2019 College football look ahead: Week 4

by Chris Asbrock

The 2019 college football season is just a few weeks old and has provided fans and pundits with some incredible games and upsets. This weekend has a few major football games and the slate in primetime should be a great one. With the conference matchups mainly getting going this weekend, there are some storylines to watch today.

Three big storylines to watch this weekend:

1. Can Michigan finally get things rolling on the road against Wiscy?

The Michigan Wolverines came into this season as one of the teams expected to compete for a playoff spot. The Wolverines head into Camp Ramp Randall Stadium as an underdog with about a 30% chance to win according to ESPN. Under Coach Jim Harbaugh, Michigan has yet to win a game when they enter as an underdog. As if things weren’t going to be difficult anyway for Michigan, the Badgers defense has yet to give up a point this season, outscoring their opponents 110-0 in the first two games of the season, blowing out USF and Central Michigan by scores of 49-0 and 61-0 respectively. The Wolverines have been battle tested in their first two games, knocking off Middle Tennessee State 40-21 and a stunning overtime win over Army, 24-21. The Wolverines defense is giving up an average of 138.5 yards in the air and 133.5 yards on the ground. The Badgers defense has been shut down as well, giving up an average of 87 yards passing and 20.5 on the ground. Harbaugh and Michigan are in for an extremely tough matchup to start off the day.

2. Will Oklahoma State continue their hot start in primetime against the Longhorns?

This is a primetime matchup between two high powered quarterbacks. Sam Ehlinger and Spencer Sanders are the ones who lead offenses with a ton of firepower. That has been the case over the years for Oklahoma State but the arrival of Ehlinger in Austin symbolizes a return to prominence for the Texas Longhorns. Statistically, the Oklahoma State Cowboys come into this matchup with the advantage over Texas. Sanders leads the Cowboys passing attack with 622 yards passing with 7 TD and 1 interception. On the ground, Chuba Hubbard is the man carrying the Cowboys. The Sophomore running back has 521 yards on 66 attempts with 7 touchdowns. Hubbard destroyed the Tulsa defense for 256 yards on just 32 rushes. On the other side, Sam Ehlinger has 956 yards passing with 11 TD. His most impressive performance was in the Longhorns lone loss, a 45-38 home loss to the 6th ranked LSU Tigers. Ehlinger went 31-47 for 401 yards passing and 4 TD against the tough Tiger defense. The Texas offense comes into this game averaging 497.7 total yards per game. That coupled with the fact the Cowboy defense has allowed an average of 387.3 yards per game, could mean a great night for the Longhorns. It won’t be that easy though, Oklahoma State has one of the most high powered offenses in the country, averaging 547 yards per game and almost 50 points per game. The Texas defense is prone to giving up yards (417.3 avg) and points (24 avg) per game. This game has shootout written all over it and could very well come down to the last team that scores, will win.

3. Who gets the upper hand in the playoff race in the Notre Dame/Georgia primetime matchup?

This is the premier matchup on this weekends slate of games. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish make their first trip to Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. This is the second of a home and home series that was agreed upon five years ago. These two teams last met in 2017, when the Georgia Bulldogs escaped South Bend with a 20-19 victory. That victory helped send Georgia to the College Football Playoff where they eventually fell to Alabama in the National Championship game. Will that be the case this season? Notre Dame comes into this matchup ranked 7th in the country, while the Bulldogs are 3rd. Both teams have experienced quarterbacks and will rely heavily on their experience. Ian Book took over last season as the main signal caller and went undefeated as their quarterback. The Bulldogs are led by three-year starter, Jake Fromm. This game will be determined by the quarterback who plays the best and makes no mistake. That factor does lean towards Fromm and the Bulldogs. Fromm has much more experience than Book and is more battle tested. That does give the Bulldogs a major advantage, especially at home in front of their crowd. Both quarterbacks have had a solid start to their season. Book has thrown for 553 yards and 6 TD but also leads the team in rushing, adding 127 yards and two more touchdowns. Fromm has tossed for 601 yards and 5 TD, while D’Andre Swift is the leading rusher with 290 yards and 2 TD. This has the makings for a fantastic football game but look for the Georgia Bulldogs to take advantage of their experience and talent at home and come away with a major early season victory.

College Football Playoff Pairings:

1. Clemson vs 4. Oklahoma
2. Ohio State vs 3. Alabama

Top 10 Power Rankings:

1. Clemson
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. LSU
5. Oklahoma
6. Georgia
7. Wisconsin
8. Notre Dame
9. Texas
10. Utah

The top 10 is still filled with the same teams as last week but it was the Buckeyes who made the biggest jump, moving up to second behind Clemson. The Buckeyes have shown throughout the first few weeks they are one of the best teams in the country and certainly one of the most talented. The Buckeyes face another in-state test when the Miami Redhawks come to town. The big matchup this weekend features Notre Dame traveling to Georgia in a primetime matchup. One of those teams will fall depending on the result.

Heisman Trophy Watch:

1. Joe Burrow
2. Trevor Lawrence
3. Tua Tagovailoa

4. Jonathan Taylor
5. Rondale Moore

Game picks 21-6, 0-3 upset)

Wisconsin over Michigan

Florida over Tennessee
Auburn over Texas A&M
Washington over BYU

Louisville over Florida State

Mississippi State over Kentucky

Oregon over Stanford

Texas over Oklahoma State

Georgia over Notre Dame

Upset: Colorado State over Toledo