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Jackson's bold predictions for Week 4 of the 2025 college football season, including picks for Utah, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Florida, and Tulane
Three full college football slates are in the books, and the sport continues to be unpredictable. So far this season, we've seen Alabama get run out of Tallahassee, Florida lose at home to USF, Notre Dame drop to 0-2, Vanderbilt spank South Carolina at home, and Clemson fall to 1-2. The surprises are just getting started as many teams start to enter conference play, so buckle up.
Anything can happen on any given Saturday, and in this article, we'll try to predict some potential headlines after the Week 4 action. Again, college football will never fail to deliver surprise outcomes and performances.
Below, read about the bold calls for Utah, Oklahoma, Tulane, Florida, Arkansas, and North Carolina.
Utah Beats Texas Tech By Three Scores
Utah and Texas Tech now have the two shortest odds to win the Big 12, so this early-season matchup in Salt Lake City could decide who makes the conference title game and competes for a College Football Playoff berth. The Red Raiders are averaging a whopping 602.7 yards of offense per game, while the Utes have tallied 517 yards per game. The two programs have been comparable on defense.
That said, both teams have faced far inferior opponents, so we haven't necessarily "learned" much about either squad through three weeks. Utah's 25-point win over Wyoming is the closest contest either team has had. While every neutral college football fan hopes for a good game, I am calling "blowout alert" on Saturday.
This is Texas Tech's first road trip of the season, and that could prove problematic for a lineup made up of a ton of transfers. I trust Kyle Whittingham to find a way to win by any means necessary more than I trust Joey McGuire. Utah can win a shootout, a defensive struggle, and any other type of game. Utah and Whittingham have faced and defeated adversity. Utah's program is a few steps ahead of Texas Tech's, and the quarterback edge goes to Devon Dampier over Behren Morton, thanks to his ability to chew up yards through the air or on the ground.
Absolute chaos leads to a stunning tuddy 🤯🤯 @Utah_Football pic.twitter.com/sZ1BoLXzSV
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) September 14, 2025
John Mateer Throws for 400 Yards
300 yards isn't bold enough based on Mateer's start at Oklahoma, so we're calling for 400 passing yards. The former Washington State quarterback is the Heisman front-runner early in the year, and he'll have another chance to build his resume against a ranked top-25 opponent when Auburn rolls into Norman on Saturday.
This is one of the most interesting games of the week, as former Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold is now running the show for the Tigers, and both Brent Venebles and Hugh Freeze are looking to prove their programs are legitimate College Football Playoff contenders in 2025.
The Sooners' rushing attack has been essentially nonexistent this year, while Auburn has surrendered just 67 rushing yards per game through three weeks. The Oklahoma offense will once again need to be carried by Mateer, and Sawyer Robertson showed us the Tigers are vulnerable in the secondary in Week 1.
Tulane Defeats Ole Miss
Ole Miss survived a scare from Arkansas in Week 3, but its defense might be one of the most deteriorated units in the country. The Rebels rank 15th in the SEC in yards per game allowed (381.7), and it's hard to have complete trust in either Austin Simmons or Trinidad Chambliss to continue to win shootouts.
Tulane continues to be one of he most dangerous non-Power-Four teams in the nation, and BYU transfer Jake Retzlaff brings 20 games of experience with him on the road to Oxford. Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green torched Ole Miss for over 400 yards of total offense, and no one is going to be surprised if Retzlaff posts a similar performance.
𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸🏈
Jake Retzlaff x @GreenWaveFB 🌊#BuiltToRise x #AmericanFB pic.twitter.com/gusGv8aBVm
— The American (@American_Conf) September 15, 2025
Yes, Ole Miss has the clear talent advantage, but this is not the same caliber of team as last year. And the 2024 team suffered two back-breaking upset losses. The first of the year could come here. Jon Sumrall has the chance to prove he's one of the top coaches in the country.
Billy Napier Gets Fired on Sunday
Maybe this is not all that bold, but his buyout is hefty, and it's early in the season. However, we just saw Virginia Tech and UCLA toss Brent Pry and Deshaun Foster to the side, so don't rule out the possibility that Napier hits the unemployment line at the end of the week.
The loss to South Florida, even though the Bulls are a quality team, was unacceptable in Year 4 at a program like Florida. And DJ Lagway, who saved Napier's job last season, is coming off the worst performance of his career (five interceptions vs. LSU).
Florida is wasting an elite defensive unit, and a defense tends to break down over time as its offense does nothing but put it in bad situations. The Gators are not expected to beat Miami, but if this one gets ugly like it could, it should mark the clear end of the Napier era in Gainesville. Florida must be competitive to give its fans any reason for optimism moving forward, especially after the Hurricanes dominated the Gators on the road to begin last season's campaign.
Arkansas vs. Memphis Goes Over 80 Total Points
The Razorbacks didn't do quite enough to get over the hump and take down Ole Miss, but it wasn't for Taylen Green's lack of trying. Through just three games in Bobby Petrino's offense, Green has tallied over 1,000 yards of offense and 13 touchdowns, while Memphis has scored 11 rushing touchdowns in three blowout wins.
Through three games this season, QB Taylen Green leads the country in yards of total offense (1,173) and yards of total offense per game (391.0).
Green's 307 rushing yards and 102.3 rushing yards per game are the most of any quarterback nationally. pic.twitter.com/a0k1TuuAJ3
— Razorback Communications (@RazorbackComms) September 14, 2025
This is not your typical SEC vs. group-of-five matchup, and Memphis is perfectly capable of pulling off the upset. That's not the prediction here, but I do expect it to be a competitive game from start to finish, and points will come in bunches. If you're a fan of offense, make sure to fit this game on your Week 4 viewing schedule.
Vegas has set the total at 62.5 points. We're taking the over -- and by a lot.
North Carolina Earns Road Victory Over UCF
The Week 1 blowout loss to TCU was embarrassing for the Tar Heels and Bill Belichick. That's a fact. But Week 1 is often deceiving, and if Belichick has any coaching excellence left in his Hall of Fame career, UNC should respond in a big way in its next test against a Power 5 opponent.
North Carolina has the talent edge against the Knights, and UCF's seven-point victory over Jacksonville State and blowout win over North Carolina A&T don't tell us anything other than they did what they were expected to do.
.@JordanShipp15 x 2️⃣ pic.twitter.com/ScIT2yK8rU
— Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) September 14, 2025
It's time to learn more about both of these programs, and I think we'll learn that TCU was just that good in Week 1, North Carolina is getting better, and UCF hasn't turned things around in just one offseason under Scott Frost. This is a winnable game for Belichick, and getting embarrassed again would leave a pessimistic outlook for the future of the program.
