NCAA 2011 Week 4 picks

I'm not picking any upsets this week, which might be dangerous.

Thursday, Sept 22
NC State Wolf Pack at Cincinnati Bearcats:  Both are 2-1, but only Cincy is playing like a 2-1 team.  CINCY

Friday, Sept 23
Central Florida Golden Knights at BYU Cougars:  The Cougars fought hard last week, so they seem to have woken up.  Let's see if they stay awake against Central Florida.  BYU

Top 25
South Dakota at #2 Wisconsin Badgers:  This FCS opponent shouldn't pose any trouble for the offensive powerhouse of the season so far.  WISCONSIN

#9 Arkansas Razorbacks at #3 Alabama Crimson Tide:  Arkansas has some excellent offensive tools, but they'll be challenged by the stingy Tide defense.  'Bama's offense will march up the field against Arkansas, too.  ALABAMA

Missouri Tigers at #4 Oklahoma Sooners:  The Sooners survived a scare against Florida State; Missouri won't be so scary.  OKLAHOMA

#6 Florida Gators at Kentucky Wildcats:  The 'Cats will get bitten by the Gators.  FLORIDA

#22 San Diego State Aztecs at #10 Michigan Wolverines:  The Aztecs could trip up the Wolverines, but they seem to have found their power.  MICHIGAN

#11 LSU Tigers at #15 West Virginia Mountaineers:  Whoa, this could be an interesting game!  LSU is consistent, but their offense isn't clicking the same way it did last year.  With the Mountaineers running strong, I have to favor the home team.  WEST VIRGINIA

Tulsa Golden Hurricane at #12 Boise State Broncos:  Teams often find it hard to play on the blue turf at Boise, and Tulsa doesn't need any more problems this season.  BOISE STATE

Vanderbilt Commodores at #13 South Carolina Gamecocks:  This is a potential upset game, but I believe in the clever game planning of Stever Spurrier.  SOUTH CAROLINA

#19 Florida State Seminoles at #14 Clemson Tigers:  Clemson needs to be careful, because Florida State fought Oklahoma hard.  However, the Tigers beat Auburn last week, and the Seminoles faded in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma.  I favor Clemson pulling this one out late.  CLEMSON

UTEP Miners at #16 South Florida Bulls:  UTEP is struggling this season, while the Bulls continue to attack opponents.  SOUTH FLORIDA

Kansas State Wildcats at #17 Miami Hurricane:  The 'Canes dominated in their home opener.  The Wildcats haven't battled a tough enough opponent to prepare themselves for this challenge.  MIAMI

Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns at #18 Florida International Golden Panthers:  I'm catching some heat for my high placement of FIA, but this team has embarrassed every opponent they've faced, and they took on some tough opponents this season.  Moving into Sun Belt play only makes things easier for them.  FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL

#20 Nebraska Cornhuskers at Wyoming Cowboys:  Wyoming is good, but the Cornhuskers have been stable.  The Cornhuskers haven't been blowing away opponents, but that just makes them more dangerous, as they don't get much attention and teams may think they are suffering a down year.  They aren't.  NEBRASKA

Georgia State at #21 Houston Cougars:  This FCS opponent won't help Houston's Top 25 ranking, but it'll give them another win.  HOUSTON

Rice Owls at #23 Baylor Bears:  Baylor gets an impressive victory to improve their Top 25 standing.  BAYLOR

#24 Oregon Ducks at Arizona Wildcats:  Arizona fought hard last week, but ran out of gas.  Oregon may fall behind, but they'll pour it on late.  OREGON

Colorado Buffaloes at #25 Ohio State Buckeyes:  The Buckeyes face an easy opponent as they have players still sitting out their suspension.  OHIO STATE

Big Ten
Central Michigan Chippewas at Michigan State Spartans:  The Spartans begin their road to redemption after suffering defeat to the Irish, and they get a pretty easy opponent to do it.  MICHIGAN STATE

Eastern Michigan Eagles at Penn State Nittany Lions:  This should be an easier game for the Nittany Lions after squeezing out a win against Temple.  PENN STATE

Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at Iowa Hawkeyes:  Iowa hasn't been looking sharp, but this game can help get them back on track.  IOWA

Western Michigan Broncos at Illinois Fighting Illini:  The Broncos can be a tricky team, but after the defensive stand engineered by the Illini last week, I have to give them the edge.  ILLINOIS

North Dakota State at Minnesota Golden Gophers:  Minnesota is actually a decent team this season, so this powerful FCS team won't shake them up too much.  MINNESOTA

Indiana Hoosiers at North Texas Mean Green:  Indiana encounters a team who is having an even worse season than they are.  INDIANA

GAME OF THE WEEK:  #5 Oklahoma State Cowboys at #7 Texas A&M Aggies:  This one could go either way.  I'd normally pick the home team in these types of battles, but I think the offensive power of the Cowboys could be the difference.  I also think the Cowboys' defense will be better than what finally took the field after the weather delay.  OKLAHOMA STATE

The Rest
North Carolina Tar Heels at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:  North Carolina is unbeaten, but they haven't been showing up big.  After a slow start to the season, Tech came alive last week.  I think that'll continue, especially with the home crowd to spur them on.  GEORGIA TECH

Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Pittsburgh Panthers:  The Irish won their first game last week, but Pittsburgh has been a strong team throughout the season.  I like their chances to prevail here.  PITT

Temple Owls at Maryland Terrapins:  Maryland's little uniform switching act hasn't really helped their performance at all, while Temple has upped their game this season.  The Owls pushed Penn State to the limit; Maryland won't be much of a challenge.  TEMPLE

Ohio Bobcats at Rutgers Scarlet Knights:  The Bobcats are quietly having a great season.  The Knights haven't been really powerful yet, but they had an extra week to prepare for this game, so they might have some tricks up their sleeve.  This will be a close one, but I'll pick the Bobcats.  OHIO

Virginia Tech Hokies at Marshall Thundering Herd:  The Hokies want to crack my Top 25, but vanquishing a struggling Marshall team doesn't give them much strength of schedule power.  VIRGINIA TECH

California Golden Bears at Washington Huskies:  Cal is 2-1 but have surrendered more points to FBS teams than they've scored.  Washington has shown themselves to be a good and stable team this season.  I have to favor the Huskies.  WASHINGTON

Florida Atlantic Owls at Auburn Tigers: The Tigers get to lick their wounds from Clemson since the Owls are having a terrible season.  AUBURN

Nevada Wolfpack at Texas Tech Red Raiders:  Last season this would have been a colossal battle.  The Wolfpack lost too much, and are no longer a threatening force.  TEXAS TECH

USC Trojans at Arizona State Sun Devils:  Expect a real battle, as the Sun Devils try to erase the memory of their loss to Illinois.  They proved to have a potent passing offense, so USC's secondary had better be ready.  This will be a close game, with multiple lead changes, but I think USC has the defense to hold back Arizona State at the end.  USC