will be in three weeks for the Red River Showdown against the University of Oklahoma.
Speaking of the Sooners…
No. 6 - Tennessee at No. 15 - Oklahoma
Easily the Game of the Week takes place in Norman, as the Sooners take on the Volunteers in, what could end up being, a game that defines this season. Both teams enter at 3-0, but it has been a different road for each to get there.
For the Sooners, they earned a blowout win against Temple, but then followed that with just a four-point win over Houston at home. Then at home against Tulane, they were only up by five after a pick-six from quarterback Jackson Arnold early in the fourth quarter.
On the other hand, Tennessee has looked undeniable.
Blowout-after-blowout, including a neutral site contest against the then-ranked No. 24 North Carolina State. Led by Nico Iamaleava at quarterback and Dylan Sampson at running back (who already has nine touchdowns on the ground), the Volunteers offense has been one of the best in the country.
That offense will look to do the same to Oklahoma, as they walk in at seven-point road favorites.
There is also a surprising connection between these two teams, as Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel played quarterback for the Sooners from 1999-2000, and finished second in 2000 Heisman Trophy voting (won by Chris Weinke of Florida State).
Heupel also began his coaching career at Oklahoma, serving as quarterbacks coach from 2006-10 and co-offensive coordinator from 2011-14.
Kickoff for this game will be Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Other notable games:
- Stanford at Syracuse, Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET
- No. 11 - USC at No. 18 - Michigan, Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET
- No. 12 - Utah at No. 14 - Oklahoma State, Saturday at 4 p.m. ET
- No. 13 - Kansas State at BYU, Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET
Big Saturday for the Bulls
Meanwhile, the UB Bulls at in DeKalb, Illinois to take on No. 23 Northern Illinois on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
NIU sits as a 13.5-point favorite heading into this contest.
This will be UB’s second top-25 opponent this season. The first game also saw the Bulls go on the road to face No. 9 Missouri.
Buffalo took care of business and covered the spread against UMass with a 34-3 win last week, which included a 100-yard pick-six from Taisun Phommachanh.
It’s a difficult start to conference play for the Bulls, but early signs for Pete Lembo have been positive. He could really have set the foundation for an exciting season, if the Bulls were able to pull off an upset here.
This game will be an ESPN+ broadcast, but you can listen to the game on The Bet 1520.
