It’s still mid-September, and the 2007 season is here to tell you that stuff can happen, man. And this weekend is particularly ripe for a good kind of drama helpful to the Big Orange.

Most of the potential chaos is scheduled for Saturday evening, when we’re rooting for Mississippi State to hand Georgia an SEC loss and Kentucky to help Tennessee by making trouble for Florida, narrowing the gap the Vols must close to catch the Gators. We’ll also be keeping an eye on Missouri and LSU to take the temperature of the Vols’ chances against them later this season.

Here’s the Week 4 college football TV schedule, curated for Vols fans. It includes kickoff times, TV stations, and what’s at stake in each game from the perspective of a Vols fan. It also includes helpful suggestions on how to watch everything most efficiently and who to root for in each game.

The full schedule for the entire weekend is also included at the bottom of the post.

Go Vols!

Thursday, August 30, 2018 Thursday, August 30, 2018 Thursday, August 30, 2018 Thursday, August 30, 2018 Thursday, August 30, 2018 Thursday, August 30, 2018
No. 6 UCF UConn 7:00 PM ESPNU, WatchESPN Channel Hop Top 25 Team
Missouri State No. 14 Oklahoma State 8:00 PM FS1 Channel Hop Top 25 Team
No. 17 Northwestern Purdue 8:00 PM ESPN, WatchESPN Channel Hop Top 25 Team

 

Okay, so some are going to watch this and pine for Charlie Strong, but down that way lies madness. Watch because it’s football and enjoy your evening.

Friday, September 22

Friday, Sept. 22, 2017
Game Time (ET) TV Why How Root for
Virginia at Boise State 8:00 PM ESPN2 It's football Live An entertaining game
(23) Utah at Arizona 10:30 PM FS1 It's football Live Arizona (the underdog)

 

Again, this is just an opportunity to hear the sights and sounds of football, for which we all longed most of the summer. These may not get you buzzing, but they are sort of like comfort food. It makes you feel at home.

Gameday, September 23

And then it’s Gameday.

Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017
Game Time (ET) TV Why How Root for
UMass at Tennessee Noon SECN GO VOLS LIVE GO VOLS
(1) Alabama at Vanderbilt 3:30 PM CBS Two future opponents Live Alabama
(16) TCU at (6) Oklahoma State 3:30 PM ESPN Big game Plan B Entertaining game
(15) Auburn at Missouri 7/7:30 pm ESPNU Future opponent Check in Auburn
(17) Mississippi State at (11) Georgia 7:00 PM ESPN Direct impact on SEC East Channel hop Mississippi State
Syracuse at (25) LSU 7:00 PM ESPN2 Potential impact on SEC East Check in Syracuse
(20) Florida at Kentucky 7:30 PM SECN Direct impact on SEC East Channel hop Kentucky

 

If you’ve already given up hope for the Vols this season, well, we’ll see you for some of the games next year. You likely won’t care about any of this.

For those who remember 2007, though, here’s what we’re watching and hoping for Saturday:

Noon slot

Big win for the Vols, washing away as much of the Gators aftertaste as you can against a team like UMass, and playing a bunch of backups early and long.

Afternoon slot

  • We want Alabama to relieve Vanderbilt of some of that building swagger.
  • Once that gets boring, switch over to the big national game between #16 TCU and #6 Oklahoma State and root for an entertaining game.

Evening slot

Here’s where it really gets interesting.

  • At 7:00, #17 Mississippi State, who just pounded LSU last week, takes on #11 Georgia on ESPN. Vols fans need Georgia to take on as many losses as possible, so root hard for Mississippi State in this one.
  • At 7:30, #20 Florida travels to Lexington to take on a Kentucky squad also beginning to find some swagger. Look, I don’t like the idea of Kentucky being good, either, but we need Florida to take on as many losses as possible, too, and we can cross the Kentucky bridge when we come to it.
  • Periodically, check in with Missouri, who’s hosting #15 Auburn on ESPNU, and #25 LSU, who’s hosting Syracuse on ESPN2. I don’t think we need to worry much about Missouri, but some insurance would be nice. Also, I know the argument for wanting LSU to be good so a win over them looks better, but right now, we can’t be picky about the quality of SEC wins, so I wouldn’t mind seeing LSU fall completely apart and stumble into Neyland in November.

 

Complete college football TV schedule for Week 4

And here’s the complete schedule for the week, paginated and searchable!

Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017
Game Time (ET) TV
Temple at (21) USF 7:30 PM ESPN
Friday, Sept. 22, 2017
Game Time (ET) TV
Virginia at Boise State 8:00 PM ESPN2
(23) Utah at Arizona 10:30 PM FS1
Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017
Game Time (ET) TV
Arkansas vs. Texas A&M (in Arlington, TX) Noon ESPN
Army at Tulane Noon CBSSN
Kent State at (19) Louisville Noon RSN
NC State at (12) Florida State Noon ABC/ESPN2 (RM)
Texas Tech at Houston Noon ABC/ESPN2 (RM)
UMass at Tennessee Noon SECN
UNLV at (10) Ohio State Noon BTN
West Virginia at Kansas Noon ESPNU
Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech 12:20pm ACCN
New Mexico at Tulsa 1:30 PM ESPN3
Idaho at South Alabama 2:00 PM ESPN3
Ohio at Eastern Michigan 2:00 PM ESPN3
Old Dominion at (13) Virginia Tech 2:00 PM ACCNExtra
UCF at Maryland 3:00 PM FS1
(1) Alabama at Vanderbilt 3:30 PM CBS
Boston College at (2) Clemson 3:30 PM ESPN2
Cincinnati at Navy 3:30 PM CBSSN
Duke at North Carolina 3:30 PM ESPNU
Georgia Southern at Indiana 3:30 PM BTN
Louisiana Tech at South Carolina 3:30 PM SECN
Miami, OH at Central Michigan 3:30 PM ESPN3
Rutgers at Nebraska 3:30 PM BTN
(16) TCU at (6) Oklahoma State 3:30 PM ESPN
Toledo at (14) Miami, FL 3:30 PM RSN
(5) USC at California 3:30 PM ABC
Wake Forest at Appalachian State 3:30 PM ESPN3
(8) Michigan at Purdue 4:00 PM FOX
ULM at UL Lafayette 5:00 PM ESPN3
Akron at Troy 6:00 PM ESPN3
Georgia State at Charlotte 6:00 PM WCCB-TV
Nevada at (18) Washington State 6:00 PM Pac-12N
(3) Oklahoma at Baylor 6:30 PM FS1
UAB at North Texas 6:30 PM beIN Sports
Western Illinois at Coastal Carolina 6:30 PM ESPN3
ArKansas State at SMU 7:00 PM ESPN3
(15) Auburn at Missouri 7/7:30 pm ESPNU
Ball State at Western Kentucky 7:00 PM Stadium
Bowling Green at Middle Tennessee 7:00 PM ESPN3
Florida Atlantic at Buffalo 7:00 PM ESPN3
(17) Mississippi State at (11) Georgia 7:00 PM ESPN
(22) San Diego State at Air Force 7:00 PM CBSSN
Syracuse at (25) LSU 7:00 PM ESPN2
Wagner at Western Michigan 7:00 PM ESPN3
FIU at Rice 7:30 PM Facebook
(20) Florida at Kentucky 7:30 PM SECN
(4) Penn State at Iowa 7:30 PM ABC
Utah State at San Jose State 7:30 PM Facebook
UTSA at Texas State 7:30 PM ESPN3
Notre Dame at Michigan State 8:00 PM FOX
Southern Illinois at Memphis 8:00 PM WMC/ESPN3
UTEP at New Mexico State 8:00 PM ESPN3
(24) Oregon at Arizona State 10:00 PM Pac-12N
(7) Washington at Colorado 10:00 PM FS1
Hawaii at Wyoming 10:15 PM ESPN2
UCLA at Stanford 10:30 PM ESPN