Welcome to week four of the college football season! Only 11 more to go!

For anyone happening on this from Facebook, this is pretty much what I do here. Each of the following is a game featuring at least one DI-A team from a BCS conference on national television, with additional exceptions for games that are interesting but only on regionally (read: the Raycom ACC and SEC “Games of the Week”). My idea of national is mostly based on what Comcast carries because that is what I currently have – so you’ll see the national Big Ten Network game of the week but not the ESNPU game unless I want to talk about it.

As usual, all times are Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• East Carolina @ North Carolina State (ESPN): NCSU has scored 9 offensive points against DI-A teams this year, losing in blowouts to South Carolina and Clemson. Granted, those were both on the road, but I’ve seen nothing to make me thing that NCSU has any idea what they’re doing. Meanwhile, the Pirates needed a touchdown in the last two minutes to beat lowly Tulane, though that was their first road game of the year. I’m looking for ECU to win, though it may be closer than many think.
• Iowa @ Pittsburgh (ESPN2): If this weren’t on an ESPN, I wouldn’t write about it. I can’t think of anything positive to say about either team. Iowa is 3-0, but all three teams are decidedly worse than them (Maine, FIU, and Iowa St.). Pitt, meanwhile, lost to Bowling Green and hasn’t played for two weeks since beating Buffalo. (Which I don’t think I’ve seen before – a two week break, that is.) I hate to pick another road team here, but I’ll go with Iowa so at least I can be mildly interested in this game.
• Troy @ Ohio State (BTN): Do I want Troy to win? Yes. Do I think they will? No.
• Mississippi State @ Georgia Tech (Raycom/Gameplan): This is an intriguing matchup for the Jackets. And not because of conference pride. Miss St. is terrible offensively (see the 3-2 debacle last weekend), and the Jackets had 3 fumbles last week in Blacksburg. Outside of just the fumbles, though, there is plenty of room of improvement for the Jackets. In what I suspect may be an issue all year, the middle of the offensive line has to get better blocks coming off the snap – with as often as VPI was in the backfield, it’s surprising there weren’t more fumbles lost. I say this because GT never established the first option in the triple option – the dive up the middle. B-back Dwyer had 10 carries for only 28 yards as VPI stacked the the middle-of-the-line. The other Tech then sold out on the 2nd option, the pitch-man on the outside. The result? A very banged up Josh Nesbitt, who ran 28 times for 151 yards. 5.4 yards per carry is nice, of course, but you don’t really want your QB getting banged up like that, and he is also prone to fumbling the ball. The good news for GT is that their best WR is back, which opens up the downfield pass even more. Anyway, I’ll be up early for this one.

12:30: Alabama @ Arkansas (Raycom/Gameplan): Alabama is 3-0! Which makes me very glad I’m not there last now, because I’m sure the press and fans are insufferable. We’ll ignore that they have 1 legit victory out of that (Clemson). Of course, we know about as much about Arkansas. Well, except that they needed last minute touchdowns to beat both DI-AA Western Illinois and annual DI-A punching bag UL-Monroe. I will reluctantly go with ‘Bama here.

3:00: Arizona @ California-Los Angeles (FSN): Yeah, I picked UCLA last week. Then they got shut out and embarrassed by the Stormin’ Mormons. Luckily for UCLA, this game is in, well, LA and against annual Pac-10 doormat Arizona, who has already lost to decidedly-worse-than-BYU New Mexico. Goin’ with Slick Rick and the Baby Blues here.

3:30:

• Florida @ Tennessee (CBS): SEC East football! Woo! Tennessee is looking to restore its reputation as the loss to UCLA now looks kind of bad. Florida, meanwhile, just got Percy Harvin back, this restoring the other 1/3 of Florida’s offense that isn’t Tim Tebow. Florida’s defensive secondary is still suspect, but so is Tennessee’s quarterback. Since Tebow plays for the Gators, I give them a slight edge on the road.
• Notre Dame @ Michigan State (ABC/ESPN): Michigan losing to ND says a lot more about Michigan than Notre Dame. Michigan State should win, but I’ll hesitate on calling for the rout. Unfortunately, the is the ABC national game for everyone who not on the Atlantic seaboard, the Southeast, and the area East of New Mexico and south of Missouri. Except for Orlando, FL. Let’s just move on.
• Miami @ Texas Agricultural and Mechanical (ABC/Gameplan): Ugh. Both these teams are terrible. I think TAMU is worse, mostly due to losing to Arkansas State. At home. I expect a repeat of last year’s 34-17 romp by Miami.
• Virginia Tech @ North Carolina (ABC/ESPN/Gameplan): This is a game that a lot of people are saying will be closer than people think. Heck, Vegas even has the Hokies as an underdog, though it’s only by 3 (essentially, they’re saying they have no clue). I guess the perception among most is that VPI is a favorite anyway. If were betting on this game, I wouldn’t take UNC and the 3, that’s for sure. I’ll even go ahead and pick VPI straight-up. Tyrod Taylor looked good enough against GT last week, and all the UNC-Rutgers game told me was that Rutgers isn’t good anymore. Speaking of whom…
• Rutgers @ Navy (CBS College Sports):

4:00: Utah @ Air Force (Versus): Both are 3-0, but Air Force’s 3-0 is against a couple very bad teams. The Utes, meanwhile, have victories over Michigan and, for what it’s worth, UNLV. I’ll go with them.

7:00:

• Wake Forest @ Florida State (ESPN2): I have no idea what the line is and I’m too tired to look it up. What do I know is that if FSU is favored the oddsmakers are crazy. FSU’s offense is just terrible.
• Rice @ Texas (FSN): Finally, I can pick a home team to win! Old SWC foes face off for the 6th straight time. The last time Rice beat Texas was in 1994, when the SWC still existed. The last time Rice had consecutive victories over the Longhorns was in 1953 and 1954. Ouch.
• Ball State @ Indiana (BTN): I don’t have anything constructive to say about this game. Indiana should win.

7:45: Louisiana State @ Auburn (ESPN): Auburn will score more than 3 points in this game. However, I haven’t seen anything to make me thing they will be able to score enough. Tentatively picking LSU.

8:00:

• Georgia @ Arizona State (ABC): Though it’d be almost everything I’d ever want or hope for, I can’t pick ASU here.
• Texas Christian @ Southern Methodist (CBS College Sports): TCU wins.

No update on stats this weekend unless I feel like doing them later. Answer to last week’s question was “Charlotte.” No trivia this week.

Anyway, live from the ATL, here’s this weekend’s somewhat noteworthy games. As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• California @ Maryland (ESPN): Normally, I like to make fun of coaches that are going down faster than a sinking ship (see: DaCoachO and John L. Smith), but I have hard time doing so for Das Fridge. But, yes, UMD probably has the hottest seat in the country and various message board pundits are predicting he will be fired or quit at or by the end of the season. What does this mean to you? Cal by a couple of touchdowns, at least.
• Florida Atlantic @ Michigan State (ESPN2): Normally, I wouldn’t dignify this game with a response, but look below. See that? That’s a bonfide rivalry game. This? This is bullshit. I shouldn’t have to say it, but MSU by a few scores.
• Iowa State @ Iowa (BTN): Sometime, I should look up why these two didn’t play each other after the 1934 season for 42 years. Until then, the home team has won the last three, and I don’t see any reason why that’ll change here.
• North Carolina State @ Clemson (Raycom/Gameplan): NC State lost to moribund South Carolina 34-0 in week 1, and then only beat William and Mary by 10. Clemson’s had their own troubles this year, but shouldn’t at home against the Wolfpack.

12:30:

• Nevada @ Missouri (FSN): Mizzou in a route.
• Alabama-Birmingham @ Tennessee (Raycom/Gameplan): I don’t really have anything different to say about this game. I mean, what can you say about UAB? Well, I guess it’s easy money.

3:30:

• Michigan @ Notre Dame (NBC): Slapfight! If I had to set an over-under for this game, it’d be somewhere around 16. Michigan by a field goal.
• Georgia @ South Carolina (CBS): Much like a cat playing with a mouse, UGA will bat South Carolina around for a bit before finally severing the spinal cord sometime in the middle of the 3rd quarter.
• Georgia Tech @ Virginia Polytechnic (ABC/ESPN/Gameplan): Once again, it’s difficult to make predictions about a GT game. A preview I read earlier this week from the VPI side pointed out nearly half of GT’s offensive yards last game came off 3 plays, though this hardly surpirses me it does inspire a cause of concern. I break it down like this. Each of these defenses are good, or at any rate, will look good in this game. Special teams is a concern for each club, though I will go the traditional route and attribute greater special teams prowress to Virginia Tech. And so we come to the offense. Both teams have questions on offense. As noted above, GT has been getting yards on big plays more than the methodical drive of the option. VPI is trying to integrate Tyrod Taylor, the classic example of how the backup just has to be better than the starter, though to be fair Glennon has been terrible this season. I really have no idea who will come out on top here, and as usual I will not hazard a guess for this game.
• Oregon @ Purdue (ESPN/ABC): Intersectional footbaal, woo! Purdue cruised to victory over a DI-AA scrub last week, meanwhile Oregon beat the tar out of Washington as well as annual “one of the worst teams in DI-A” contender Utah State. They’ve met once before, and only 20 points were scored as Purdue won 13-7. I would expect there will be many more points than that by the end of the day, with the scoreboard likely in Oregon’s favor.
• Pennsylvania State @ Syracuse (Gameplan/ABC): The ‘Cuse already lost to Northwestern by 20 and Akron by 16. Meanwhile, Penn State may actually be good this year. I don’t think I need to spell this out for you.
• California-Los Angeles @ Brigham Young (Versus): BYU is a trendy pick, along with ECU, as a BCS buster this year. (And unlike ECU, they were ranked in the pre-season.) However, unlike the Pirates, the Stormin’ Mormons barely espcated Seattle with a win over a pretty bad Washington squad. Like most folks, I agree this depends on which UCLA QB shows up. But nonetheless, I’ll take the minor upset angle here and go with UCLA.

7:00: Auburn @ Mississippi State (ESPN2): I’d say there’s about a 20% chance of Auburn getting Croom’d here. Maybe lower. Nonetheless, Tigers prevail.

7:45: Oklahoma @ Washington (ESPN): Washington is not very good again, or at any rate, not really good enough to beat OU. Big 12 goes to 2-0 in Seattle on the year.

8:00: Ohio State @ Southern California (ABC): Almost done, which is good because I’m tired. Many pixels have been dedicated to this game so I don’t think there’s much I can tell you. I didn’t think OSU had much of a chance beforehand, and with the likely loss of their starting running back for this game I will surprise absolutely no on and pick USC in this national-title semifinal.

10:30: Wisconsin @ Fresno State (ESPN2): Wisconsin has to know this is a trap. Fresno is good, and has a chance to knock off some big boys this year. You can bet that they are ready. It is difficult to get a read on the Badgers becaues they have played absolutely no one. Fresno has had 12 days to rest and get ready for this game. It’s probably not an upset, but I will go with Fresno here.

That’s all for this week. Now for some sleep.

Well, last week I “predicted” (read: guessed) the outcome of 27 games, and I got 16 of them right. Of course, several of the incorrect guesses include Virginia Tech, Michigan, and Clemson, so yeah.

By the way, the answer to last week’s trivia question (“Which state is Jacksonville State located in?”) was “Alabama”. This week’s question is embedded in the summaries below, and feel free to leave your answer in the comments.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Ohio @ Ohio State (ESPN): I’m tired and I’ll keep this short. Ohio State rolls, in the manner of chariots of old. Or something.
• Miami @ Michigan (ESPN2): I am reasonably confident that Michigan can handle the Miami that is in Ohio. Reasonably. Even if they got through 2 or 3 quarterbacks again.
• Georgia Tech @ Boston College (Raycom/Gameplan): And here’s the first real test of Georgia Tech’s new offense. I have to admit I do not feel good about this. From what I saw and what I have read our offensive line is simply not doing the things they need to do get off the line, cut their assignment, and get to the second level. Another key will be discipline. Last week Tech had two chop blocks called against them, and while one of them was definitely iffy, this is a point of emphasis for the officials this year and something they need to be conscious of. Also, they have to contend with a defensive line that is on the same level as our own. On the flip side, BC has a good, experienced offensive line, and it will be interesting to see how they match up with our athletic defensive line. Both teams have weaknesses in the secondary, but both teams also don’t figure to pass the ball a lot.

12:30: Southern Mississippi @ Auburn (Raycom/Gameplan): USM has played SEC spoiler in the past, but probably not today.

3:00: Brigham Young @ Washington (FSN): There’s little indication that Washington has done anything to get better over the past year, and so I’m going to take the Stormin’ Mormons here.

3:30:

• San Diego State @ Notre Dame (NBC): SDSU lost to Cal Poly last week. Notre Dame should be able to take care of business here.
• Oregon State @ Pennsylvania State (ABC/ESPN2): Big inter-sectional matchup here. I really have no idea which way to here, unfortunately. Penn State, I guess.
• Mississippi @ Wake Forest (ESPN2/Gameplan): After last week, Wake may well be the best team in the ACC. So they had better beat Ole Miss, just for the sake of the conference.
• Cincinnati @ Oklahoma (Gameplan/ESPN2): I have a very hard time seeing anyone other than Oklahoma winning here.

4:30: West Virginia @ East Carolina (ESPN): ECU somehow got two home games in a row against BCS opponents. Good job on their part, but can they follow up on last week? I doubt lightning will strike twice. Speaking of striking twice, though, I’m going to cop out with another geographic trivia question this week. Where is East Carolina located? No cheating.

5:00: Texas A&M @ New Mexico (Versus): TAMU, all the way.

7:00:

• Southern Florida @ Central Florida (ESPN2): USF has been the dominant partner in this relationship, the lesser of the two big Florida rivalries. USF is 3-0 and, winning last year by a score of 64 to 12. Will the suspiciously similar to late-90’s Georgia Tech-clad Knights charge on to revenge? Probably not.
• Louisiana Tech @ Kansas (FSN): Taylor Bennett led the “lesser” WAC Bulldogs to a minor upset of of the “lesser” SEC Bulldogs last week. Kansas should be a little better than Mississippi State, though, and I once again I doubt lightning will strike twice.

8:00: Miami @ Florida (ESPN): This is arguably the biggest game of the day as these two rivals meet for the first time since the 2003 season, where the two schools actually met twice. My take on this is simple. No team has done less with more than Miami over the past 3 years. Supposed to walk all over the ACC and vie with FSU for conference championships, Miami has done neither. (Including, to my delight, 3 straight losses to Georgia Tech.) Miami decidedly beat Charleston Southern last week (in their new digs at Dolphin Stadium), but that tells us nothing. Meanwhile, Florida should be a pretty good team. The game may be interesting for a half to three quarters, but I expect the Tebow express to take over at some point and take care of business.

10:15: Texas @ Texas-El Paso (ESPN2): Last game of the day, well, last one worth mentioning anyway. As much as I’d love for UTEP to pull it off Texas should really take care of things.