The fourth week of the college football calendar comes with major headlines across the landscape, with bragging rights and peak conference jockeying on the line.
One of the big highlights of the weekend kicks off at 12 p.m. EDT (10:00 a.m. local) with No. 17 Texas Tech traveling to No. 16 Utah for a massive Big 12 matchup that could put the winner in the driver’s seat for a spot in the Big 12 Championship game in December. Of course, the winner of that championship game is a lock to head to the College
Football Playoff. The Red Raiders invested in the transfer portal as much as anyone in the country portal in this past offseason. They’re a team committed to winning moving forward. This contest will be their first true test against a stout Utes team on the road — a team with an elite-caliber offensive line and dynamic quarterback.
Twenty-second-ranked Auburn travels to No. 11 Oklahoma in the mid-afternoon slate on Saturday. Both of these squads are upset-minded teams looking to crash the party in the SEC this year. It’s been a rocky road for both teams as Oklahoma has broken into the conference and certainly for Auburn in recent seasons with a litany of quarterback concerns. Both teams already have solid wins under their belt with Oklahoma knocking off Michigan and Auburn handling Baylor. Now they’re on quite the collision course in Norman. Former prized (and partially failed) recruit Jackson Arnold is the quarterback for the Tigers. Some aspects of the Oklahoma struggles a year ago had to do with quarterback play, which Arnold was a part of. Now he gets a possible revenge game against a defensive minded head coach in Brett Venables who knows him quite well.
Two of the more recent darlings in the Big 10 are clashing in Bloomington on Saturday night with No. 9 Illinois traveling to No. 19 Indiana. Both squads are veteran-laden with even units on each side of the football. Nobody is confusing these teams for Ohio State or Oregon in 2025, but they’re live to make the College Football Playoff with a win in this matchup.
The Week 4 carpet has been laid out. We’ve got a few prospect matchups you’ll be wanting to keep your eyes on this weekend. Let us know who/what you’re watching in the college football world this weekend.
Auburn WR Eric Singleton Jr. vs. Oklahoma CB Gentry Williams
Georgia Tech transfer Eric Singleton Jr. was one of the nation’s top transfers on the open market this past offseason. He’s been dinged up and dealing with nagging injuries early on this season. He’s been contributing, but you’d expect him to explode for a big performance at some point soon considering the investment Auburn made in him. Some of that success depends on the play of Jackson Arnold in this game specifically.
Oklahoma has one of the best defenses in the country. They’re happy to see the return of Gentry Williams to the lineup after he missed all of 2024 due to injury. Williams was looking like a potential future priority draft selection in 2023 for the Sooners. He now gets a showcase opportunity against a strong receiving corps that Auburn possesses.
Utah OT Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu vs. Texas Tech EDGE David Bailey
One of the best offensive lines in the country resides in Utah with the best offensive tackle tandem in the nation. Fano and Lomu are different prospects, with Fano being well defined and incredibly balanced. Lomu is a smooth mover who needs to work on handling power in pass pro and being a road grader in the run game. They’ll have a tough task against one of the best pass rushers in the country Saturday.
David Bailey, a Stanford transfer, is one of the best natural pass rushers in the country. He’s an elite athlete with speed to close and finish his rush with a sack of the quarterback. Bailey’s main knock is his ability to defend against the run and be an every down player. He’ll be looking to prove he belongs in that respect to NFL scouts playing across two future NFL tackles this weekend.
Florida OT Austin Barber vs. Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr.
The Florida offense may be a mess, but left tackle Austin Barber is one of the bright spots for the team threw a few weeks of play for the Gators. He’s calm in his approach and peddle with a well-timed punch to stymie the rusher across from him. He made the flip to the left side in 2025. Barber had incredible tape last week against LSU — even as his offense struggled.
Bain has been an eye popper this year. He just moves different for his stature (6’3”, 275 pounds). Bain is a very strong run defender and has looked even more athletic and twitchy in his pass rush in 2025 after an injury last season. He’s a ball of muscle that can convert speed-to-power with relative ease.
Game of the Week
No. 22 Auburn @ No. 11 Oklahoma
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. EDT
ABC
This was a tough choice for the week. Texas Tech and Utah was ever so close to earning the honors. But the factor of Arnold returning to his old stadium where he was earmarked as a dud quarterback recruit is too perfect of a story line to not follow into the weekend.
Oklahoma is led by their quarterback John Mateer — who is quite the popcorn television-type of quarterback who gets you out of your seat. He’s willing to make every throw and take on any defender as a rusher. He has made the Oklahoma offense go. Deion Burks is his favorite target at receiver. Converted linebacker Jaren Kanek has been an aberration at tight end for the Sooners with his first year on the offensive side of the ball. He leads the Sooners in receiving.
The Auburn defense has some nasty off the edge with Keldric Faulk being one of the best defensive ends in the country. Keyron Crawford has been a stud in his own right with three sacks on the year. Kayin Lee projects as Auburn’s best cover man. The Tigers have plenty of non-draft eligible underclassmen they rely on for contributions in the defense.
Many will talk Auburn’s receivers as a strength, but the offensive line has five draftable players led by left tackle Xavier Chaplin. Connor Lew is also one of the best centers in the country. Dillon Wade, Jeremiah Wright, and Mason Murphy round out the group. Singleton is the main man on the outside for draftable players for Auburn. Cam Coleman, a true sophomore, looks like a future first rounder.
One of the big headliners in this game is R Mason Thomas missing a half for targeting in this game. Mason Thomas is one of the best pass rushers in the country. He’ll be sorely missed for 30 minutes in this contest. Damonic Williams mans the middle for the Sooners with underclassmen like David Stone. Kendal Daniels, a former safety, brings the boom coming downhill and Kip Lewis is an easy mover with great ability to diagnose. The aforementioned Gentry Williams and Courtland Guillory have played great on the outside. Robert Spears-Jennings is a dude at safety as well.
Arnold will be playing with something to prove while one of the best defensive minds in the sport within the last decade in Brent Venables will be looking to take advantage of the former quarterback he saw every day in practice in 2024. This will be quite the fascinating matchup.
