Week 4 Preview
PREVIEW WEEK 4
THURSDAY
Western Kentucky at Middle Tennessee: Not on TV, but I want to see how the Hilltoppers do against a team that’s halfway between Florida and a weak D-IAA school. MTSU has a potent offense against weaker defense, but no serious defense itself. A close WKU loss would still be impressive.
#20 Texas A&M at Miami (FL): I think Randy Shannon and his boys have it in them to show these upstart (and potentially posing) 3-0 Aggies that you never overlook the U. If they win, I promise to throw up the reverse-L hand-gesture for Miami.
FRIDAY
#4 Oklahoma at Tulsa: One sports writer actually tried to make this out to be a potential surprise (but not quite a trap) for OU. That’s BS: OU is going to pummel the Golden Hurricanes. From what I hear, these games end up like Sooner home games anyway (since tickets are cheaper and its close to Norman).
SATURDAY
East Carolina at #5 West Virginia: I foresee a close first half and a Mountaineering second half.
#15 Clemson at North Carolina State: NCState will probably not be terrible, but will lose.
Syracuse at #18 Louisville: Oh man –An awful team visits a team that just dropped a close game to an in-state rival and has something to prove… Dead Orange walking.
Illinois at Indiana: Illinois may have beat Syracuse, but I think Indiana is going to make it to a bowl this year. That means beating the Illini.
Temple at Bowling Green: The hapless Owls are about to get killed again –this time in conference play!
Georgia Tech at Virginia: Will GT have it together and get the win they should get, or will they still be down over the loss to BC and flub against one of the lower half of the ACC?
Kent State at Akron: Two decent MAC teams compete for position.
#3 Florida at Mississippi: Ed Orgeron should’ve stayed at SC. Even if UF has an off day, this isn’t going to be pretty.
Ball State at #24 Nebraska: Ball State is not USC. Ball State will get crushed by the Cornhuskers.
Army at #14 Boston College: BC gets to beat up a service academy. But fear not, Army, you’ll get a stab at Notre Dame this year!
Duke at Navy: If Duke can manage another win, I give them permission to print of shirts that say “2007 Two-peat!” The loser gets solace in knowing they get the Irish this year.
William & Mary at #17 Virginia Tech: How did this get scheduled? The ACC isn’t exactly a strong conference and playing these games should be an embarrassment.
Wyoming at Ohio: Joe Glenn vs. Frank Solich should be a good match. I’d give the edge to Wyoming, so long as Ohio doesn’t pump in crowd noise…
Air Force at Brigham Young: If the Falcons can beat BYU, you’ll start hearing their name as a potential BCS spoiler.
#12 South Carolina at #2 LSU: I think this game sounds a whole lot better on paper than it will be in fact. Spurrier might keep it close for a little while, but since its in Death Valley I just don’t see them lasting as well as they would elsewhere. Of course, crazier things have happened (flash to 2003 Big 12 Championship where the seemingly invincible Sooners were upset by the KSU Wildcats)
Northwestern at #8 Ohio State: Playing Ohio State in the Horseshoe is not how the Wildcats would like to follow-up their loss to Duke.
#10 Penn State at Michigan: Has Michigan got its groove back or was Notre Dame really that bad? Is Penn State that good or is it just that its opponents were that bad (one was Notre Dame)? Can JoePa break their frustrating streak in Ann Arbor? This is a game that could be close.
Miami (OH) at Colorado: The Buffs should pull this one out.
Michigan State at Notre Dame: Notre Dame is like the test-of-strength carnival game: How will the Spartans compare to the Yellow Jackets, Nittany Lions and Wolverines? Remember: there hasn’t been an Irish offensive touchdown yet!
Maryland at Wake Forest: This should be a good game. Both are losing close games and winning games they should win.
Texas Tech at Oklahoma State: Note to the Cowboys: TT’s offense is a lot more potent that Troy’s…
Memphis at UCF: After that near coup in their home opener, I hope the Knights can not have a letdown and give their stadium its first bona fide win against a weak Tiger squad.
Howard at Eastern Michigan: Has anyone told Howard that he’s got to play a game against the entire EMU team?
Arizona at #6 California: This is the sort of game where the Wildcats shock everyone and beat a top-25 pretender. Somehow I’m doubting it’ll be Cal this year.
Northern Illinois at Idaho: Weak MAC against weak WAC.
#21 Kentucky at Arkansas: Arky should not have dropped from the rankings for losing to Bama at home. I thinking they’ll put these upstart Wildcats back in their place.
Baylor at Buffalo: At Buffalo? How did Baylor let this game get scheduled?
Portland State at San Diego State: Jerry Glanville’s Vikings might surprise the weak Aztecs.
Rice at #7 Texas: For all its average playing, Texas should beat the snot out of Rice.
New Mexico State at Auburn: If Tuberville can’t stop Mumme, then things are going to go ape on the Plains.
Connecticut at Pittsburgh: A battle for the middle of the Big East. Tickets available!
Florida Atlantic at North Texas: FAU might score another victory against the troubled Mean Green.
Troy at Louisiana-Lafayette: Another victorious Sun Belt team tries to carry its BCS-team victory into a conference road game.
Florida International at Kansas: Mangino loves his cupcakes.
Arkansas State at Tennessee: This would be Arkansas State’s chance to finally prove itself with an upset –if it weren’t in Neyland…
Iowa State at Toledo: Were the Cyclones one-hit wonders or can they beat a weaker team?
Marshall at Cincinnati: Not too long ago we would’ve been feeling bad for Cincy. Not this time.
#22 Georgia at #16 Alabama: I’m thinking UGA has a solid shot here. Alabama isn’t unbeatable and UGA certainly is –so this could be as close as the Arky-Bama game.
Washington State at #1 USC: I always dread the start of conference play. Every now and again USC chokes or near-chokes to open the conference season (usually on the road). Last year’s game was close (at Pullman), this time I think USC will have a solid win with their unbelievable running game behind the true-freshman center who’s surprising the country (and helping future USC recruiting: “If you’re good, you can start tomorrow!”)
Iowa at #9 Wisconsin: This would seem like a Badger blow-out, but despite their flat performance in their rivalry loss, the Hawkeyes seemed pretty good before that and Wisconsin hasn’t looked too strong.
Southern Methodist at TCU: SMU isn’t great, but neither is TCU.
Purdue at Minnesota: A team that’s looked (possibly too) dominant in the non-conference season plays a team that’s looked frantic… Boilermakers FTW.
#13 Oregon at Stanford: Stanford somehow pulled a win last week, but not this week.
Oregon State at Arizona State: Yeah, the Beavs got blown out a few weeks ago. Still, this is the game that’s going to show how good Erickson is this year. It’s also intriguing because, when Riley first left the Beavers to coach the San Diego Chargers, he was replaced by Erickson. When Erickson left to go try another failed tenure in the NFL, he was replace by Riley. (both were candidates for the USC head-coaching job before they went with 4th choice Pete Carroll) It’s time to see these two go head-to-head, I bet they’re friends. I can’t imagine anyone being annoyed with Riley.
Utah at UNLV: Can Utah carry the high of their UCLA victory, or will UNLV use the strength from nearly upseting Wisconsin two weeks ago?
Washington at UCLA: A rare occasion of two black head coaches squaring off (only time this year). How pathetic is that? Both lost last week, but the edge is with the Huskies.
Charleston Southern at #19 Hawaii: Even injured Brennan will pile up stats.
