Weekly Syllabus: Six AP-ranked games, marquee G6 showdown on tap in high-stakes CFB Week 4

The SEC features in four, including No. 1 Texas (3-0) and quarterback Arch Manning's trip to No. 14 Tennessee (3-0), where his uncle, Peyton, played quarterback from 1994-97.

No. 4 Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0 in SEC), coming off a dramatic win over former head coach Lane Kiffin last Saturday, travels to The Swamp to face No. 21 Florida (3-0, 1-0 in SEC), which is a three-point favorite.

"There's a lot of good drugs out there," Gators coach Jon Sumrall quipped in response.

No. 10 LSU (2-1, 0-1 in SEC) and No. 23 Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1 in SEC) are trying to avoid 0-2 starts in conference play in a primetime showdown in Death Valley.

The most surprising ranked matchup is in Starkville, where breakout No. 24 Mississippi State (3-0, 1-0 in SEC) quarterback Kamario Taylor and the Bulldogs host No. 19 Missouri (3-0).

In the Big Ten, meanwhile, No. 17 Iowa (3-0) seeks just a fourth win all-time in Ann Arbor against a ranked Michigan and first since 2002. No. 12 USC (4-0, 1-0 in Big Ten), which is 5-13 against ranked opponents under head coach Lincoln Riley, hosts No. 20 Oregon (2-1).

Boise State, Western Michigan meet in high-stakes G6 matchup

Through three weeks, Boise State (2-1) and Western Michigan (2-1)* have emerged as the country's most impressive Group of Six squads after going on the road and losing by a combined eight points to Oregon and Michigan. In Western Michigan's case, it was robbed of a 12-7 win at Michigan after officials incorrectly gifted the Wolverines an extra second.

"They're an undefeated football team," Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson correctly noted when previewing the battle of the Broncos on Monday.

According to ESPN's Football Power Index, Boise State and Western Michigan top their respective conferences, the Pac-12 and MAC, in odds of making the playoff. Boise State leads all G6 teams in playoff odds (19.9 percent), while Western Michigan is sixth (five percent). The winner of Saturday's game could have the inside track to the mid-majors' automatic berth.

Blue Ribbon announces its men's CBB preseason national player of the year

The college basketball season is right around the corner, and Blue Ribbon recently shared that Michigan State Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was named its preseason national player of the year.

He joins recent winners Braden Smith (2025), Mark Sears (2024) and Zach Edey (2023); each went on to receive first-team All-American honors that season. The 2025-26 All-Big Ten selection is coming off a breakout junior year when he averaged 15.2 points per game and led Division I in assists (9.4 per game). Based on the success of previous Blue Ribbon preseason NPOYs, Fears could be in store for an even bigger senior campaign, putting Michigan State firmly in the national title picture.