Week 4 is already here – where did the time go?
Regarding last week’s predictions, sometimes, the effort is there, but the achievement is not, and that accurately describes my results from last week, where my only win was the Alabama game. Ever see a movie where a decent sized boat is sinking, and people are struggling with buckets to bail out the excess water, but it’s clear that the boat is going to sink despite their efforts? That was my feeling last week, only add in someone poking holes in the buckets to get the real taste of my agony of defeat.
A real indicator of how things would turn out for my predictions happened early when Louisville dominated Florida State. Lamar Jackson ran by, around, and through defenders like Bo Jackson’s famous Tecmo Bowl video game character. Florida State has great athletes on defense, right? Anyway, right before the fourth quarter, I called my Dad to find out if he was watching Louisville’s beatdown of Florida State.
Me: Dad, are you watching this?
Dad: Yeah, didn’t see this coming.
Me: Me either. Hey, when should Louisville take out Lamar Jackson? They sit him now, right?
Dad: I would have taken him out already. He’s a treasure.
Me: Yeah, he is a treasure.
Lamar Jackson is pure gold.
One more thing, no one should discount the way the Louisville defense played. They shut down a pretty good Florida State offense.
Throw in that East Carolina found a way to lose to South Carolina by turning the ball over four times, and there really was no need to wait for the other games to end before surmising that week 3’s predictions would sink to the bottom of the sea, or “sleep with the fishes” for the Godfather fans out there.
Ah well, nothing to do but to move forward on Week 4.
Wisconsin at Michigan State (-6)
Classic Big 10 matchup. Both teams are undefeated. Each have a nice win out of conference. Michigan State beat Notre Dame on the road, and Wisconsin handled LSU at Lambeau Field. These two teams’ playing style remind me of the smash mouth days of old. Remember the old school coaches whose basic drill was to line everyone up and let ‘em hit. Just hit. That’s this game.
Winner: Michigan State
Arkansas vs Texas A&M (-6) at Arlington, TX
Texas A&M is a real contender in the SEC West. Arkansas’ win over TCU showed that they can outlast a team that can score a ton of points. Arkansas is better than I thought, but I think Texas A&M’s defensive improvement pushes them over the top for this game.
Winner: Texas A&M
Georgia at Ole Miss (-7)
What’s the old saying, “The running game travels”? Sure, Georgia’s running game hasn’t lived up to expectations yet, but it will break out in this game. Ole Miss will score points; however, Chad Kelly will find a way to turn the ball over at a critical time. His arm is superb, and he makes plays, but wow, he is careless with the ball. Plus, the Ole Miss defense will wear down in the second half due to the steady diet of Nick Chubb.
Winner: Georgia
Florida at Tennessee (-6.5)
This is the year the Vols break the losing streak against Florida, right? They are playing at home, Florida is probably without quarterback Luke Del Rio, and the Vols actually have the talent to match up on both sides of the ball.
Winner: Vols
Nebraska (-7) at Northwestern
Nebraska will lock in and take care of business on the road against Northwestern.
Winner: Nebraska
LSU (-3.5) at Auburn
Tigers versus Tigers. Neither offense puts up a ton of points. LSU seems to have the edge at the quarterback position in that they have settled on one starter, while Auburn vacillates between Sean White, John Franklin III, and ??? Both defenses should have a great day stopping the other offense. Can Leonard Fournette break a few runs to push the LSU Tigers over the top? No, the Auburn defense is up to the challenge and will force a few turnovers to set the offense up for points.
Winner: Auburn
Stanford (-3) at UCLA
Everything about this game points to Stanford. They are better balanced, play a more physical brand of football, and feature a Heisman candidate. However, I can’t give up on my flawed pick to win the PAC 12, UCLA.
Winner: UCLA
Enjoy week 4, everyone.
Categories: College football
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