This Weekend in College Football: Week 4

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • Notre Dame @ Wake Forest (ABC): Week 4 is pretty thin. Between that and a headache, I may be going through these even more “lightning round” style than usual. So, with that said, I don’t have a bead on either of these teams, which means I’m going with Notre Dame.
  • Georgia @ Missouri (ESPN): Mizzou is off to a great 3-0 start, but… yeah.
  • Boston College @ Purdue (ESPN2): Purdue has just flat looked bad this year. This looks way easier for the Eagles than it did even a few weeks ago.
  • Nebraska @ Michigan (FS1): The Huskers are 0-2 and coming off a loss at home to Troy. Not what you really want going into a game in Ann Arbor, suffice it to say.
  • Ohio @ Cincinnati (ESPNU): Don’t look, but the Bearcats are 3-0 and should be 4-0 after this.
  • Akron @ Iowa State (FSN): Can Akron make it two P5 wins? How lucky will Nebraska look if they do beat Iowa State? We say, sure, I believe the Zips can do it.
  • Navy @ Southern Methodist (ESPNEWS): Navy.
  • Kent State @ Mississippi (SEC): Ole Miss?
  • Minnesota @ Maryland (BTN): Outside of Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State predicting anything in the Big Ten is just fraught with issues. Maryland looked pretty good, and then they got owned by Temple.
  • Buffalo @ Rutgers (BTN): Buffalo? Buffalo.
  • Nevada @ Toledo (CBSS): Still really too dang early for any of this, but here’s some mid-day MACtion for you. You don’t just walk in to the Glass Bowl, etc., etc.

12:20: Pittsburgh @ North Carolina (ACC): Pitt.

12:30: Louisville @ Virginia (ACC/RSN): Virginia looks, uh, somewhat competent this year? Going to take the Cavs.

3:30:

  • Clemson @ Georgia Tech (ABC): Just when I’d resigned myself to “well, at least the offense still works” we went and did… whatever that was against Pitt. Now we just have to play one of the three best teams in the country, the strength of which is their defensive line where the entire two deep will probably play in the NFL. Yeah, that’s cool…
  • Texas A&M @ Alabama (CBS): Well, they played Clemson better than anyone expected and got a Top 25 ranking out of it. Hope you enjoyed your stay, Aggies!
  • Kansas State @ West Virginia (ESPN): K-State, oy.
  • Florida International @ Miami (ESPN2): Canes.
  • Northern Illinois @ Florida State (ESPNU): I am straight up calling NIU in this one. FSU will probably still win but they look like a tire fire.
  • Kansas @ Baylor (FS1): What Kansas did to Rutgers… how does that make you feel if you’re Rutgers? You just got waxed by the one of the few other P5 teams you could reliably say, “well, we’re at least we’re not Kansas”. Anyway, this game. Baylor.
  • Tulane @ Ohio State (BTN): Let us all collectively cringe as the Urban Meyer Redemption Tour gets underway. Buckeyes roll.
  • Virginia Tech @ Old Dominion (CBSS): VPI.

4:00:

  • Connecticut @ Syracuse (ESPNEWS): ‘Cuse.
  • South Carolina @ Vanderbilt (SEC): This battle for, uh, the third best team in the SEC East? Yeah, let’s go with that. I like the Gamecocks.
  • Arizona @ Oregon State (Pac12): Arizona still somehow has no idea what to do with a dark horse Heisman candidate, which means I’m going with the Beavers.

4:30: Texas Christian @ Texas (FOX): Is Texas back? Well, no, they still lost to Maryland in the opener. But they dismantled USC, which is a sign of progress. Will they regress against TCU? Probably not, but I still think they’ll lose.

7:00:

  • Florida @ Tennessee (ESPN): …Gators? I have no idea why, though.
  • Mississippi State @ Kentucky (ESPN2): Fresh off getting a 30+ year old monkey off their back, they just to face the probably fourth best team in the SEC. It’s all good, though. Well, unless you’re a Kentucky fan, in which case the path back to (football) irrelevance looks very much in your future.
  • Texas Tech @ Oklahoma State (FS1): Pokes.
  • Louisiana Tech @ Louisiana State (ESPNU): Tigers.
  • North Carolina State @ Marshall (CBSS): Wolfpack.

7:30:

  • Arkansas @ Auburn (SEC): This could get ugly. Arkansas is fresh off losses to Colorado State and North Texas. They may be mad, sure. But Auburn is, uh, madder. Yeah, let’s go with that.
  • Michigan State @ Indiana (BTN): Is this finally the year Indiana is kinda good? I mean, they’ll probably go to 3-1 after this, but still/

8:00:

  • Stanford @ Oregon (ABC): Hey, something to look forward to! Stanford is 3-0 with wins over a feisty San Diego State team and USC. Oregon is 3-0 with wins over… look it’s not important, they’re 3-0! But yeah, the Cardinal remain the other contender (along with Washington) from the Pac-12 North until further notice.
  • East Carolina @ South Florida (ESPNEWS): USF.

8:30: Wisconsin @ Iowa (FOX): Still trying to figure out how Wisconsin lost to BYU. I wish I had seen, like, any of that game. I’m still completely baffled, and in shock, so I’m sticking with the Badgers on the road.

10:15: Air Force @ Utah State (ESPN2): We don’t know anything about these teams, so I’m taking the Aggies.

10:30:

  • Arizona State @ Washington (ESPN): Washington, as the other contender from the Pac-12 North (other than Stanford), will remain my pick until further notice.
  • Eastern Michigan @ San Diego State (CBSS): Aztecs.