College football's top games today: Week 4 schedule, what you should watch

Get your remote ready: These are the biggest games on the Week 4 college football schedule that you should be watching today.

The best games on the Week 4 college football schedule you should be watching today. / USA Today Sports | Imagn

Looking over the Week 4 college football schedule, there are four games featuring head-to-head matchups with ranked teams on the field, with three of them kicking off on Saturday, including marquee statement games in the SEC, the Big Ten, and the Big 12.

And all three of them feature new-look conference games brought to us by conference realignment, two of them with legacy league members playing host, and in a third a newbie playing at home against a traditional conference power.

All those games should have eventual College Football Playoff implications, and all will certainly play a role in how the conference championship races look as the season plays itself out.

What are the most important games you should be watching today?

Get your remote ready: These are the biggest matchups on your screens on an big Saturday.

College football’s best games today: Week 4 schedule, what you should watch

All times Eastern

NC State at Clemson

Why watch? We’ll see if Clemson is more like what it was against Georgia, when it got trounced, or like what it was against App State, when it trounced. The reality is likely somewhere in the middle, but this game should give us a better look at if this is a real ACC contender or not.

12 p.m. on ABC

• Clemson vs. NC State Prediction
• Tigers vs. Wolfpack score prediction by expert model

USC at Michigan

Why watch? Two of college football’s biggest names in one of the game’s premier venues. Usually we’d have to wait for a Rose Bowl to see this matchup, but it’s now a Big Ten tilt, and one with big pressure on defending champ Michigan to right the ship against an improved USC defense. Or is it so improved?

3:30 p.m. on CBS

• USC vs. Michigan Prediction
• Michigan vs. USC score prediction by expert model

Utah at Oklahoma State

Why watch? One of these teams could earn the Big 12’s auto playoff bid as they’re both on a short list to contend for the league title. Cam Rising should be back to enliven Utah’s offense, while Ollie Gordon looks to get back to his old self. The winner takes a big leap in the right direction, leaving the loser picking up the pieces and with less margin for error.

4 p.m. on Fox

• Utah vs. Okie State Prediction
• Utes at Cowboys score prediction by expert model

Miami at USF

Why watch? USF has played Alabama eerily close the last two years and can run the ball with authority, especially behind its mobile quarterback. Plus, it gets home-field in this one. Calling this an upset alert might be a bit much, but it could be the toughest test the Hurricanes and their potent offense have faced so far.

7 p.m. on ESPN

• Miami vs. USF score prediction by expert model

Tennessee at Oklahoma

Why watch? The game of the week. The Sooners’ debut in the SEC. Big Orange on the warpath with an explosive offense and suffocating defense. Oklahoma has played things close the last two weeks against unranked competition and is fielding a suspect offensive line against the Vols’ dynamic front seven. But OU can play strong defense, too, and star UT quarterback Nico Iamaleava has never played a true road game. Until now.

7:30 p.m. on ABC

• Tennessee vs. Oklahoma Prediction
• Vols vs. Sooners score prediction by expert model

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