We are nearly a month into the college football season and
we have already had some amazing upsets, some teams emerge from nowhere, some
show they aren't who we think they are (shout out to Denny Green on that one),
and some who have just confused us. A few
weeks ago, I even attempted to pick a few games myself and managed a decent
showing for the opening weekend with a 3-3 record. Now that I have seen several
of these teams, I have expanded by horizons for week 4 and have added 11 games
to the pick 'em slate; and this time I am going to leave my heart out of the
pick and try to give an honest assessment (which will be hard for one game in
particular).
SEC GotW
Missouri vs. (7)
South Carolina
Score: South Carolina 31
Missouri 21
SEC GotW Runner-up
Vanderbilt vs. (5)
Vanderbilt is once again trying to prove they can matchup
with the big dogs in the SEC. Although
they handed it to Presbyterian last week, James Franklin's (not to be confused
with the Mizzou QB) Vandy is a hard team to get a read on so far this season. Jordan Rodgers will have to be flawless
against a swarming UGA defense. Georgia , on the
other hand, is looking to prove that they are worthy of a top five
ranking. Georgia's biggest problem so
far this season has been with disciplinary issues. They have had a multitude of players, mostly
on defense, who have run amok off the field and had to pay the piper. As they keep getting these guys back on the
field, the defense should perform at a higher level taking the pressure off of
the offense to carry the load. Look for
Vandy to still be looking for their first SEC win after the game.
Score: Georgia 34
Vanderbilt 17
Pac 12 GotW
(22)
When Rich Rodriguez was named the new Arizona Wildcat coach
in the offseason, many wondered how quickly he would have them winning
ballgames. The answer seems to be rather
quickly. Rich Rod’s spread offense is
perfectly suited for the Pac 12 conference.
Senior QB Matt Scott has winged the ball for nearly 1,000 yards with 7
TDs and only one INT thus far. But can Rich
Rod's spread out gun that of Chip Kelly’s Ducks. Oregon
finds itself in a familiar spot, ranked solidly in the top 5. While the Ducks have not faced a BCS
opponent, they have handled the teams they have played the way they
should. Oregon freshman QB Marcus
Mariota has proven to be more than capable so far and they have a two-headed
monster at RB with Kenjon Barner and De'Anthony Thomas. Look for a few light bulbs to need replacing
on the scoreboard after this one.
Score: Oregon 48
Arizona 33
Pac 12 GotW Runner-up
The Pac 12 has settled in nicely as the number two
conference in the country after three weeks of play. This matchup is huge for both teams. The Beavers had a week off after their
dominant defensive performance against Wisconsin
and look to be challenged by Jim Mora, Jr.’s new look Bruins. With a win in this game, UCLA would be sending
a message that the Trojans don’t have the only game in town. Freshman QB Brett Hundley has played like a
veteran and RB Jonathan Franklin (not to be confused with either James in the
SEC) has already rushed for over 500 yards in just three games. Don't be surprised if this turns out to be
the best game of the week.
Score: UCLA 27 Oregon
St. 23
ACC GotW
(10) Clemson vs.
The ACC really needs this game to live up to the hype that a
top ten matchup on primetime, national TV implies. Clemson defeated Auburn in the first game of
the season for a solid win against an SEC school. The Tigers have many weapons (Tajh Boyd,
Sammy Watkins, DeAndre Hopkins, Andre Ellington, etc.) and hope to utilize them
all to gain an advantage in the Atlantic division. Florida St. is looking to prove that they are
back, even though coach Jimbo Fisher says he doesn't know what that means. The Seminoles played Cream Puff U and Cupcake
Community College to open the season before dominating Wake Forest last week. FSU QB E.J. Manuel (who seems as if he has
been there long enough to be tenured faculty) provides a steady hand at the
helm of the Seminole offense. Maybe
Coach Fisher will have a better understanding of what it means to be back after
the Noles take this one.
Score: Florida St. 41
Clemson 34
Big 12 GotW
Very few coaches are as synonymous with their football
programs as is Bill Snyder at Kansas State.
If Coach Snyder can lead his team to a tough road victory over Oklahoma
this weekend, it may just catapult them all the way to the Big 12
Championship. Leading the way for the
Wildcats is Heisman hopeful QB Collin Klein, who can run and pass. Sooners coach Bob Stoops knows better than to
underestimate a Snyder coached team and will have his guys ready to play. The Sooners are led by QB Landry Jones, who
seems like he has been at Oklahoma since they became a state in 1907. The winner will grab the driver's seat for
the conference title.
Score: Kansas St. 31
Oklahoma 28
Validation GotW
(18)
This is a game that makes me wish that ties were still allowed
in college football because at the end of the day I don't want to pick a
winner. In this classic rivalry,
Michigan has gotten the best of Notre Dame the past three seasons, winning all
three games by four points and scoring a touchdown in the last minute of the
game. Michigan is led by senior QB
Denard "Shoelace" Robinson who should prove to be a more difficult
match for the Notre Dame defense than Michigan State did last week. Speaking of the Notre Dame D, how about last
week? They absolutely stymied Michigan
State, led by gutsy senior LB Manti Te'o.
No matter how you feel about Notre Dame, and I think I have made clear
my opinion, you have to be inspired by Te'o's performance a few days after the
passing of both his grandmother and girlfriend.
Don't expect the same kind of performance this week from the Irish D but
they will get the job done.
Score: Notre Dame
24 Michigan 17
Hmmm GotW
Rutgers vs.
Rutgers has started the 2012 season by winning their first
three games. Arkansas's chance for a
dream season was upended by an ill-fated motorcycle ride in the offseason and
has only gotten worse the past two weeks after losing to Louisiana-Monroe in a
shocker and being completely dismantled by Alabama. If Arkansas has any hopes of regaining
control of this tailspin, they must beat the Scarlet Knights. There is no word yet about whether Arkansas
QB has been cleared to play after suffering a concussion two weeks ago.
Score: Rutgers 27
Arkansas 24
Mid-major GotW
Southern Mississippi vs. Western Kentucky
Southern Mississippi has shown in years past that even
though they play in Conference USA, they can play with the big boys from the
big conferences. That has not carried
over so far this season, though, as the Golden Eagles are looking for their
first win. They are not likely to get it
against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.
The Toppers and coach Willie Taggart are coming off the biggest win
they've had since moving up to the FBS series against the University of
Kentucky.
Score: WKU 35 So Miss
17
Trap GotW
Baylor vs.
Louisiana-Monroe
What a difference a year makes. Baylor surely misses their Heisman trophy
winning QB from a year ago. Although
they have won their first two games of the season, the Bears struggled mightily
early on against Sam Houston State.
Their opponent, the Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe, have huge
momentum. They defeated (8) Arkansas in
overtime two weeks ago and took Auburn to OT last week. And Baylor is making the trip to ULM.
Score: ULM 34 Baylor 31 OT
Redemption GotW
BYU vs.
As is often the case, both programs really need to win this
game. BYU is coming off one of the most
bizarre endings in college football history when Utah fans had to storm the
field three times before finally being able to claim victory over the
Cougars. (If you haven't seen it, You
Tube it). Boise State's run against BCS
schools came to halt the first weekend of the season when they lost to Michigan
State.
Score: Boise St. 44
BYU 26
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