Whatcha Drinkin, Who Ya Watchin Week 4?

As I sit here on yet another Thursday, I see before me a glass. As I think back to a week ago and the outlook for the weekend ahead, I get quite a different feeling today. A week ago I was more focused on the weekend slate ahead than with Iowa’s task at hand. The Bison, while a respected opponent, didn't seem like a legitimate threat and I had my sights set on a tasty platter of games.

I was saved the torture of watching the game live Saturday and my natural instinct to avoid inflicting personal pain kicked in as I began to watch my DVR. I passed on the urge to gouge my eyeballs out knowing the eventuality that lay ahead and now I stare into the glass.

Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images

Following Iowa’s first regular season loss since 2014 it would seem that glass is half empty. Indeed, as a lifelong Iowa fan I'm inclined to believe the glass is perpetually half empty. But as I look at the weekend slate, I'm reminded that while it is half empty it is also half full. Iowa is still unbeaten in conference play with a slew of talent and there's a part of me that wants to believe the embarrassment of last weekend is what this team needed to light a fire under them. Saturday will tell us a lot about the rest of the year, both in New Jersey and around the country.

Things get started tonight with just one game. A pair of unbeaten ACC foes face off as Georgia Tech hosts #5 Clemson at 6:30pm CT on ESPN. That’s all we got for college pigskin. The Patriots host the Texans at 7:25 CT on CBS tonight as well.

There are 3 games in total tomorrow night. The only two worth paying attention to are TCU at SMU at 7 CT on ESPN and USC at #24 Utah at 8 CT over on FS1.

Saturday offers the true start to conference play for most teams around the country and with that comes some nice match-ups . As I’m sure you’re already aware, Iowa will be at Rutgers kicking off at 11am CT on ESPN2. The glass half full side of me says this team is more like 2002 and we will see them come out and treat Rutgers like they did Iowa State. The glass half empty side tells me this could be 2010 all over again and this team may just go through the motions the rest of the year. We should be able to tell in the first few minutes of this one.

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At 11am CT we also a pair of top 25 match-ups as #12 Georgia is at #23 Ole Miss on ESPN and #11 Wisconsin begins its gauntlet with a trip to #8 MSU on BTN (how in the hell is this on BTN while Florida State obliterates USF on ABC?????). The next few weeks will see Wisconsin make trips to MSU and Michigan before hosting OSU and finally traveling to Iowa City. It’s one of the reasons for optimism as Hawkeye fans hold out hope for another trip to Indy despite last weekend’s letdown.

The 2:30 CT time slot is a little light this week but it does bring us #19 Florida at #14 Tennessee on CBS and Penn State at #4 Michigan on ABC. Notre Dame and their 1-2 record hosts Duke on NBC. Pitt is at UNC over on ESPNU. Aside from that, there’s not much to watch at 2:30 CT.

The early evening brings us Colorado at Oregon (I’d be interested to see a couple Pac 12 schools who have lost games to Big Ten teams face off to see how they look in conference) at 4:30 CT. Unfortunately, it’s on the Pac 12 Network so good luck with that. #18 LSU is at Auburn at 5pm CT on ESPN. Oklahoma State s at #16 Baylor at 6:30 on FOX, while now #20 Nebraska heads to Northwestern in the battle for the one true NU on BTN. I’ll be interested to see if Northwestern is as bad as they’ve looked at times or if they will continue to be a thorn in everyone’s side. We should also find out how serious Nebraska is about contending in the West this year Saturday.

At 7pm CT you’ve got #7 Stanford at UCLA on ABC. #17 Arkansas is at #10 Texas A&M at 8 on ESPN.. The late games brings you Cal at ASU at 9 on ESPN2. And that’s it. Some nice match-ups, but not a ton of interesting filler.

As for what I’ll be drinking, I’m looking to bounce back from the juice boxes I ended up with last weekend and simultaneously bracing myself for all hell to break loose. Hawkeye Vodka. Team spirit and blackout drunk went hand in hand in my college days. If this Saturday turns into anything like what we saw last week, it’s going to be time to throw it back. Unfortunately, it would be a throwback to 2010 and a glass completely empty.

For your viewing pleasure, below is a listing of EVERY game on the docket for the weekend. Please note, this table is created by the SB Nation crew, not us, so the times listed below are EASTERN.