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A college football Saturday with only one game matching ranked teams - No. 23 Arizona State at No. 5 Stanford - might look like a good day to get some yard work done.
No so fast. The raking can wait.
There really is no such thing as a bad slate of college football games and just because the teams involved don't have numbers in front of their names doesn't mean it isn't a good game.
The five things to know about Week 4 of the college football season are five intriguing games involved unranked teams.
1. Utah State at Southern California. Surely when USC signed up for a home game with the Aggies, they weren't counting on Utah State having the better quarterback. If you're not familiar with USU's Chuckie Keeton, you haven't been paying very close enough attention. The junior is completing 78 percent of his passes with 12 touchdowns and one interception. USC fans are short on patience with coach Lane Kiffin. His offense will need to click against the Aggies, because he can't expect his excellent defense to totally shut down Keeton and Co.
2. Arkansas at Rutgers. The Razorbacks are 3-0 under new coach Bret Bielema, though they haven't done any heavy lifting yet. If the Razorbacks want to get bowl-eligible without having to knock off a few of those SEC West powerhouses, avenging last season's Scarlet Knights' victory in Fayetteville is a must. It's possible both teams could be using backup quarterbacks this week because of injuries, but three emerging star running backs will be on display. Freshman Alex Collins and sophomore Jonathan Williams are each averaging more than 130 yards rushing for Arkansas. Former walk-on Paul James is second in the nation at 164 per game for the Scarlet Knights.
3. Utah at BYU. The Holy War can match any rivalry in intensity, and it has a history of truly wacko finishes. Take last year, for example, when the Utah fans rushed the field after the Cougars missed a potential game-winning field goal - but before the game had actually ended. The Utes still won their third straight in the series, and it turned out to be the highlight of an otherwise poor season. This year a couple of developing sophomore quarterbacks - Travis Wilson of Utah and Taysom Hill of BYU - are on display.
4. Kansas State at Texas. Texas is at the point where every game it plays is a referendum on coach Mack Brown. That is not a good place to be. The Longhorns should get starting quarterback David Ash back from injury this week. The defending Big 12 champion Wildcats have won five straight meetings against the Longhorns. If they make it six, those regents who talked to Nick Saban's agent after last season might be making some more calls.
5. West Virginia vs. Maryland in Baltimore. In a bit of role reversal, it's the Terrapins who are undefeated and have an exciting spread offense coming into this year's meeting with the rival Mountaineers. Quarterback C.J. Brown and receivers Stefon Diggs and Deon Long have Maryland averaging 40 points per game. West Virginia turned to redshirt freshman Ford Childress to jump start its offense last week. If WVU coach Dana Holgorsen has found someone to run his high-speed attack, this could get fun.
