College football TV schedule: Watchability tiers for Week 4's best games

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With six games between teams in the US LBM Coaches Poll, the Week 4 schedule represents a shift from non-conference hijinks to serious business.

Last week, No. 6 Mississippi’s 32-24 win against No. 11 LSU provided a little separation among the best teams in the SEC. The Rebels are on the road this Saturday for another crucial conference matchup, this time against No. 22 Florida, which is surging in coach Jon Sumrall’s first season.

But the biggest game of the week will involve Arch Manning and top-ranked Texas, which heads on the road for the first time this season against No. 13 Tennessee.

USA TODAY Sports will help you set a plan for the weekend by splitting the slate into four groups, beginning with the must-see games that demand your attention. Here is how the week shakes out in our ranking tiers:

Tier 1: Must-see TV

Northwestern at No. 4 Indiana, Sept. 25 (8 p.m., Fox)

The odds of an upset may be extremely low, but Northwestern did look very good last week against Colorado and the Hoosiers were underwhelming against Western Kentucky.

Clemson at California, Sept. 25 (10:30 p.m., ESPN)

Dabo watch continues with a Friday night road trip to the West Coast that has the ingredients for a potential disaster for the Tigers.

No. 1 Texas at No. 13 Tennessee, Sept. 26 (noon, ABC)

Beating Ohio State was great, but before being anointed as the national championship favorite the Longhorns have to show they can win these types of games away from home.

No. 24 Oklahoma at No. 2 Georgia, Sept. 26 (3:30 p.m., ESPN)

Oklahoma is trending down while Georgia has just obliterated three opponents out of the gate, though none comparable to the Sooners.

No. 6 Mississippi at No. 22 Florida, Sept. 26 (3:30 p.m., ABC)

This one seems ripe for a letdown for the Rebels after last week’s emotional win against Kiffin and the Tigers.

No. 17 Iowa at No. 18 Michigan, Sept. 26 (3:30 p.m., CBS)

Iowa’s offense has run hot and cold through three games but could have enough in the tank to score a win that will vault the Hawkeyes in the Coaches Poll.

Boise State at Western Michigan, Sept. 26 (3:30 p.m., ESPN2)

Another week, another marquee Group of Six matchup for Boise State, which already has a crucial win against Memphis.

No. 20 Texas A&M at No. 11 LSU, Sept. 26 (7:30 p.m., ABC)

The Aggies are limping into this one after having major flaws revealed a week ago against Kentucky.

No. 16 Oregon at No. 12 Southern California, Sept. 26 (7:30 p.m., NBC)

There are huge stakes in this one: Oregon is a loss away from being written out of the College Football Playoff race and the USC doubters are back out in force after last week’s struggle against Rutgers.

No. 21 Missouri at Mississippi State, Sept. 26 (7:45 p.m., SECN)

The attention around Bulldogs quarterback Kamario Taylor and his Heisman Trophy case will expand should he lead the Bulldogs to a ranked win.

Tier 2: Commercial break backups

Illinois at No. 7 Ohio State, Sept. 26 (noon, Fox)

Illinois is an enigma but doesn’t seem to have the bodies to match up with the Buckeyes, though turnovers would raise the chances of an upset.

Wake Forest at No. 19 Louisville, Sept. 26 (noon, ESPN)

Louisville is clearly an ACC contender and maybe even more than that, while Wake Forest again resembles a pesky threat to the league’s best.

Colorado at Baylor, Sept. 26 (noon, ESPN2)

The loser of this one will be behind the eight ball in the bowl hunt, which would spell enormous trouble for either Deion Sanders or Dave Aranda.

UCLA at Maryland, Sept. 26 (1:30 p.m., Big Ten)

The Bruins been terrific under coach Bob Chesney but will need to button things up against the pass after giving up 425 yards through the air last Saturday against Purdue.

No. 3 Notre Dame at Purdue, Sept. 26 (2 p.m., Peacock)

And the Boilermakers could put up some yards on Notre Dame, though the Irish should have an easier time than in last week’s 27-10 win against Michigan State.

New Mexico at New Mexico State, Sept. 26 (3:30 p.m., CBSSN)

Tune into this in-state rivalry for a chance to watch New Mexico coach Jason Eck, who nearly led the Lobos to an upset of Oklahoma and is clearly headed to the Power Four in the near future.

Vanderbilt at Auburn, Sept. 26 (4:15 p.m., SECN)

Five-star freshman Jared Curtis will make his first road start after throwing for 277 yards against North Carolina State.

Wisconsin at No. 14 Penn State, Sept. 26 (5 p.m., Peacock)

The first real test for Matt Campbell comes against a Wisconsin team that is clearly better, though not a legitimate threat to crack the top half of the Big Ten.

Nebraska at Michigan State, Sept. 26 (5 p.m., Big Ten)

Likewise for Nebraska, though the Cornhuskers have a higher ceiling than the Badgers and could turn a road win in East Lansing into a 5-0 start before meeting Indiana in October.

South Carolina at No. 8 Alabama, Sept. 26 (7 p.m., ESPN)

The pressure is on Shane Beamer to deliver a marquee upset and get this season back on track or risk being replaced.

Oklahoma State at West Virginia, Sept. 26 (7 p.m., FS1)

WVU just pulled off a huge win against Virginia, showing the program’s growth under Rich Rodriguez, while the Cowboys have successfully moved past a horrible loss to Tulsa in the opener.

Appalachian State at North Carolina State, Sept. 26 (7:30 p.m., ESPNU)

Anything can happen when N.C. State plays football, as we saw in the wild and wacky ending in last Saturday’s loss to Vanderbilt.

Tulsa at Arkansas, Sept. 26 (8 p.m., SECN+)

Ryan Silverfield can complete one of the worst first months by a coach in modern SEC history should Arkansas lose at home to the Golden Hurricane.

Tier 3: Track the box score

Virginia Tech at Boston College, Sept. 26 (noon, ACCN)

Virginia Tech has looked strong under James Franklin and could be headed for the Top 25, though probably not after beating Boston College.

San Diego State at Toledo, Sept. 26 (noon, CBSSN)

A win against the Aztecs would set up Toledo as one of the favorites in the MAC in the first year under Mike Jacobs.

South Alabama at Kentucky, Sept. 26 (12:45 p.m., SECN)

South Alabama could make this a four-quarter game if Kentucky suffers any sort of letdown after the upset against Texas A&M.

No. 15 Utah at Iowa State, Sept. 26 (3:30 p.m., Fox)

Utah and its dynamic offense should win going away, though Iowa State did lose to Iowa by only a field goal.

TCU at Central Florida, Sept. 26 (3:30 p.m., FS1)

The TCU passing game is starting to hum behind Harvard transfer Jaden Craig, who has averaged 12.1 yards per attempt with seven touchdowns in his past two games.

Connecticut at Miami (Ohio), Sept. 26 (3:30 p.m., ESPN+)

While maybe not to the same level as Boise State or other top Group of Six playoff contenders, the Huskies and RedHawks look like clear bowl teams with the potential for eight or more wins.

Delaware at Virginia, Sept. 26 (6 p.m., ACCN)

This is a nice rebound game for the Cavaliers after the disappointing loss to the Mountaineers.

James Madison at Old Dominion, Sept. 26 (6 p.m., ESPN+)

Don’t be surprised if the winner of this one stands atop the Sun Belt East in late November and plays for the conference championship.

Central Michigan at No. 5 Miami, Sept. 26 (6:30 p.m., CW)

You should track the box score to see whether Darian Mensah finishes with more touchdowns than incompletions for the third time in four games.

Kansas State at Cincinnati, Sept. 26 (7 p.m., ESPN2)

After his team pulled off a crazy comeback to beat Miami (Ohio) and move to 3-0, Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield can really increase his job security by beating the Wildcats to open Big 12 play.

Arizona at Washington State, Sept. 26 (7:30 p.m., CBS)

That Arizona’s running game has been atrocious which gives Washington State a pretty solid chance of knocking off its former Pac-12 cohort.

Georgia Tech at Stanford, Sept. 26 (10:30 p.m., ESPN)

The Yellow Jackets are looking to even their record at 2-2 and get the season back on track after an ugly start.

Minnesota at No. 23 Washington, Sept. 26 (11 p.m., Fox)

The last game of the night could be a competitive one, even if there’s a feeling that Washington could breakthrough at any moment and turn into the playoff contender it was expected to be in August.

Tier 4: Check your phone before bed

There’s still some interest in this week’s bargain-bin games, including a chance for Massachusetts to remain unbeaten on the road against Sacramento State and a must-have game for Hawaii’s hopes of reaching bowl eligibility against Wyoming.

Liberty at Coastal Carolina, Sept. 24 (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
Army at Temple, Sept. 25 (4 p.m., ESPN)
Navy at Alabama-Birmingham, Sept. 25 (7 p.m., ESPN)
Sam Houston State at No. 10 Texas Tech, Sept. 26 (noon, TNT)
Colorado State at Texas-San Antonio, Sept. 26 (noon, ESPNU)
UNLV at Akron, Sept. 26 (noon, ESPN+)
Ball State at Kent State, Sept. 26 (noon, ESPN+)
Northern Illinois at Georgia State, Sept. 26 (2 p.m., ESPN+)
Hawaii at Wyoming, Sept. 26 (3 p.m., CW)
Houston at Georgia Southern, Sept. 26 (4 p.m., ESPNU)
South Florida at Bowling Green, Sept. 26 (5 p.m., ESPN+)
Louisiana-Lafayette at Charlotte, Sept. 26 (6:30 p.m., ESPN+)
Southern Mississippi at Tulane, Sept. 26 (7 p.m., ESPN+)
Kennesaw State at Arkansas State, Sept. 26 (7 p.m., ESPN+)
Middle Tennessee at Jacksonville State, Sept. 26 (7 p.m., ESPN+)
Troy at Utah State, Sept. 26 (7:30 p.m., CBSSN)
Florida Atlantic at Louisiana-Monroe, Sept. 26 (8 p.m., ESPN+)
Oregon State at Texas-El Paso, Sept. 26 (9 p.m., MW+)
Massachusetts at Sacramento State, Sept. 26 (9 p.m., ESPN+)
Missouri State at No. 25 SMU, Sept. 26 (9 p.m., ACCN)
Rice at Fresno State, Sept. 26 (10 p.m., CW)
Air Force at Nevada, Sept. 26 (10:30 p.m., FS1)

Other games

This week’s games against Championship Subdivision teams mostly involves the Group of Six, though there are four from the Power Four set for a well-deserved breather in Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Florida State and Duke.

Howard at Rutgers, Sept. 25 (7 p.m., Big Ten)
Bucknell at Pittsburgh, Sept. 26 (noon, ACCNX)
Lindenwood at Eastern Michigan, Sept. 26 (1 p.m., ESPN+)
Central Arkansas at Florida State, Sept. 26 (3 p.m., ACCN)
William & Mary at Duke, Sept. 26 (3:30 p.m., ACCNX)
Robert Morris at Buffalo, Sept. 26 (3:30 p.m., ESPN+)
Stonehill at Ohio, Sept. 26 (3:30 p.m., ESPN+)
Gardner-Webb at Marshall, Sept. 26 (3:30 p.m., ESPN+)
North Carolina Central at East Carolina, Sept. 26 (3:30 p.m., ESPN+)
Incarnate Word at Texas State, Sept. 26 (6 p.m., USA)
Long Island University at Florida International, Sept. 26 (6 p.m., ESPN+)
Mercyhurst at Western Kentucky, Sept. 26 (7 p.m., ESPN+)
Houston Christian at North Texas, Sept. 26 (7:30 p.m., ESPN+)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football TV schedule: Watchability tiers for Week 4's best games

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