4-Down Territory: The Young Guns in the Big Ten Rule the Day

First Down: Kicking Things off with the Big 12: West Virginia (2-3) at #23 BYU (4-0) Friday 10:30 ESPN: WVU’s only two wins have come against Pittsburgh teams, an OT win over Pitt and a win over FCS team Robert Morris. BYU is the favorite here at home with a potent run game and a stout defense……..#14 Iowa State (5-0) at Cincinnati (3-1) 12:00 ESPN: The Cyclones continue to fly under the radar in pursuit of a conference title and a playoff berth. Cincinnati will be a tough test at home with a top 20 offense that likes to put the ball in the air with good balance on the ground. Iowa State’s defense is playing a bend-but-don’t break style that yields yardage but still ranks in the top 20 for scoring…..#11 Texas Tech (4-0) at Houston (4-0) 7:00 ESPN: Texas Tech’s offense struggled against Utah until starting QB Behren Morton got hurt. Enter backup QB Will Hammond who lit up the Utes going 13 for16 for 169 yards and 2 TDs to blow open that top 20 matchup for the Red Raiders. Keep an eye on that position. Houston is undefeated but was shaky in an OT win over winless Oregon State.

Second Down: Is the ACC field of contenders expanding? : #24 Virginia (4-1) at Louisville (4-0) 3:30 ESPN2: It’s been a while since UVA had a ranking next to their name, but when you get a top 10 win it happens. Can they continue that momentum at Louisville? The Cardinals are a team that could easily be ranked themselves coming off a comeback win over Pitt. Louisville QB Miller Moss transferred from USC and so far, so good……#3 Miami (4-0) at #18 Florida State (3-1) 7:30 ABC: A week ago this was a prospective Top 10 game with College Gameday headed to Tallahassee. Then the FSU defense got gashed by UVA. They will need a strong showing when the ‘Canes come to town with QB Carson Beck. When FSU has the ball, QB Tommy Castellanos will have to avoid the costly INTs that hurt his team at UVA last week. He presents a tough dual-threat challenge as Alabama can attest. Miami's defense ranks in the Top 15 in total defense and scoring defense…… Boise State (3-1) at #21 Notre Dame (2-2) 3:30 NBC: Yes, we know that Notre Dame is not in the ACC for football (but they are for other sports). Boise State comes to town as the next opponent on Notre Dame’s redemption tour in search of another playoff berth. Notre Dame has a young gun at QB of their own in freshman CJ Carr who ranks #10 in the country for pass efficiency. The Irish have been looking to score early and often the past few weeks, and it has worked. The key will be continued improvement on the defensive side.

Third Down: More or less, the SEC still matters: Kentucky (2-2) at #12 Georgia (3-1) 12:00 ABC: The UGA fans are perplexed by Coach Kirby Smart’s lack of success against Alabama after last week’s loss at home to the Tide. Kentucky comes to town and has not defeated UGA since 2009—15 straight. The two things Kentucky has done the past few years has been to run the ball and play defense. These two things have been lacking, and to win between the hedges they will need both…..#16 Vanderbilt (5-0) at #10 Alabama (3-1) 3:30 ABC: Alabama’s team certainly remembers the upset in Nashville last year. Their defense is playing better this year, and QB Ty Simpson has proven he can win a big game. Alabama’s defense will face a massive test from dual threat QB Diego Pavia who has averaged 301 yards per game in total offense. But Vanderbilt has improved their talent across the board this year…..#9 Texas (3-1) at Florida (1-3) 3:30 ESPN: Texas remains a mystery with everyone waiting for the type of performances they expected from Arch Manning. While Manning is also a young gun, if he was in the Big Ten, he would be the 10th-rated passer in that league. But the fact remains that the Longhorn defense has been stifling, allowing just 211 yards per game and surrendering just 1 TD pass. Given the offensive struggles the Gators have had all year this could be big trouble…..Mississippi State (4-1) at #6 Texas A&M (4-0) 7:30 SEC Network: The Bulldogs have quietly had an excellent start to the season with a win over Arizona State and was one TD away from beating Tennessee. Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed has two big-play WRs that have been a key to their start. The A&M defense is coming off their best game against Auburn last week. This week they face an offense averaging almost 39 points per game…..Kent State (1-3) at #5 Oklahoma (4-0) 4:00 SEC Network: For the Sooners a final tune-up and a chance to get QB Michael Hawkins a start replacing the injured John Mateer before they play Texas next week.

Fourth Down: Big Ten Young Guns Rule The Gridiron: Young QBs abound in the Big Ten and this weekend features some key matchups between these young guns. The Big Ten is having one of its deepest QB years in recent memory. 8 Starters rank among the top 17 nationally in passing efficiency and only one of them is a senior (see the graphic below)…….Wisconsin (2-2) at #20 Michigan (3-1) 12:00 FOX: The Badger fans have gotten restless after a surprising loss to Maryland. They travel to Ann Arbor to face a Michigan team that has found its soul in a potent run game behind RB Justice Haynes (nation’s 3^rd-leading rusher). Freshman Michigan QB is trailing the other young guns in the Big Ten, but the Wolverines are leaning into the run game. The UM defense has found their stride with one of the best pass rush groups in the country. The Achilles heel of the UM defense has been the mobile dual-threat QB, but Wisconsin does not bring that with them…..#22 Illinois (4-1) at Purdue (2-2) 12:00 Big Ten Network: Purdue’s offense has improved but has been plagued by untimely INTs. Notre Dame jumped all over the Purdue defense going after them for the big plays. Expect the Illini to be just as aggressive……. Washington (3-1) at Maryland (4-0) 3:30 Big Ten Network: This is an intriguing matchup between two more of the league's young quarterbacks. Maryland freshman QB Malik Washington is a big guy (6-5 231) with a strong arm who pushes the ball downfield to a speedy receiving corps. He may need help from a run game that has been lacking so far this year. As for Washington, their sophomore QB Demond Williams is a speedy runner and an accurate passer. But he will be facing one of the Big Ten’s best pass rush groups. He’ll be helped by RB Jonah Coleman who is averaging over 100 yards per game and 6.5 yards per carry……Michigan State (3-1) at Nebraska (3-1) 4:00 FS1: This is another QB matchup to watch. Nebraska Sophomore QB Dylan Raiola only seems like he’s been at Nebraska forever. This year he vastly improved thanks to new offensive coordinator Dana Holgersen. Michigan State junior QB Aiden Chiles seems like an old man by comparison, but he too is among the top 17 passers in the country. Both of these teams are looking to move up in the Big Ten world order, and a win here would certainly be a step in the right direction…… Minnesota (3-1) at #1 Ohio State (4-0) 7:30 NBC: Two more young Big Ten QBs face off in prime time. Minnesota freshman QB Drake Lindsey leads a solid offense that needs to establish a run game. Doing that will be hard against an Ohio State defense that has yielded just 2 TDs and 22 points in 4 games. The OSU d-line has been quietly dominating their opponents. On offense, OSU’s sophomore QB Julian Sayin in 4^th in the nation in passing efficiency and is surrounded by great talent at the skill positions. Minnesota had some trouble stopping Rutgers’ pass game in a tight win last week. They will need to be a whole lot better this week by continued production from their productive pass rush……#7 Penn State (3-1) at UCLA (0-4) 3:30 CBS: UCLA has an interim head coach, just fired their offensive coordinator (elevating TE coach Jerry Neuheisel to that role a few days ago) and has lost 4 games to start the season. It should spell relief for PSU after a tough loss. Look for PSU to try to get off to a fast start. After all, UCLA had been outscored 77-20 in the first half in 4 games and has never held a lead. UCLA’s defense likes to press the WRs. This is the game where the three transfer receivers need to beat the press on the outside and make plays. The slot WR for Penn State could have a big day. PSU Senior QB Drew Allar could also use the kind of breakout game that so many young Big Ten QBs have had this year.