- Green Wave Win - The madness started early last week, when Tulane hosted Houston Thursday night. On a night when most people were focused on the NFL game, there was a much more interesting college game going on. I turned to the game in time to see the final minute, and boy, was it some finish. Houston kicked a game-tying field goal with 21 seconds remaining, seemingly sending it into overtime. It looked as if Tulane was content with extra football, as the Green Wave lined up in victory formation to start their ensuing drive. But instead of taking a knee, quarterback Justin McMillan acted like he took a knee, then started walking to the sideline. As he was doing so, he snuck the ball into the hands of running back Amare Jones, who ran the other direction for a gain of 18 yards. The very next play, wide receiver Jalen McClesky scored on a 53-yard pass play from McMillan to put Tulane up with just three seconds to play. It was an insane ending to the beginning of Week 4.
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| via fox8live.com |
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| via wolverineswire.usatoday.com |
- Harbaugh Hammered - At some point, people are going to have to come to the realization that Jim Harbaugh may not be the elite coach everybody thought he was. Yes, he succeeded at Stanford, and his San Francisco 49ers team made it to a Super Bowl. But he has done nothing exceptional since returning to his alma mater. It might have hit a new low point last Saturday, when the Wolverines traveled to Wisconsin and got absolutely grated by Jonathan Taylor and company, 35-14. Michigan can still get it together and make a run at the Big Ten title, but it seems like time is running out on Jim Harbaugh.
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| via post-gazette.com |
- Pitt Now Has the Championship Belt - After 27 straight regular season wins, perpetual College Football Playoff snub UCF was upset by Pittsburgh last Saturday, 35-34. The 15th-ranked Knights had eyes on finally reaching the CFP, but those hopes are now dashed. A week after failing to pull off the upset of rival Penn State, the Panthers were able to shock Central Florida on the road. They did so with their version of the "Philly Special", a three-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Aaron Matthews to quarterback Kenny Pickett on fourth down with under a minute left in the game.
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| via ncaa.com |
- The Irish Fight Valiantly - Going into the big Saturday Night Football matchup, many people (including those in Vegas) expected Georgia to dominate Notre Dame in Athens. The Bulldogs did win (23-17), but not without a fight from the Irish. The strong losing performance keeps Notre Dame in the Playoff hunt, as it will be tough for a team to have a "better" loss.. As for Georgia, this game just reinforced the fact that the Bulldogs are in the top tier of the SEC, along with Alabama and LSU.
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| via playbookbets.com |
- #Pac12AfterDark - For all the craziness and excitement that happened last Saturday, the wildest events of the weekend (and probably the whole year) occurred early Sunday morning. 19th-ranked Washington State hosted UCLA late Saturday night, and the biggest story of the first half was probably Gardner Minshew, who, after getting his first career NFL win Thursday night, went to the WSU-UCLA game dressed in jorts (not just jorts, but homemade jort-jorts), which is something only Gardner Minshew would do. Midway through the third quarter, the Cougars were up 49-17 on the Bruins, and Wazzu quarterback Anthony Gordon was on his way to breaking Minshew's school record for touchdown passes in a game. But one should never underestimate the powers of #Pac12AfterDark. Aided partially by Mike Leach's insistence on continuing to pass the ball no matter what, UCLA mounted a furious comeback.
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| via bruinsnation.com |
- #Pac12AfterDark (Cont.) - By the start of the fourth quarter, the score was 49-38, and I was fully invested. UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson would get the Bruins within three early in the fourth, but Washington State scored four minutes later. With just over eight minuted remaining, DTR ran in a touchdown to get UCLA back to within three, and less than a minute later, Kyle Phillips returned a punt 69 yards (nice) to put the Bruins on top. The Cougars answered with a long passing touchdown from Gordon (his ninth of the game, which broke Minshew's school record), going back up three. But DTR threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Demetric Felton to put UCLA back on top with 1:07 to play, and then the Bruin defense strip-sacked Gordon and put the game on ice. Amazingly, this was only the second-biggest comeback UCLA has had in the last three years. Josh Rosen and the Bruins came back from down 34 to beat Texas A&M in 2017. There is nothing like #Pac12AfterDark.
Week 4 Superlatives
Best Performance: Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB, UCLA
(25-38, 507 yards passing, 5 TD, 1 INT; 11 carries, 57 yards, 2 TD)
On a night when the opposing quarterback threw nine touchdown passes to break a school record, DTR came out with the victory after leading UCLA back from down 32. The sophomore used both his arms and legs to help the Bruins shock the Cougars in Pullman.
Best Play: Tulane's Fake Kneel
Of course the play that got a detailed description in the first paragraph is the play of the week. I saw it live, and I was awestruck by it. I did not expect that at all. I expected Tulane to take the 31-31 game to overtime, but instead, they went ahead and won it.
Best Quote: "My email address is hashtag I don't care." - Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern Coach
Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald is the epitome of an old-timey football coach. Monday, he was asked about people being critical of his playcalling, and he expressed his apathy for the "40,000 experts on Twitter that can call plays" for him.
Game of the Week
#18 Virginia @ #10 Notre Dame
(Saturday, 3:30 PM, NBC)
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| via ndins |
The picking are definitely slimmer this week for this title. If it tells you anything, College Gameday decided to go to Lincoln this week because fifth-ranked Ohio State is coming to town to face the mediocre Cornhuskers. There are, however, two matchups between ranked teams, with one of them being Virginia and Notre Dame. The Irish are fresh off a close loss to Georgia, and they can't afford another loss. The 4-0 Cavaliers are currently one of two ACC team ranked in the AP Top 25 (you can probably guess the other one), but their four wins have come against Pitt, William & Mary, Florida State, and Old Dominion. Not exactly a Murderer's Row. I wasn't so sure about this Notre Dame team, but they showed they could stick with an elite team last week in Athens.
This is a Virginia defense that ranks 14th in the nation in yards allowed per game, but it faces its first true test of the season Saturday afternoon in South Bend. It will also be interesting to see how the UVA offense, which ranks 95th in the country, fares against an Irish defense that held Jake Fromm and company to 23 points last week. Personally, I don't believe Virginia is a top 20 team, and I don't think Chase Claypool and the Fighting Irish will have too much trouble at home against the Cavs.
Spread: ND -12.5 Over/Under: 48.5
Prediction: Notre Dame 34, Virginia 17
Unranked Game of the Week
Hawai'i @ Nevada
(Saturday, 10:30 PM, ESPN2)
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| via nevadawolfpack.com |
I actually think that the very first game of the week, 2-0 Navy vs. 3-0 Memphis, deserves this spot, but that game is tonight, so you wouldn't have much time to read about it before it happens. You'll have plenty of time to read about this, as it's one of the final games of the week. The Rainbow Warriors are 3-1 after barely edging Arizona, losing by 32 to Washington, and crushing the ferocious Central Arkansas Bears. Nevada is 3-1 following a 71-point loss to Oregon, a seven-point win over Weber State, and 16-point win over UTEP. Neither of these teams are going to a major bowl game, but that doesn't mean this won't be a fun game.
Hawaii quarterback Cole McDonald ranks fourth in the FBS in passing yards so far this season (1317), and is tied for sixth in touchdown passes (13). But he also ranks first in interceptions (nine). Meanwhile, Nevada QB Carson Strong has just over half the passing yards (683), less than a quarter of the touchdown passes (three), and five less interceptions (you can do the math). While Hawaii's offense (which is averaging 473 yards per game) is a lot better than Nevada's (363 yards per game), but Hawaii's defense (which is yielding 439 yards per game) is worse than Nevada's (389 yards per game). Neither defense is especially good, so this will likely be a slugfest. I'll go with the Wolf Pack to pull out the win at home.
Spread: NEV -2.5 Over/Under: 64.5
Prediction: Nevada 42, Hawai'i 38
Upset Alert
Washington State @ #19 Utah
(Saturday, 10:00 PM, FS1)
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| via saturdayblitz.com |
Both of these teams are coming off of disappointing first losses. Utah lost to USC in Pasadena, while Washington State... well, you know what happened there. These teams are polar opposites in some major categories. Washington State leads the nation in total offense (605 yards per game) and passing offense (499.5 yards per game). Defensively, the Cougars rank 91st nationally (424 yards allowed per game). Meanwhile, Utah ranks 16th in total defense (275 yards allowed per game) and second in run defense (52 yards allowed per game). Offensively, the Utes rank 28th in rushing offense (231.3 yards per game). Simply put, one team likes to air it out and just try to outscore opponents, while the other likes to run the ball and play low-scoring games.
The bad news for Utah is that its second-ranked run defense won't have a lot of impact on a Mike Leach team that doesn't run the ball much. The other bad news for Utah is that the Utes' starting quarterback (Tyler Huntley) and starting running back (Zack Moss) are both dealing with injuries and may not play Saturday night. If they don't play, I'll feel much more confident in this upset pick. Regardless, I think the Cougars will outpace the Utes in a shootout late Saturday night.
Spread: UTAH -6 Over/Under: 56.5
Prediction: Washington State 35, Utah 31
Other Top 25 Games
Friday
#12 Penn State @ Maryland
(8:00 PM, FS1)
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| via footballscoop.com |
Both of these teams had byes last week after playing Pennsylvania schools the week before. Penn State showed some concerns but ultimately got past Pitt, while Maryland, a week after upsetting Syracuse by 43 points, got shocked by Temple. I could envision Maryland pulling the upset here, but I'll play it safe and pick James Franklin's squad.
Spread: PSU -6.5 Over/Under: 62
Prediction: Penn State 32, Maryland 24
Arizona State @ #15 California
(10:30 PM, ESPN)
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| via si.com |
BEHOLD, THE PAC-12'S ONLY REMAINING HOPE TO MAKE THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF. I don't think California will make the CFP (the Bears will lose at some point during conference play), but I do think Cal will pull this one out against ASU.
Spread: CAL -4.5 Over/Under: 42
Prediction: California 24, Arizona State 20
Saturday
Texas Tech @ #6 Oklahoma
(Noon, FOX)
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| via cbssports.com |
If this Texas Tech team had Kliff Kingsbury and Patrick Mahomes, this game would be a lot more interesting. Instead, this Texas Tech team just lost by two touchdowns to Arizona, and travels to play an Oklahoma team led by a Heisman candidate this weekend. Per usual, this will be a shootout, but this year, Oklahoma has a lot more bullets.
Spread: OKLA -27 Over/Under: 70.5
Prediction: Oklahoma 52, Texas Tech 28
Northwestern @ #8 Wisconsin
(Noon, ABC)
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| via sconniesportstalk.com |
No Big Ten team, aside from maybe Ohio State, has looked as good as Wisconsin so far this season. After their drubbing of Michigan last week, the Badgers host 1-2 Northwestern, which will have trouble against a team that's ranks first in the FBS in total defense (171 yards allowed per game).
Spread: WIS -24.5 Over/Under: 46.5
Prediction: Wisconsin 40, Northwestern 14
Middle Tennessee @ #14 Iowa
(Noon, ESPN2)
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| via goiowaawesome.com |
Iowa has a bye last week after escaping Iowa State with a victory the week before. The Hawkeyes host Middle Tennessee this week. The Blue Raiders, who also had a bye last week, lost by 21 points to Duke two weeks ago and lost by 19 to Michigan in Week 1. They'll suffer their second rout by way of a Big Ten team on Saturday.
Spread: IOWA -23.5 Over/Under: 52
Prediction: Iowa 35, Middle Tennessee 10
Rutgers @ #20 Michigan
(Noon, BTN)
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| via wolverineswire.usatoday.com |
After a disappointing loss to Wisconsin last week, Michigan can bounce back with a cupcake game against an FCS team conference game against Rutgers. If any team is going to get the Wolverines on track, it's Rutgers. Michigan should bounce back, but I don't trust the Wolverines to cover the spread.
Spread: MICH -28 Over/Under: 49
Prediction: Michigan 35, Rutgers 10
#23 Texas A&M @ Arkansas
(Noon, ESPN)
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| via gettyimages.com |
It's never good when a team's Twitter account doesn't tweet out a score at halftime, which is what happened last week during Arkansas' 31-24 loss to San Jose State. Maybe whoever runs the Arkansas football Twitter account should just take this week off.
Spread: TAMU -23.5 Over/Under: 59.5
Prediction: Texas A&M 42, Arkansas 17
#1 Clemson @ North Carolina
(3:30 PM, ABC)
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| via newsobserver.com |
After starting off the Mack Brown Era with two straight wins, North Carolina lost a heart-breaker to Wake Forest and got stunned by App State on a blocked field goal (sound familiar?). I GUARANTEE North Carolina won't lose on a blocked field goal this week.
Spread: CLEM -27 Over/Under: 60
Prediction: Clemson 42, North Carolina 14
Ole Miss @ #2 Alabama
(3:30 PM, CBS)
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| via rolltide.com |
I promise that the Crimson Tide will play a team that actually has a real chance against them soon. Alabama will win this one easily, but the spread is a little high for my taste.
Spread: ALA -37.5 Over/Under: 61
Prediction: Alabama 52, Ole Miss 17
#21 USC @ #17 Washington
(3:30 PM, FOX)
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| via thenewstribune.com |
I said earlier that Cal is the Pac-12's last hope to get into the College Football Playoff this season, but let's be honest; the Pac-12's Playoff hopes are dead. For the fifth straight season, a Pac-12 team will not make the CFP. USC upset Utah last week, but I don't think the Trojans will beat Jacob Eason and the Huskies in Washington.
Spread: WASH -10.5 Over/Under: 61
Prediction: Washington 35, USC 24
Indiana @ #25 Michigan State
(3:30 PM, BTN)
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| via detroitnews.com |
I don't truly know how good either of these teams are. IU has beaten three lesser teams and gotten destroyed by Ohio State. MSU has beaten three lesser teams and lost to Arizona State on a controversial missed field goal. I do know that Michigan State is probably better.
Spread: MSU -14 Over/Under: 44
Prediction: Michigan State 32, Indiana 17
Towson @ #9 Florida
(4:00 PM, SECN)
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| via gatorcountry.com |
The Towson Tigers lost in overtime to Villanova last week, 52-45. I don't think they'll take the Florida Gators to overtime on Saturday.
Spread: FLA -36.5 Over/Under: 62
Prediction: Florida 48, Towson 3
Mississippi State @ #7 Auburn
(7:00 PM, ESPN)
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| via montgomeryadvertiser.com |
This could be a potential upset, based on recent history. Auburn has been a rollercoaster of a team the last few years, and the Tigers lost to Mississippi State in the two teams' last meeting. But I think this Auburn team will get past the Bulldogs this time.
Spread: AUB -10.5 Over/Under: 46.5
Prediction: Auburn 28, Mississippi State 21
UConn @ #22 UCF
(7:00 PM, ESPN2)
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| via orlandosentinel.com |
There are parallels between UCF and Michigan right now. Both teams suffered devastating losses last week, and both teams have wonderful opportunities to bounce back this week. The Knights face FCS cupcake conference foe UConn Saturday, so they'll be back in the win column.
Spread: UCF -44 Over/Under: 64.5
Prediction: UCF 55, UConn 7
#24 Kansas State @ Oklahoma State
(7:00 PM, ESPN+)
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| via collegefootballnews.com |
This Big 12 showdown might be entertaining, which is unfortunate, considering it's on ESPN+. Kansas State is unbeaten, but Oklahoma State's lone loss was a six-point one to Texas last week. The Wildcats are ranked, but I think the Cowboys are the better team.
Spread: OSU -4 Over/Under: 60
Prediction: Oklahoma State 38, Kansas State 31
#5 Ohio State @ Nebraska
(7:30 PM, ABC)
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| via heavy.net |
Ohio State has looked dominant thus far under Ryan Day. This will be definitely be the toughest test thus far for the Buckeyes, but this Nebraska team, despite having some very talented players, has not looked great (the Cornhuskers lost to Colorado three weeks ago and only beat Illinois by four last week). I could see this being a close game, but I could also see Ohio State dominating.
Spread: OSU -17 Over/Under: 66.5
Prediction: Ohio State 42, Nebraska 24
Last Week: 13-7 vs. Spread: 13-7 Over/Under: 13-6-1
Season: 74-19 vs. Spread: 42-49-2 Over/Under: 53-39-1
Stats and info via ESPN.com, OddsShark.com, SI.com, SportingNews.com, Youtube.com, and Twitter.com
Lines via OddsShark.com
Lines as of Thursday afternoon
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