Week 4 College Football Picks and Results

Thursday
Virginia at Georgia Tech (+16.5): UVA has gotten off to a very sluggish start and things won't be improving much in Atlanta against the Jackets.
Georgia Tech 42 Virginia 21
Georgia Tech 24 Virginia 7 (1-0) (1-0)

Friday
Northwestern at Nevada (+7): Northwestern's offense will not be able to keep up with the Wolfpack and their Pistol-set-ups.
Nevada 28 Northwestern 14
Nevada 31 Northwestern 21 (2-0) (2-0)

Saturday
Troy at Nebraska (+21): The Huskers better not sleep on Troy as Florida State did for three quarters and Georgia Tech did for a half. With the game being at home, I'm going with NU.
Nebraska 38 Troy 17
Nebraska 56 Troy 0 (3-0) (3-0)

Iowa (+21) at Illinois: The veteran-led Hawkeyes will have no problem taking care of business in Champagne. Thankfully, unlike the game against Syracuse, senior quarterback Drew Tate will be starting in this game.
Iowa 42 Illinois 3
Iowa 24 Illinois 7 (4-0) (3-1)

Iowa State at Texas (+23.5): While I don't see the 'Horns covering the large spread, I do see them getting the best of the Cyclones in this game.
Texas 28 Iowa State 17
Texas 37 Iowa State 14 (5-0) (4-1)

Army at Baylor (+10): Both teams have been pretty pesky early on, but with the game at home, I'll have to give the edge to Baylor.
Baylor 21 Army 14
Army 27 Baylor 20 OT (5-1) (5-1)

Colorado at Georgia (+27): With a loss in this contest, CU would start the season 0-4. Even though they've played horribly on offense, the defense has done a decent job, allowing only 54 points in three games. While CU has no chance at winning this game, I think they have a chance at beating the spread, just barely.
Georgia 28 Colorado 3
Georgia 14 Colorado 13 (6-1) (6-1)

Oklahoma State at Houston (+1): This is actually a big non-conference games between two unbeatens. One thing is for certain, there should be plenty of points on the scoreboard when the game comes to a close. Flip a coin on this one.
Oklahoma State 42 Houston 35
Houston 34 Oklahoma State 25 (6-2) (6-2)

South Florida at Kansas (+5): KU's coming off a tough double overtime loss to Toledo and USF is coming off an impressive victory against Central Florida. Jim Leavitt's team seems to be improving on a weekly basis and I'm taking them in the upset to improve them to 4-0 on the season.
South Florida 24 Kansas 21
Kansas 13 South Florida 7 (6-3) (6-3)

Louisville (+13.5) at Kansas State: The Cards are without Bush and Brohm, but that's not even going to matter in this game.
Louisville 31 Kansas State 14
Louisville 24 Kansas State 6 (7-3) (7-3)

Ohio at Missouri (+20.5): The Tigers have impressed me more than any other Big XII club in the early going and will improve to 4-0 after this game.
Missouri 35 Ohio 14
Missouri 31 Ohio 6 (8-3) (8-3)

Middle Tennessee at Oklahoma (+29): The Sooners will most likely be distracted coming into this game, so, lucky for them that they're facing off against Middle Tennessee in Norman.
Oklahoma 35 Middle Tennessee 10
Oklahoma 59 Middle Tennessee 0 (9-3) (8-4)

Louisiana Tech at Texas A&M (+23): A&M got lucky last week in their win against Army. I could see that happening again in this game.
Texas A&M 28 Louisiana Tech 21
Texas A&M 45 Louisiana Tech 14 (10-3) (8-5)

UConn at Indiana (+2.5): Even though they lost last week to Wake Forest, it's very difficult for me to pick Indiana in football.
UConn 24 Indiana 21
UConn 14 Indiana 7 (11-3) (9-5)

Wisconsin at Michigan (+14): Even if Michigan has a let-down week, they should get past the Baah-dgers of Wis-CAHN-sin.
Michigan 28 Wisconsin 10
Michigan 27 Wisconsin 13 (12-3) (10-5)

Notre Dame (+3.5) at Michigan State: It's very difficult for me to pick against the Irish and Charlie Weiss, but with how pathetic their defense looked a week ago, the fact that Michigan State has had their number in recent years, and the fact that the game is in East Lansing, I'm going to go with the Spartans.
Michigan State 35 Notre Dame 28
Notre Dame 40 Michigan State 37 (12-4) (10-6)

Minnesota (+3) at Purdue: Purdue finally faces a team better than they are and that's not saying a whole lot, especially when it comes to defense. The GO-phers go on the road and come back with a big conference win.
Minnesota 38 Purdue 28
Purdue 27 Minnesota 21 (12-5) (10-7)

Penn State at Ohio State (+17): Troy Smith and the Buckeyes overcame a sluggish start against Cincinnati last week to blow out the Bearcats in the second half. That good play will continue at home in a huge conference win against JoPa's crew.
Ohio State 35 Penn State 17
Ohio State 28 Penn State 6 (13-5) (11-7)

Miami (Ohio) at Syracuse (+6.5): The 'Cuse haven't played as badly as they were expected to this season. They've beaten Illinois by 10 (it wasn't even that close), lost to unbeaten Wake Forest by 10, and lost to Iowa by a touchdown in double overtime. Miami, on the other hand, hasn't shown me much of anything. They may want to call up Ben Roethlisberger and get him to play football for the University again.
Syracuse 24 Miami (Ohio) 14
Syracuse 34 Miami (Ohio) 14 (14-5) (12-7)

Marshall at Tennessee (+22): Is it just me, or does it seem that the 'Vols are playing every game in Knoxville? Either way, they'd get the best of the Herd in this one.
Tennessee 35 Marshall 7
Tennessee 33 Marshall 7 (15-5) (13-7)

North Carolina at Clemson (+16.5): Carolina might score a bit in this game due to Clemson's health problems on the defensive side of the ball, but they allowed 42 to Division I-AA Furman last week. Yeah, so one can only imagine how many points they'll allow to Clemson.
Clemson 49 North Carolina 21
Clemson 52 North Carolina 7 (16-5) (14-7)

Kentucky at Florida (+24): Kentucky at the swamp? Good luck guys. The only thing playing Kentucky's favor is the fact that Florida may have a let down coming off a big win in Knoxville last week.
Florida 42 Kentucky 14
Florida 26 Kentucky 7 (17-5) (14-8)

Rice at Florida State (+29.5): I would not want to be the Owls this week (or any week, for that matter). They're coming off a beating to Texas and FSU fell asleep on Troy two weeks ago before waking up and winning in the 4th quarter and fell to Clemson a week ago. No contest in this one. FSU dominates.
Florida State 49 Rice 7
Florida State 55 Rice 7 (18-5) (15-8)

Buffalo at Auburn (+43): Whew! That is one big spread! I don't know whether to pick Auburn to cover that large of a spread or not. I think they'll come very close, but due to playing scrubs in the second half, I think Buffalo may beat the spread.
Auburn 42 Buffalo 0
Auburn 38 Buffalo 7 (19-5) (16-8)

Kent State at Bowling Green (+7.5): If there's a team in the MAC that I have troubles picking, it's the Kent State Golden Flashes. With the game at BGU, I'm going with the Falcons, even though they haven't impressed me all too much thus far.
Bowling Green 31 Kent State 17
Kent State 38 Bowling Green 3 (19-6) (16-9)

Tulsa at Navy (+5.5): The Midshipmen finally came alive last week against Stanford. Are the Cardinal that bad? Is Navy that good? As usual, it's probably a bit of both. With the game at home and coming off the impressive performance a week ago, I'm going with Navy, but not by much.
Navy 24 Tulsa 21
Tulsa 24 Navy 23 OT (19-7) (16-10)

Cincinnati at Virginia Tech (+26): Poor Cincy. They face-off against Ohio State and Virginia Tech in back-to-back weeks. I don't know if I'd take the Hokies with the spread, though.
Virginia Tech 28 Cincinnati 3
Virginia Tech 29 Cincinnati 13 (20-7) (17-10)

Utah State at BYU (+31): Utah State got blown out by Utah 48-0 a week ago. If they play similarly this week in Provo, expect similar results.
BYU 38 Utah State 0
BYU 38 Utah State 0 (21-7) (18-10)

Washington State (+10) at Stanford: Is Stanford the new doormat of the Pac 10? They could very well be on their way.
Washington State 24 Stanford 10
Washington State 36 Stanford 10 (22-7) (19-10)

Arizona State at California (+7): Even though the game is in Berkeley, I like the Sundevils' odds in this one.
Arizona State 35 California 28
California 49 Arizona State 21 (22-8) (19-11)

UCLA (+3.5) at Washington: Ty Willingham's Huskies have improved quite a bit this year from last. UCLA is so youthful, it's hard to tell where they'll rank in the Pac 10 this year. I'm going with the upset at home.
Washington 28 UCLA 24
Washington 29 UCLA 19 (23-8) (20-11)

Central Michigan (+4) at Eastern Michigan: CMU played two quality opponents tough in their losses and beat an Akron club who has defeated ACC NC State and played Penn State tough. I'm taking the Chippewas.
Central Michigan 28 Eastern Michigan 10
Central Michigan 24 Eastern Michigan 17 OT (24-8) (21-11)

Air Force (+1) at Wyoming: It's tough for me to pick against Wyoming at home, but with a week off to recover from their near upset win over Tennessee, I'm going with the Falcons in a tightly knit game.
Air Force 21 Wyoming 14
Air Force 31 Wyoming 24 (25-8) (22-11)

UTEP (+9.5) at New Mexico: Mike Price and Jordan Palmer will put enough points on the board to hold off the Lobos.
UTEP 28 New Mexico 17
New Mexico 26 UTEP 13 (25-9) (22-12)

West Virginia (+21) at East Carolina: WVU can't take ECU for granted and will need to stay more consistent offensively throughout the game, but in the end, they should have little to no problems covering the spread in this one. Watch out for Steve Slaton. The scary thing is, the guy is just a sophomore.
West Virginia 42 East Carolina 14
West Virginia 27 East Carolina 10 (26-9) (22-13)

Boston College (+7) at NC State: It's hard for me to give NC State any love after their back-to-back losses to Akron and Southern Miss by the combined score of 57-34. I don't expect any better against BC.
Boston College 28 NC State 10
NC State 17 Boston College 15 (26-10) (22-14)

Alabama at Arkansas (+2): If the game was to be played in Tuscaloosa, I'd take Alabama, but with it being played at Arkansas, I'll have to go with the 'Hogs.
Arkansas 21 Alabama 17
Arkansas 24 Alabama 23 OT (27-10) (22-15)

Temple at Western Michigan (+27): The question isn't whether or not the Owls will lose this game (they will), but whether or not they'll score any points. Temple has put up a total of 3 points in as many games this season.
Western Michigan 35 Temple 3
Western Michigan 41 Temple 7 (28-10) (23-15)

Wake Forest at Ole Miss (+3): After taking Ole Miss against Kentucky a week ago and getting embarrassed by the 'Cats, I'm just going to go out on a limb and take the 3-0 Demon Deacons in this one.
Wake Forest 24 Ole Miss 17
Wake Forest 27 Ole Miss 3 (29-10) (24-15)

Mississippi State at UAB (+10): Poor Slyvester Croom. The 'Dogs scored their first points of the young season a week ago against Tulane. The only problem was the fact that the Green Wave scored more points. Expect similar results in this one.
UAB 17 Mississippi State 10
Mississippi State 16 UAB 10 (29-11) (25-15)

Tulane at LSU (+36): Tulane better have enjoyed their win a week ago, because that win streak is going to come to a halt this weekend.
LSU 49 Tulane 7
LSU 49 Tulane 7 (30-11) (26-15)

Utah (+5.5) at San Diego State: In a big Mountain West game, I think Utah's offense will be too much for San Diego State.
Utah 21 San Diego State 14
Utah 38 San Diego State 7 (31-11) (27-15)

Hawaii at Boise State (+14): Boise had a tough time with Wyoming a week ago, but should have no problems on the blue turf this weekend. Where the blue field goes (only in Boise), victories for the Broncos will travel.
Boise State 42 Hawaii 21
Boise State 41 Hawaii 34 (32-11) (27-16)

USC (+21) at Arizona: It'd be nice to see the 'Cats keep it close, but I won't hold my breath after witnessing the first few minutes of the LSU game a couple weeks back. Two things working in their favor are the fact that the game is in Tucson and the possible let-down by the Trojans following their big win last week against Nebraska.
USC 35 Arizona 14
USC 20 Arizona 3 (33-11) (27-17)

Idaho at Oregon State (+22.5): I know little to nothing about either team, but think Idaho coach Dennis Erickson will get his team extra fired up for this one. They may not win, but will come closer than that spread indicates.
Oregon State 28 Idaho 21
Oregon State 38 Idaho 0 (34-11) (27-18)

Florida International at Maryland (+18): If this game were played in Florida, I may be tempted to take the home team. With it being played at the Turtle House, however, I'm going to have to go with the Terps, but not by a whole lot.
Maryland 24 Florida International 14
Maryland 14 Florida International 10 (35-11) (28-18)

North Texas at Akron (+17.5): The Zips should come out on top in this one coming back home after their disappointing loss to Central Michigan.
Akron 28 North Texas 10
Akron 33 North Texas 13 (36-11) (29-18)

Florida Atlantic at South Carolina (+29.5): It's difficult for me to take Spurrier's crew to cover the spread, but Florida Atlantic is so bad, that I'm going to predict a blow-out. South Carolina only beat Division I-AA Wofford a week ago 27-20, but, Florida Atlantic would probably fall victim to Wofford. Ahh, we'll see what happens.
South Carolina 35 Florida Atlantic 0
South Carolina 45 Florida Atlantic 6 (37-11) (30-18)

Arkansas State at SMU (+7): It should be a fairly tight and low-scoring game, but I'm going with the home team Mustangs in this one.
SMU 21 Arkansas State 14
SMU 55 Arkansas State 9 (38-11) (31-18)

Week 4 Record For the Win: 38-11 (.776)
Overall Record For the Win: 116-33 (.779)
Week 4 Record Vs. the Spread: 31-18 (.633)
Overall Record Vs. the Spread: 73-76 (.490)