We're almost one month into the 2024 college football season and we know a lot more now than we did before games started.
Every week we're learning more.
Here, CI publisher Justin Rowland shares what Kentucky fans should know going into Week 4 of the college football season.
Stanford begins ACC play
If it's hard to imagine Stanford as an ACC school get used to it. The Cardinal travels to Syracuse in the JMA Wireless (Carrier) Dome to take on the 2-0 Orange, which has wins over Ohio (UK's opponent this week) and Georgia Tech. That game is on Friday night.
Southern Cal starts Big Ten action
Over the summer Southern Cal officially joined the Big Ten. They did the conference proud with a season-opening win against LSU in Las Vegas, and now the No. 11-ranked Trojans travel to the Big House to take on a Michigan team that was no match for Texas on the same field just a couple of weeks ago. Michigan, ranked No. 18, is a 5.5-point underdog on its home field. Eight of the ten games in this series have been Rose Bowl matchups. Now it's a conference game. Trojan QB Miller Moss looks good so far.
Top-25 matchup between Illinois and Nebraska
Is Matt Rhule bringing the Cornhuskers back? Both the Huskers and the Illini are in the top-25 in what would have been a Big Ten West game not long ago. The winner of this game gets a big boost moving to 4-0 but this is the first conference game for both squads. Dylan Raiola has five touchdowns and just one pick for Nebraska this season while Illinois receiver Pat Bryant has 235 yards and four scores already. Nebraska is a 7.5-point favorite at home. This game is also on Friday.
NC State at Clemson
The Wolfpack often plays Clemson very well. But this year's NC State team was blown out by Tennessee. Clemson was blown out by Georgia, but didn't look as bad in the process, at least in the first half. Clemson, along with Miami, is a leading contender to win the ACC and reach the playoff this year but with that one blemish already they don't have a huge margin for error.
UF-MSU, Arkansas-Auburn: What's going to give?
Florida and Mississippi State look like two of the worst teams in the SEC through a few games. Florida was blown out at home by Miami and was blown out in the first half at home by Texas A&M. Meanwhile, Mississippi State is coming off a home blowout loss to Toledo. The winner of this game will have something to hang its hat on for a week but maybe the best case scenario for Kentucky here is a Florida spiral.
Arkansas and Auburn are 2-1 as opposed to 1-2, like the Gators and Bulldogs, but this old SEC West matchup is also important for a couple of teams looking to build momentum from the bottom half of the league. Kentucky draws Auburn but not Arkansas later. The Tigers' offense did not look good in a loss to Cal but we'll see if a QB change can help them.
Important game for Kansas and WVU
Both Kansas and WVU had high hopes coming into the season but both teams are now 1-2. Jalon Daniels was the reason a lot of KU fans had optimism coming into this season but the Jayhawks have been unable to get their offense on track this year, scoring 17 points in a loss to Illinois and 20 in a loss to UNLV. Meanwhile, this is an important year for UK alum and former Wildcat OC Neal Brown.
Jon Sumrall wants the win column
Former UK player and assistant Jon Sumrall takes his 1-2 Tulane team on the road to Louisiana for maybe one of their biggest games of the season. Tulane was competitive in losses against Kansas State and Oklahoma. He'll want to avoid the 1-3 start but going on the road here will be tough. Tulane is a field goal favorite.
Big league game for Louisville
You can make a case that Louisville is a top three ACC team based on where everything stands right now in the league. But they haven't been tested very much yet. Georgia Tech is a 10-point underdog at Louisville this weekend. The Yellow Jackets have the kind of offense that can cause some problems for UofL on a good day. UofL gets Notre Dame on the road next week so this is an important game for the Cardinals, who also host Miami later this year.
Utah at Oklahoma State
Believe it or not the game between the Utes and Cowboys is a top-25 matchup. Oklahoma State was fortunate to come back and survive against Arkansas but both teams remain unscathed. QB Alan Bowman is off to a great start for Oklahoma State and Utah will run the ball a lot. The winner of this game will have an inside track to the Big 12 championship and will be in prime position to make a playoff push.
Miami gets in-state test
South Florida doesn't have the program momentum it once did after it elevated to the FBS level but the Bulls played well against Alabama and made the Crimson Tide sweat into the fourth quarter. Top-10 Miami comes to town with Cam Ward playing at a high level.
Can Florida State get in the win column?
FSU has been the nation's most disappointing team by far to start the season. The Seminoles began the year in the top 10 after losing nearly everyone and now Mike Norvell's team is a shocking 0-3. They're only 2.5-point favorites against Cal at home.
Nico Iamaleava in Norman
The Nico Iamaleava era at Tennessee is off to a blistering start with those video game scores and complete domination. But this weekend the Vols are in Norman, Oklahoma to welcome the Sooners to the SEC. Oklahoma has a solid defense but is the Sooner offense good enough to trade blows with a wide open Tennessee offense that's clicking on all cylinders? Whatever team wins this game gets a big notch under its belt in terms of a playoff case.
