College Football Week 4 Games To Watch
By Editorial Staff
Saturday September 24th, 2011
North Carolina 3-0 (1-0) VS #25 Georgia Tech 3-0 (0-0) 12 PM Eastern ESPN
North Carolina is 3-0 and led by pass rushers Quinton Coples and Donte Paige Moss. On the flip side Georgia Tech is ranked in the top 25 and has the 12th man with home field even though I could see North Carolina winning based n the fact that they have more NFL prospects. This will be a very entertaining game for both teams.
San Diego State 3-0 (0-0) VS #22 Michigan 3-0 (0-0) 12 PM Eastern Big 10 Network
San Diego State has a 3rd round prospect at quarterback in Ryan Lindley. Some people have been moving him down to a day 3 pick going in round 4. I might do that, but I want see how Lindley responds against a 3-0 Michigan team in Ann Arbor. Both teams are undefeated so this could be a fun game.
Notre Dame 1-2 (0-0) VS Pittsburgh 2-1 (0-0) 12 PM Eastern ABC
Notre Dame and Pittsburgh is always a fun rivalry to watch regardless of the teams records.
Georgia 1-2 (0-1) VS Ole Miss 1-2 (0-1) 12:21 PM Eastern ESPN Gameplan
Both of these teams have coaches on the hot seat. The loser of this game may have an open coaching vacancy in the SEC at seasons end.
Massachusetts 2-0 (1-0) VS Boston College 0-3 (0-1) ESPN 3
Massachusetts is 2-0 and Boston College is 0-3. Boston College lost to Duke. Duke lost to Richmond in week 1. I usually do not put FCS VS FBS games on my games to watch week, but this game is an exception because Boston College is winless and because Boston College lost to a Duke team that lost to FCS team Richmond. Massachusetts is also 2-0 so I could see them putting up a fight early even though Boston College should win this game in the 2nd half.
Ohio 3-0 (0-0) VS Rutgers 1-1 (0-0) 2 PM ESPN 3
Ohio is 3-0. Rutgers has NFL receiver prospect Mohammed Sanu. Penn State is referred to as linebacker U. I call Ohio secondary U because it seems like they have an NFL prospect on secondary in the NFL draft every year or two. If Ohio’s field cornerback can keep Sanu in check then the Bobcats could go 4-0. I expect Rutgers to get the win though.
#11 Florida State 2-1 (0-0) VS #21 Clemson 3-0 (0-0) 3:30 PM Eastern ESPN
I could see Clemson pulling the upset. They defeated an SEC team in Auburn after trailing early. Florida State lost to the #1 team in the country with Oklahoma.
#7 Oklahoma State 3-0 (0-0) VS #8 Texas A&M 3-0 (0-0) ABC or ESPN 2
This Big 12 game could determine who has the best chance of knocking off Big 12 Rival #1 Oklahoma. This game could also determine Fiesta Bowl implications if Oklahoma makes a BCS National Title.
California 3-0 (0-0) VS Washington 2-1 (0-0) 3:30 PM Eastern FSN or Root Sports
California is undefeated off to a 3-0 start. Washington has running back Chris Polk who is the top running back in the country after Trent Richardson in terms of NFL value. California’s Marvin Jones and Washington’s Jermaine Kearse are the flanker wide outs to keep an eye on. Both teams have to win this game if either wants to get a late December Bowl game because Stanford and Oregon remain the favorites to win the PAC 12 North. Oregon State is expected to finish 3rd in the PAC 12 North so this game could decide the 4th and final bowl eligible PAC 12 North team down the road.
#14 Arkansas 3-0 (0-0) VS #3 Alabama 3-0 (0-0) 3:30 PM Eastern CBS
Arkansas has Tyler Wilson and a deadly passing attack despite losing running back Knile Davis. Alabama has a running back who can keep Arkansas’s offense off the field. They also have the pass defense in place to put Tyler Wilson in for a long game. Alabama has the pass rushers for their 3-4 defense who can also stuff the run at linebacker along with an elite secondary that covers well. Ronnie Wingo Jr. has to step up for Arkansas to keep the Razorback offense balanced keeping TrentRichardson off the field in the process.
Middle Tennessee 0-2 (0-0) VS Troy 0-2 (0-0) 4:30 PM Eastern ESPN Gameplan
Middle Tennessee State can be a fun team to watch now and then. Troy is the kingpin of the Sun Belt conference. Even though both of these teams are 0-2 in 2011 this could be a fun game to see who gets off to a good start in Sun Belt conference play. Jonathan Massaquoi is a pass rusher for Troy that is listed as a 2nd round prospect. The 4-3 left end is one of the keys for Troy’s pass rush in this game.
Vanderbilt 3-0 (1-0) VS #12 South Carolina 3-0 (1-0) 7 PM ESPN 2
Vanderbilt is off to a hot 3-0 start. South Carolina has struggled early in the first quarter against teams. If Vanderbilt can pull the upset they could gain serious momentum beginning to establish themselves as an SEC East sleeper.
#9 Nebraska 3-0 (0-0) VS Wyoming 3-0 (0-0) 7:30 PM Eastern Versus
Nebraska has trailed against non conference opponents at points during the 2011 season. I expect the Nebraska Cornhuskers to destroy Wyoming in convincing fashion. This could be a fun game to watch for the first quarter to see if Wyoming can hang in there. At the same time Wyoming could pull the upset if Nebraska gets cocky and looks ahead to next weeks road matchup against Wisconsin.
#2 LSU 3-0 (1-0) VS #16 West Virginia 3-0 (0-0) 8 PM Eastern ABC
There are 2 games I can thought West Virginia would lose. The game to Maryland and the game to LSU. If West Virginia knocks off LSU then they could be this years Oregon Ducks from last year who surprises everyone. LSU should get the win. West Virginia pass rusher Bruce Irvin is going up against an SEC offensive line and I believe Irvin is a 1st round prospect. I want to see how Irvin responds against LSU’s offensive line.
#23 USC 3-0 (1-0) VS Arizona State 2-1 (0-0) 10:15 PM ESPN
USC is trying to play Devil’s advocate by going undefeated even though they are bowl ineligible. Arizona State has one of the best defenses with Vontaze Burfict and their coming off a tough loss to Illinois in which they held them to 17 points. I expect Arizona State to give Matt Barkley trouble. Arizona State was the only team who kept Andrew Luck from throwing a touchdown last season.
#10 Oregon 2-1 (0-0) VS Arizona 1-2 (0-1) 10:15 PM Eastern ESPN 2
Oregon lost to top 5 opponent LSU when they were ranked 3rd in the country behind Alabama and Oklahoma. Arizona quarterback Nick Foles managed to assemble 17 straight completions against Stanford. He faces a much tougher Oregon secondary this week. Foles was a 2nd round prospect at seasons start. These 3 games against Oklahoma State, Stanford, and Oregon would dictate whether Foles would be a late day 1 pick in round 1 or an early day 3 pick in round 4. Foles draft stock remains the same as he looks like a 2nd round prospect right now. This is Foles last chance to impress the critics. A bad outing against Oregon could really hurt his draft stock. Oregon running back LaMichael James was once a late 2nd round pick. Now James draft stock has dropped to an early 5th round pick with his lack of size and production against SEC schools. 100 rushing yards against Arizona puts James stock up as a 4th round prospect. 200 rushing yards and James could reenter the late day 2 conversation as a late 3rd round pick.