It is the wild west in college football, with no sure-fire leader of the pack in the nation. Any given Saturday, a team can beat another in this league, and that has never been truer than in 2025. 

In week four, the #15 Tennessee Volunteers look to bounce back with an easy win over UAB after a devastating loss to #5 Georgia; a battle of Big 10 originals brings #9 Illinois to Bloomington, Indiana to face the #19 Indiana Hoosiers and #17 Texas Tech travels to Salt Lake City to take on the #16 Utah Utes in a red and black faceoff.

*All stats and standings are pulled from https://www.espn.com/college-football/stats, https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs.*

Volunteers try to bounce back against UAB Blazers before diving into SEC schedule 

Following a close loss to #5 Georgia, the Vols should be able to bounce back against an outmatched Blazers team.  

The X-factor for this Tennessee team is that its offensive production is trending back to the level it was at when head coach Josh Heupel first arrived in Knoxville. In the 22-23 season, Heupel made the Vols the best offense in the country—averaging 525 yards per game while scoring a nation-leading 78 touchdowns. The following two seasons, the Vols would take a step back to 19th and 15th in the nation, respectively.  

Now, in 2025, the Vols have reentered the conversation for best offense in the country, currently sitting at sixth, averaging 568.7 yards per game. 

Combine this with the elite talent on the defensive side of the ball, and good things are expected to happen for the Volunteers on Saturday. 

The Blazers of UAB have yet to face a challenge of this caliber this season, with matchups against Alabama State, Akron and Navy, who gave them their lone loss of the season. 

The Vols burn the Blazers and win 62-13. 

Hoosiers welcome #9 Illinois in hopes of a big home upset 

Both of these teams have yet to prove themselves and face their first-ranked opponent this Saturday. 

The least proven of the two is Illinois, whose best win is a 45-19 win over the Duke Blue Devils. The Illini star senior quarterback Luke Altmyer came into this season with high expectations and has been able to coast ever since.  

That is not to say they have been bad, but their lack of competition does leave them open to an upset, especially on the road in Bloomington.  

The Hoosiers have the advantage of having an equally talented quarterback in junior Fernando Mendoza. Alongside him, they have an established head coach in Curt Cignetti, who came over the year prior from James Madison University, where he had multiple bowl appearances and double-digit win seasons. Cignetti is coming off a season in which he led the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoffs for the first time since the playoffs began in 2014.  

Combine those factors with a homefield advantage, and I start to lean towards an upset victory for Indiana, beating Illinois 31-20. 

The trenches take center stage in a ranked clash of red and black 

This is another situation where both teams will be truly tested for the first time. Both teams have yet to play a ranked game, and neither team has seen an offense that could match their own, until now. 

Texas Tech, with senior quarterback Behren Morton, has averaged just over 600 yards per game through three games this season. The Red Raiders are a notorious air-raid team, going to air with the ball out as much as possible.

Morton is ninth in the nation in passing yards and has hit his receivers at a high 71% clip.

However, the biggest factor for this Red Raider team will be their pressure on Utah’s junior quarterback Devon Dampier. Dampier leads the Utes in both passing and rushing with 628 yards through the air and 198 yards on the ground. Luckily, Texas Tech happens to have one of the best pass rush duos in the country with senior defensive ends David Bailey and Romello Heights, who each have 2.5 sacks through three games. 

On the flip side of the line, the Utes might have the best offensive line duo in the country. Both junior right tackle Spencer Fano and sophomore left tackle Caleb Lomu are projected to be first-round picks in the NFL next year, with Fano expected to be taken in the top 10. It will be a tough battle between those four to see if Utah keeps Texas Tech’s defensive line quiet or if Texas Tech wreaks havoc on this Utah offense. 

For now, expect the top NFL prospects to win, especially at home, in a 38-34 slug fest.