SALT LAKE CITY — Another exciting week of action is in the books as we enter the fourth week of the college football season. This week we’ll see teams enter conference play, headlined by FOX’s “Big Noon Kickoff” in Salt Lake City.
No. 17 Texas Tech (3-0) vs. No. 16 Utah (3-0)
Saturday, Sept. 20, 10 a.m. MDT – Rice-Eccles Stadium (FOX)
Two ranked Big 12 teams battle it out on FOX’s “Big Noon Kickoff” in an important early-season matchup.
Why Texas Tech will win:
The Red Raiders’ offense has looked explosive to begin the season, scoring 45 or more points in their first three games. Quarterback Behren Morton has already tossed 923 yards and 11 touchdowns this season but he and Texas Tech’s offense will be playing in one of the country’s toughest environments on Saturday.
If the Red Raiders are going to steal a win at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the offense will have to continue to play at a high level while also connecting on a few explosive plays. One of the biggest challenges for Tech is if they can contain Utah quarterback Devon Dampier.
The Utes’ kicking game struggled in Laramie last week, so if the Red Raiders can hold the Utes to field goals, they’ll give their offense a chance in this one.
Why Utah will win:
Utah rarely loses at home; and for a team that never stepped foot in Rice-Eccles Stadium, the Red Raiders may be in for a rude awakening. However, after UCLA’s most recent loss, it may be difficult to tell just how good this Utes team is this season.
With their best win so far not looking like the most impressive, Utah still has much to prove to the national audience. The Utes still boast one of the top offensive lines in the country and that Kyle Whittingham and Morgan Scalley defense is sure to wreak havoc on opposing offenses.
They’ll be up for a tough task as Texas Tech averages 58.0 points and 602.7 yards per game. The defense will need to get stops to give Dampier and the offense chances to catch up in what could be a high scoring affair.
Line: Utah -3.5
Over/Under: 57.5
No. 21 Michigan (2-1) vs. Nebraska (3-0)
Saturday, Sept. 20, 1:30 p.m. MDT – Memorial Stadium (CBS)
Nebraska looks to remain unbeaten as they host Michigan in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
Why Michigan will win:
Interim head coach Biff Poggi will be on the sidelines once again for the Wolverines as head coach Sherrone Moore serves the last game of his two-game suspension from his role in the Connor Stalions saga.
Michigan flexed its muscles in a dominant win over Central Michigan last week. Poggi seemingly took the handcuffs off five-star phenom Bryce Underwood, and the signal caller delivered his best game of his young career.
After a disappointing performance against Oklahoma last week, Underwood bounced back nicely, scoring three total touchdowns, with 235 yards coming through the air and another 114 on the ground. Underwood showed off his running ability which hadn’t shown itself in the Wolverines’ first two games.
All eyes will be on Underwood as he makes his second career road start. If offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey can help Underwood get comfortable early, the team should be able to rely on his impressive arm as well as standout running back Justice Haynes.
Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale will make it his job to make life hard for Dylan Raiola and the Cornhusker offense. Expect Martindale to run different blitz packages to throw Raiola off his game.
Why Nebraska will win:
As previously stated, Underwood will be making just his second road start and the freshman struggled against the Sooners on the road. Memorial Stadium is a tough place to play and Nebraska fans will be ready to make noise for this one.
The Cornhuskers look to be improving under head coach Matt Rhule, now in his third season with the program. A win over a Big Ten opponent like Michigan will be a big milestone for a team that has continually fallen short year after year.
After an opening week win over Cincinnati, Nebraska has dominated their opponents, beating Akron and Houston Christian with a combined score of 127-7. The Wolverines will be their biggest test yet but with their offense clicking and Michigan coming in without their head coach and starting a freshman quarterback, all eyes will be on Nebraska to earn a big-time win.
Line: MICH -2.5
Over/Under: 46.5
BYU (2-0) vs. East Carolina (2-1)
Saturday, Sept. 20, 5:30 p.m. MDT – Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (ESPN2)
The unbeaten Cougars travel to Greenville, North Carolina for the second time in program history to take on the East Carolina Pirates.
Why BYU will win:
BYU was idle last week after defeating Stanford in Week 2. The Cougars haven’t faced much adversity yet, but they cannot overlook this East Carolina team on the road. BYU has the more talented roster, but they will have to play like it in order to avoid the upset.
This will be freshman Bear Bachmeier’s first road start; and even though he hasn’t been asked to do much yet, he may be relied on to make more plays to get the win. Look for offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick to utilize Bachmeier’s legs to help him settle in early.
The Cougars face a Pirates team that averages 41 pass attempts a game so it is safe to assume that this is the biggest test for the BYU pass defense as they haven’t faced an air raid team like this yet.
The Cougars have won games with their defense in the past and this matchup could be headed in a similar direction with a young quarterback making his first road start.
Why East Carolina will win:
The Pirates are coming off a road shutout victory against Coastal Carolina, a team that might still haunt BYU fans’ dreams. Quarterback Katin Houser impressed in the 38-0 win, throwing for 293 yards and two touchdowns.
This week, he faces a stout Cougars defense, but a secondary that hasn’t been tested yet this season. If Houser can attack the BYU secondary, it may give East Carolina a chance in this one.
The Pirates will have to make Bachmeier uncomfortable in his first career road start in order to give their offense a chance in this one. History will be on the Pirates’ side as they are 2-1 against the Cougars, winning the last two meetings with the previous win coming in 2022 at Provo.
Line: BYU -6.5
Over/Under: 49.5
Arizona State (2-1) vs. Baylor (2-1)
Saturday, Sept. 20, 5:30 p.m. MDT – McLane Stadium (FOX)
The Sun Devils and Bears meet in the Big 12 opener in this battle of two of the top quarterbacks in the nation.
Why Arizona State will win:
After suffering a disappointing loss on the road against Mississippi State, the Sun Devils bounced back with a 34-15 home win against Texas State. Their offense hasn’t been as explosive since losing Cam Skattebo to the NFL but Baylor’s defense has surrendered a lot of points to quality opponents.
Sam Leavitt may be in prime position to have himself a good game against a defense that was carved up by Auburn’s Jackson Arnold and SMU’s Kevin Jennings. He will need to find a way to utilize his other weapons to force the defense to commit to other players and not just top receiver Jordyn Tyson.
This game could easily be a shootout and if so, it may benefit the Bears at home. Arizona State’s defense will have to get key stops and force Sawyer Robertson to make hard throws. If the Sun Devils can have a balanced game from both sides of the ball and show shades of last year’s team, they will have a chance to steal a road victory.
Why Baylor will win:
After losing to Auburn in week 1, Baylor’s offense has looked like it can hang with anyone in the country and they will face another early test as they host the reigning Big 12 champions.
Few quarterbacks have played better than Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson to begin to the 2025 season. The senior has already thrown for 1,070 and 10 touchdowns in the Bear’s first three games. His best performance came in the team’s overtime road victory over No. 17 SMU when Robertson threw 440 yards and four touchdown passes.
Arizona State doesn’t look like the same team that nearly upset Texas in last season’s Peach Bowl. Baylor will have to take advantage of a sluggish Sun Devil team if they want to steal an early season conference win that could be decisive later this season.
Line: BAY -2.5
Over/Under: 60.5
McNeese State (1-2) vs. Utah State (2-1)
Saturday, Sept. 20, 6 p.m. MDT – Maverik Stadium (FS1)
Utah State hosts the McNeese State Cowboys in a FCS matchup as the Aggies look to improve to 3-1 under first-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall.
Why McNeese State will win:
Utah State will be the second team from Utah that the Cowboys have faced this season after losing a shootout to Weber State a week ago. McNeese will have the chance to catch an Aggie team that is coming off a high after a seecuring their first Mountain West win of the season last week.
The Cowboys face an uphill battle on the road against a solid FBS team like Utah State but FCS teams have beaten Mountain West in the past. Last year, Idaho and Montana State got wins against Wyoming and New Mexico. It is hard but possible task as McNeese State aims to be the fifth FCS team to defeat an FBS opponent this season.
Why Utah State will win:
The Aggies dropped 49 points on Air Force last week in a 49-30 win. It was a nice rebound for Utah State after losing to Texas A&M in Week 2. They’ll be back at home as they take on a McNeese State team who’s only win is against Division III Louisiana Christian University.
Bryson Barnes played on of his best games as an Aggie last week and he has the opportunity to showcase another great outing against the Cowboy’s defense that has allowed 30 plus points in back to back games.
If the offense is poised once again, they should have no problem against this FCS opponent.
Line: N/A
Over/Under: N/A
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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