The fourth weekend of college football in 2017 is a highly interesting week. One of the main features of this upcoming week is that conference play begins for most teams around the country. Races for conference championships begin in earnest, shaping the race to the College Football Playoff in even greater detail.
Penn State at Iowa, Saturday at 7:40 Eastern, ABC
College Football Odds: Nittany Lions -12.5
The defending Big Ten champions begin their title defense at Iowa. On paper, Penn State is the much more talented team, but Iowa has had a reputation for playing spoiler in recent years. In fact, last year Iowa beat Michigan at home. The Hawkeyes’ win made it possible for Michigan (which had beaten Penn State) to fall to third place in the Big Ten. Had Iowa not beaten Michigan, Penn State would not have been able to win a tiebreaker with Ohio State for the Big Ten East Division championship. Penn State knows how much that Iowa win meant last season, so the Nittany Lions should be aware of the test coming up in a night game on the road. However, it is early in the season, and Penn State’s offense might not be as crisp as it needs to be.
TCU at Oklahoma State, Saturday at 3:30 Eastern, ESPN
College Football Odds: Oklahoma State -13
The Big 12 has two great teams right now, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Can any other team put up a good fight? TCU gets first crack against Oklahoma State on Saturday. Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph is on fire. He smoked Pittsburgh’s secondary in Week 3, throwing a large number of touchdown passes in the first half, enabling OSU to roll to a massive lead before cruising home in the second half. Oklahoma State’s offense is executing smoothly, making the Cowboys look like one of the better teams in the country. Now, though, comes a familiar conference opponent, a team which has scouted Oklahoma State for years and knows what Rudolph is capable of. TCU should pose a tougher challenge for Oklahoma State’s offense, but the bigger question is if TCU’s offense can keep pace in a game which should feature plenty of points.
Mississippi State at Georgia, Saturday at 7 Eastern, ESPN
College Football Odds: Georgia -5
The Mississippi State Bulldogs have jumped onto the national scene due to their 37-7 blowout of LSU this past weekend. The Bulldogs created a complete performance on both sides of the ball, and quarterback Nick Fitzgerald looked very much in command of coach Dan Mullen’s offense. Now that offense will be tested in a road game at Georgia, where the other Bulldogs will see if No. 1 quarterback Jacob Eason can play. He practiced Monday, but in a very limited fashion. Coach Kirby Smart has not yet indicated if or when he will be able to play, which points to backup QB Jake Fromm being the likely starter against Mississippi State. This has become a bigger game than most people were ready to expect, mostly because Mississippi State has surprised people.
Washington at Colorado, Saturday at 10 Eastern, Fox Sports 1
College Football Odds: Huskies -10.5
The Huskies are the defending champions in the Pac-12 Conference, but they figure to get a very tough game from Colorado, the team which met the Huskies in last year’s Pac-12 Championship Game. Colorado has played extremely well on defense to this point in the season. The Buffaloes are playing this game at home. Washington struggled in its one road game so far this season, at Rutgers. The Huskies’ offensive line struggled with pass protection, and Washington struggled to distribute the ball to a full range of receivers. Colorado seems built to give Washington problems. The Buffaloes’ big key is being able to make plays in the passing game against a Washington secondary which dominated CU in the Pac-12 title game last December. The Buffs aren’t getting much respect in this one from the odds makers. They are a double-digit home dog in this one.
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