2022 college football week 4: Here are the players, games and matchups to watch
Posted September 22, 2022 5:00 a.m. EDT
Updated September 22, 2022 2:44 p.m. EDT
Week 4 of the 2022 college football season has many questions.
WRAL senior multiplatform producer Mark Bergin tries to answer some of them.
What’s your tweet-length take ahead of Week 4 of the college football season?
North Carolina is known as a basketball state. Meanwhile, Duke, NC State, North Carolina and Wake Forest are undefeated on the gridiron heading into Week 4.
What’s the best college football game of the weekend?
No. 10 Arkansas at No. 23 Texas A&M (7 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPN)
I’ll go with this SEC West showdown given the ramifications of the game. Can either of these teams serve as a legitimate threat to Alabama in the SEC West?
Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jefferson is a playmaker along with running back Raheim Sanders.
Last weekend, Texas A&M regrouped with a win over Miami after getting upset the week before by App State.
After playing a “home” game Saturday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the Aggies hit the road to play Mississippi State on Oct. 1 and Alabama on Oct. 8. It’s a brutal four-game stretch.
What’s the best ACC game of the weekend?
No. 5 Clemson at No. 21 Wake Forest (noon ET Saturday, ABC)
The big question is this: Can Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson finally beat Clemson?
Clawson is 0-8 against Clemson during his Wake Forest tenure.
Several weeks ago, the Demon Deacons didn’t know whether they would have quarterback Sam Hartman, who returned to action after having a blood clot surgically removed.
In Hartman’s first home game of 2022, he threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns. Hartman is also now Wake Forest’s all-time passing leader at 9,891 yards. The Charlotte native will look to become the 131st player in NCAA and just the ninth passer in the history of the ACC to eclipse the 10,000-yard passing barrier.
As pointed out by ESPN's Pete Thamel, Wake Forest also has 39 players in their fifth, sixth or seventh years.
The Tigers are a 7.5-point favorite on the road despite their 38.5-point average margin of victory in the past four seasons. Clemson’s nine-game win streak is the longest active streak in the country.
Questions remain whether Clemson should continue to start junior quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei in favor of true freshman Cade Klubnik.
In three games, Uiagalelei has thrown only one interception and has a higher completion percentage this year (64.8%) compared to last year (55.6%).
A key for the Demon Deacons will be winning the turnover battle. Wake Forest has a +5 turnover margin through three games this season. The Deacs have forced a turnover in 18 consecutive games and 33 of their last 34 games.
Notre Dame at North Carolina (3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, ABC)
North Carolina freshman quarterback Drake Maye leads the nation in touchdown passes, and Notre Dame (1-2) has struggled through three games.
I’m also curious to see how Maye plays against Notre Dame’s talent.
Perhaps the bigger question ahead of Saturday is whether the Tar Heels’ defense can hold up to stay undefeated. Through three games, the Tar Heels are allowing an average of 37 points per game.
Which team will Lee Corso pick during ESPN’s “College GameDay” broadcast? Tennessee or Florida?
Tennessee enters (3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, CBS) as a 10.5-point favorite led by senior quarterback Hendon Hooker.
The Vols are 1-16 against the Gators in their last 17 games played between the two teams.
Sept. 24, 2016, marked the last time ESPN held “College GameDay” in Knoxville, and yours truly was there. It also marked the last time Tennessee beat Florida.
Having lived in Knoxville for two years, I can say Tennessee views Florida as a rival more than Florida views Tennessee as a rival. Recent history shows this matchup is like pitting a big brother against a little brother.
However, I think Hooker is the quarterback many people, including me, thought Anthony Richardson was supposed to be.
I think Corso picks the Vols, especially given his affinity for Smokey, the Vols’ mascot.
What will Sunday’s headline be?
NC State and UNC will be the lone Power 5 teams in North Carolina that remain undefeated after Week 4.
Who else is excited for undefeated Duke vs. undefeated Kansas on the h̶a̶r̶d̶w̶o̶o̶d̶ gridiron?
Kansas is 3-0 against the spread so far this season. As a 7.5-point favorite, it’s the first time the Jayhawks been favored against a Power-5 team since the 2009 season.
