Five things to watch in Week 4 of college football

1: Why is it Oregon is the only major college state brave (or dumb) enough to take on games at Boise State? A year after Eugene’s Ducks risked their reputations on the blue turf, the Beavers of Corvallis take their Rodgers’ brothers act into Saturday night prime time against the nation’s No. 3 team.

2: Last year, Mississippi had a top quarterback, Jevan Snead, and Alabama on the home schedule but couldn’t overcome the Crimson Tide. This week, Arkansas and Ryan Mallett welcome Alabama to Fayetteville in a key SEC West matchup with national title implications.

3: Brian Kelly’s first year in South Bend is off to a shaky start. Notre Dame is 1-2 after consecutive heartbreaker losses to Michigan and Michigan State with 3-0 Stanford coming to town. There were years when Notre Dame would have driven to the airport to pick up a sure win in Stanford. This isn’t one of them.

4: Get your kicks? Texas has waited 13 years to settle a 66-3 score with UCLA in Austin. The 1997 loss ranks as one of the most embarrassing in Longhorns history, and Texas fans have long memories.

5: Push comes to shove in Tempe when high-scoring Oregon opens its Pacific10 schedule against hard-hitting Arizona State. Oregon has scored 189 points in 180 minutes this year and given up only 13. Arizona State may have the league’s best defense and is looking to rebound from a bitter 20-19 loss at Wisconsin.

— Chris Dufresne