NCAA Week 4 picks

Thurs Sept 21
Temple Owls at #20 South Florida Bulls:  The Owls should not give the Bulls a difficult time.  SOUTH FLORIDA

Fri Sept 22
Virginia Cavaliers at Boise State Broncos:  Boise may not be the powerhouse of the Group of Five that it often has been, but they are still a good team, and are a tougher home team.  BOISE STATE

#23 Utah Utes at Arizona Wildcats:  Aside from Washington, Utah might be the Pac-12 team that has shown the most consistent power so far this season.  That power should overwhelm the Wildcats, who just aren't as stacked as year as many other Pac-12 teams.  UTAH

Sat Sept 23
#1 Alabama Crimson Tide at Vanderbilt Commodores:  Vandy beat Kansas State last week to advance to 3-0, but now they face their first major foe.  It won't be pretty.  ALABAMA

#2 Oklahoma Sooners at Baylor Bears:  Baylor has completely collapsed this season.  This might be the easiest conference game for Oklahoma.  OKLAHOMA

Boston College Eagles at #3 Clemson Tigers:  BC's sputtering offense comes in to face the stingy Tigers defense.  The result will not be in doubt; the only question might be is whether the Eagles can prevent a shutout.  CLEMSON

#4 Penn State Nittany Lions at Iowa Hawkeyes:  This one may not be as easy as Penn State would like.  Iowa found their spark in the second half of last week's game, and that's what they are bringing into this one.  The Lions defense is sturdy, though, and the offense can control the pace and wear down their opponent.  They'll do that here.  PENN STATE

#17 TCU Horned Frogs at #6 Oklahoma State Cowboys:  The Horned Frogs have been a decent team so far, but the Cowboys have been terrific.  They should jump out to an early lead and expand from there.  OKLAHOMA STATE

#7 Michigan Wolverines at Purdue Boilermakers: Purdue has been playing some gutsy performances, and they catch Michigan before their offensive woes are resolved.  The big question is whether Purdue can succeed against the stiff Wolverines defense.  Not for long.  MICHIGAN

#8 Washington Huskies at Colorado Buffaloes:  Colorado has begun 3-0, but can they maintain that against the hottest team in the Pac-12?  I don't think so.  WASHINGTON

#12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at #9 Michigan State Spartans:  The Spartans had an extra week to prepare for this game, but they may not have needed it.  Michigan State, and much of the Big Ten, play Notre Dame tough.  This will be a close game, but the Spartans should prevail.  MICHIGAN STATE

#10 Mississippi State Bulldogs at #14 Georgia Bulldogs:  Who let the Dawgs out?  This drama of the droolers pits the best offense in the SEC against the hard-driving home team.  Can Georgia slow down the powerful offense of Mississippi State?  Perhaps, but not enough. MISSISSIPPI STATE

#11 USC Trojans at Cal Golden Bears:  USC hopes to get a breather after the tough games they've played, but Cal can be tricky.  They won't be tricky enough to win, but they may keep it closer than the Trojans would like.  USC

Old Dominion Monarchs at #13 Virginia Tech Hokies:  This should be an easy win.  VIRGINIA TECH

#15 UCF Golden Knights at #25 Maryland Terrapins:  Time for Maryland to prove that their win over Texas wasn't a fluke.  Both teams have had more time off than they would like.  Which one is more rusty?  UCF's defense has to face the powerful Maryland offense.  Offenses require more practice than defense, so I have to pick the Knights, but let's see if Maryland can surprise.  UCF

UNLV Running Rebels at #16 Ohio State Buckeyes:  The Buckeyes need to tighten their defense, but they won't need it too tight to win this game.  OHIO STATE

#18 Auburn Tigers at Missouri Tigers:  Missouri might be the worst team in the SEC this season.  AUBURN

Nevada Wolf Pack at #21 Washington State Cougars:  The Cougars will make mincemeat of the Wolf Pack.  WASHINGTON STATE

Cincinnati Bearcats at #22 Navy Midshipmen:  Cincinnati can be tough, but they aren't tough enough to stay fresh against the grinding Navy ground game.  NAVY

#24 UCLA Bruins at Stanford Cardinal:  Could Stanford go 1-3? The Bruins haven't been the most stable team so far this season, but Stanford has not been able to pull themselves together.  If they do, they should win, but I can't pick them until I see evidence.  UCLA

Big Ten games
Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Nebraska Cornhuskers:  Interesting battle between the two worst teams in the conference.  In situations like that, I usually pick the home team.  Nebraska has the talent to support that.  NEBRASKA

Georgia Southern Eagles at Indiana Hoosiers:  Indiana is very strong, and should pulverize the Eagles.  INDIANA

Other games of Interest
Texas Tech Red Raiders at Houston Cougars:  Either team is capable of winning this game.  Tech has usually focussed only on offense.  That one-sided strategy gives Houston the edge.  HOUSTON

Texas A&M Aggies at Arkansas Razorbacks:  Arkansas has collapsed this season,  The Aggies aren't strong, but they should overpower Arkansas.  TEXAS A&M

San Diego State Aztecs at Air Force Falcons:  San Diego State proved themselves last week, and that can continue this week. SAN DIEGO STATE

Florida Gators at Kentucky Wildcats:  People still believe Florida is a top team, but this game should squash that.  Kentucky has proven to be a good team, and a victory here should confirm that.  KENTUCKY