LSU-West Virginia Game Crucial for Both Schools

The most interesting game in the week 4 college football schedule is LSU vs. West Virginia. Both schools are receiving a lot of respect in the college football rankings, and conference championships could also be in the future for both the Tigers and Mountaineers.

West Virginia has the most to gain from this game; hosting the No. 2 team in the country on Saturday. The team has had a really weak non-conference schedule so far, beating Marshall, Norfolk State, and Maryland. This game against LSU and then an Oct. 1 game against Bowling Green will be the last opportunities to achieve national recognition before the Big East Conference schedule gets started. Right now, West Virginia is ranked No. 16, but could receive a huge bump with a win over the Tigers.

LSU is playing what looks to be the best non-conference schedule in the NCAA this year. The Tigers had to play No. 3 ranked Oregon in week one, and took care of the Ducks 40-27. That team could easily win the Pac-12 Conference, and now LSU is playing West Virginia, a team that could easily win the Big East. Despite games against weak opponent like Northwestern State and Western Kentucky also on the schedule, this is still an impressive set of games.

There are some tough games on the schedule for LSU after this one, as the team hosts Florida on Oct. 8 and then Auburn on Oct. 22 before traveling to play Alabama on Nov. 5. Despite how tough things might get, if LSU wins against West Virginia, the Tigers deserve to be the No. 1 ranked team in the country. Any school that can beat both Oregon and West Virginia in non-conference play deserves the utmost respect until posting a loss in conference play.

The LSU-West Virginia game will get primetime billing on ABC on Saturday, Sep. 24. The kickoff is scheduled for just after 8 pm ET, and the national audience should be given a treat with this one. That audience will have to include fans of Oklahoma, Alabama, Boise State, and Stanford, all of which need LSU to post a loss to gain an advantage in the week 5 college football rankings. Alabama might want LSU to win though, because it would raise the value of the game that the two schools have to play later on in the season.

No matter how Saturday's game turns out though, it will have an immediate impact on the national rankings and give the winner a quality win in the first BCS standings.