The Miami Hurricanes are finally playing on a Saturday. Can I get a Hallelujah from the congregation? That's the good news. The better news is that the Hurricanes' tilt with Central Michigan doesn't start until 6:30 p.m., so there is a full day of games to wet the appetite.
It's a pretty meaty schedule for Week 4 both within the ACC and on the national scale. Let's break it all down:
Two ACC games that should hold great interest to Miami fans
Clemson at California, (Friday, 10:30 p.m.; ESPN)
Time to stay up late scout the future opponent. Miami will head to Death Valley in Week 5, and we really don't know what to expect from Clemson week-to-week. The Tigers looked dead in the water for the first half against North Carolina last week, and then they did some things in the second half and walked away with a 28-20 victory.
Some of that was the result of awful QB play from the Tar Heels, which the Hurricanes won't have to worry about. But this is a chance to see how much Clemson QB Tait Reynolds has or hasn't improved in three weeks and if the Tigers running game is as legitimate as it appeared against Bill Belichick's defense last week.
Wake Forest at No. 16 Louisville (Saturday, noon; ESPN)
The Hurricanes has already dispatched Wake Forest and wouldn't play Louisville until the ACC Championship Game, but that looks more and more like a real possibility, so any extra scouting of the Cardinals is good to have. It wouldn't hurt the ego of some Miami fans to watch the Demon Deacons put up a serious fight or possibly pull the road upset after playing a spirited second half last week. A big win by Louisville would seriously vault the Cardinals into being a real playoff threat.
Four non-ACC games that Miami fans should check out
No. 1 Texas at No. 14 Tennessee (Saturday, noon, ABC)
You know how some teams appear to be ranked abnormally high for no reason other than reputation or conference affiliation? I give you the Tennessee Volunteers. Against a normal No. 1 team, I think the Vols would be ripe for a 20-point beatdown, but Texas is the type of team that always seems to run at about 75% of their full potential, so an upset is always on the table. There's also the curiosity of seeing if Arch Manning can perform in hostile road environments. He doesn't have a good history of it.
No. 4 Ole Miss at No. 21 Florida (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.; ABC)
There's a little to unpack here. Maybe it's a hate watch of the Gators, or seeing if Trinidad Chambliss can create some separation between himself and Darian Mensah in the Heisman Trophy race. There's also the matter of Ole Miss being a potential playoff opponent — this has happened before. And this is the sort of tricky road game that can either improve the chances of being a playoff lock or stunt that momentum.
No. 23 Texas A&M at No. 10 LSU (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; ABC)
No. 20 Oregon at No. 12 USC (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; NBC)
In old-time professional wrestling there were these things called "loser-leaves-town" matches where the loser would leave the wrestling promotion. In this case, the loser is likely to leave playoff consideration. That seems a little unfair for USC, which is the one undefeated team in this quartet, but life isn't fair, and the Trojans aren't in a position to get the benefit of the doubt.
Miami will be an hour into what we expect to be a blowout win over Central Michigan, so you can either flip to one of these games during the commercials or check your phone during the breaks if you're lucky enough to be watching the Hurricanes live at Hard Rock Stadium.
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