Sep 7, 2013; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Florida Gators quarterback Jeff Driskel (6) hands off to running back Matt Jones (24) against the Miami Hurricanes during the second half of the game at Sun Life Stadium. Miami defeated Florida 21-16. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports
Week four in college football has some solid conference matchups and some rivalry games which should make for a dramatic Saturday. ESPN has a solid slate for us this week in College Pick’Em with a top-25 Pac-12 matchup, some dramatic SEC action, and a big game in South Bend.
Soccergoalie6 had a perfect week last week getting all ten picks right to win and take the lead in our FantasyCPR Group. I got eight out of 10 of last week’s games right (as you can see here) but that didn’t matter since I didn’t hit save on my picks apparently before heading out of town for the week. When I came back, there were by solid picks all marked as unmade… Not so cool, but this week I’ll definitely improve on my zero points from last week. Here’s my picks for this week (which I will save) with a quick reason why I’m going that way. Remember the more points the more confident I am in the pick.
Sep 14, 2013; Logan, UT, USA; Utah State Aggies wide receiver Travis Reynolds (8) after scoring a touchdown at Romney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
1 point: Utah State Aggies over USC Trojans-USC bounced back with a big win over BC last week after losing at home to Washington State. This week they host Utah State who piled up 70 points last week after drubbing Air Force 52-20. USU will score enough that I don’t think the Trojans offense will be able to keep up.
2 points: Air Force Falcons over Wyoming Cowboys- Air Force are four-point home dogs afer losing to Utah State and Boise State the last two weeks. Wyoming played Nebraska close before big wins in games they were heavily favored in the last two weeks. Air Force has won six of the last seven meetings between these schools, and at home I think they’ll pull out the win at home.
3 points: Michigan State Spartans over Notre Dame Fighting Irish-Michigan State has gotten off to a good start beating Western Michigan, USF, and Youngstown State. The Irish haven’t fared quite as well going 2-1 after losing at Michigan week 2. They barely escaped Purdue last week on the road, but they will be at home for this one. MSU is a five-point underdog, but I haven’t bee impressed with the Notre Dame offense, so I’ll take the tough Spartan defense on the road to pull the upset.
4 points: Texas Longhorns over Kansas State Wildcats-Texas hosts K-State as they look to bounce back from a couple of very tough losses to BYU and Ole Miss allowing over 40+ points each week. Kansas State has struggled as well picking up a couple easy wins after losing their opener to lowly North Dakota State. Texas badly needs a win and I think they’ll get it at home this week.
Sep 14, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers running back Rachid Ibrahim (29) carries the ball as New Mexico Lobos cornerback Isaiah Brown (16) defends during the fourth quarter against at Heinz Field. The Pittsburgh Panthers won 49-27. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
5 points: Pittsburgh Panthers over Duke Blue Devils-Pitt travels to Duke to face their new ACC rivals. Duke lost their starting QB two weeks ago against Memphis and only mustered 14 points against Georgia Tech last week. Pitt should be able to get a road win this afternoon coming in as 3 1/2-point road favorites.
6 points: Brigham Young Cougars over Utah Utes: The Utes have won the last three games in this “Holy War” between these two Utah-based schools. BYU are 6 1/2 point favorites after a big win over Texas, and since they’re at home, I think they’ll break the Utes run of dominance.
7 points: Stanford Cardinal over Arizona State Sun Devils: Stanford is only favored by 5 1/5 at home against Arizona State. Both teams have looked good in the early going opening 2-0 in impressive fashion. This will be the first trip out of the desert for Arizona State who struggled last season on the road. I don’t see them going to Stanford and beating a solid Cardinal team.
8 points: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets over North Carolina Tar Heels-The Yellow Jackets got a nice road win at Duke last week 38-14 and come home today to host UNC. Georgia Tech’s offense will be too much for the Heels to stop and the Jackets should be able to get beat UNC for the fifth straight time.
Sep 14, 2013; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers quarterback Zach Mettenberger (8) throws a touchdown against the Kent State Golden Flashes during the second half of a game at Tiger Stadium. LSU defeated Kent State 45-13. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
9 points: LSU Tigers over Auburn Tigers-LSU is 16 1/2 point favorites as they host Auburn, but the barely escaped the other Tigers last year with an ugly 12-10 win at Auburn. If this game was in Auburn, I might pick against LSU, but not at home in a Saturday evening game.
10 points: Florida Gators over Tennessee Volunteers-The Volunteers went to Oregon last week and got trounced and now they head to the Swamp to take on the Gators. Florida had an open date to recover from their loss to Miami, and the Gators will be ready to chomp the Vols in the swamp. Florida is a 16 point favorite.