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 | |
(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 | |
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 |