College Football Predictions For Week 4

Week 4 always ends up being one of the best in college football, as conference play starts to heat up and the best teams in the country are usually playing a tough out of conference game as opposed to the creampuffs they'll play early on.

SMU vs No. 25 TCU

These two old Southwest Conference foes will square off down in Ft. Worth, and this has all the makings of a shootout. While Max Duggan has been bad, Alex Delton has been worse, and Duggan finally has a hold in the QB1 job. If Duggan can keep avoiding mistakes, and the ground game is close to the group that ranked up 346 yards on the road against Purdue last week, then the Horned Frogs should hand Texas transfer Shane Buechele and the 3-0 Mustangs their first loss of the year. SMU should keep it close, however, due to Buechele's arm.

TCU 31, SMU 28

Air Force vs No. 20 Boise State

Troy Calhoun and the Falcons have a nasty habit of pulling of one surprising upset a year, and in 2019 Mel Tucker and Colorado fell victim. Their triple option attack shouldn't be enough to scare Boise State at home on the blue turf, as their defense led by Curtis Weaver should be enough to stonewall the Air Force option while Hank Bachmeier picks their secondary apart.

No. 20 Boise State 31, Air Force 20

No. 23 Cal vs Ole Miss

This isn't your grandparents' Cal Golden Bears. Justin Wilcox has transformed Cal from a floundering Air Raid team to a ferocious, defense first unit. Making the long trip to Oxford could be arduous, but Ole Miss flopped against their best competition of the season to this point in Memphis. Any intimidation factor Matt Corral and the Rebels might have had has gone right out the window, and the Evan Weaver-led defense should take home a win provided Chase Garbers doesn't mess it up.

Cal 21, Ole Miss 14

No. 22 Washington vs BYU

Zach Wilson and the Cougars have been all over the map to start the season, as they waffled between getting smacked by Utah in the Holy War before beating both Tennessee and USC. Kalani Sitake and BYU have another tough challenge ahead of them this time around, as Jacob Eason and Washington got back on track with a dominant win over Cole McDonald and Hawaii. Eason once again showed off his laser arm, which could be enough to beat the Cougars if Salvon Ahmed can make a few plays in the running game.

Washington 28, BYU 17

No. 15 UCF vs Pitt

The Dillon Gabriel show is in full effect, as he led the Knights to a surprisingly dominant win over David Shaw and Stanford. Josh Heupel and UCF will take on a Pitt team that gave Penn State a run for their money, but were ultimately undermined due to some weak coaching from Pat Narduzzi. The Narduzzi curse will strike again, and the Panthers will have a hard time curtailing the attack of the Knights.

UCF 45, Pitt 27

No. 16 Oregon vs Stanford

After falling to Auburn in the first game of the season, Justin Herbert has looked like a man possessed, earning himself a legit shot in the Heisman race. Oregon choked away a win against Stanford last year, so they have to exorcise some demons to get a win in Palo Alto. Given how bad KJ Costello looked last week and how scattershot the offensive line was without Walker Little, Kayvon Thibodeaux and that defense could feast once again, while the Ducks ride Herbert and CJ Verdell to a win on the road.

Oregon 34, Stanford 23

No. 4 LSU vs Vanderbilt

Joe Burrow has suddenly turned into Trevor Lawrence this season and is firing darts all over the field in LSU's new spread offense. While the LSU defense will face a somewhat meaty challenge given the play of quarterback Riley and two future NFL players in running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn and tight end Jared Pinkney, the Tigers should get out to an early lead in Nashville and not look back. Vandy's season will start at a disappointing 0-3 and the heat will be on Derek Mason.

LSU 38, Vanderbilt 17

Southern Miss vs No. 2 Alabama

Redshirt sophomore Jack Abraham has become one of the nation's most prolific passers during his time at Southern Miss, but he hasn't seen anything even close to this Alabama defense in a while. Abraham might be good for a few nice throws, but Tua Tagovailoa should slice up that Eagles defense. Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, and Devonta Smith are all candidates to go over 100 yards receiving this game.

Alabama 51, Southern Miss 10

Oklahoma State vs No. 12 Texas

Freshman quarterback Spencer Sanders looks to have been the right call at quarterback over Hawaii transfer Dru Brown in Stillwater. Pair that with the nation's leading rusher in Chuba Hubbard, and the Cowboys could be a tough out the rest of the way in the Big 12. Sam Ehlinger, Tom Herman, and that offense are going to put up points, but a still shaky defense against a Mike Gundy team that beat Texas last year with Taylor Cornelius could lead to another upset that sends the Longhorns crashing out of the playoff picture.

Oklahoma State 35, Texas 34

No. 10 Utah vs USC

Kyle Whittingham once against has his Utes ranked high based on a strong running game and swarming pass rush. Kedon Slovis and USC saw all their momentum sucked right out from under them when BYU pulled off a crazy win late last week. Slovis might be performing well in Graham Harrell's offense, but Utah has stared down Air Raids before and put the clamps on them, and this game should be no different. Look for Zack Moss to run for over 100 yards in a Utes win.

Utah 27, USC 19

No. 9 Florida vs Tennessee

There isn't much good to say about the Tennessee football program right now, and there isn't going to be much to add afterwords. Backup quarterback Kyle Trask will make his first career start, but showed enough during the Kentucky game to give Florida fans hope. If Todd Grantham's swarming defense can play up to their usual level, the Volunteers should crumble and lose yet again, which would push Jeremy Pruitt's group to 1-3 on the season.

Florida 28, Tennessee 13

No. 8 Auburn vs No. 17 Texas A&M

This could be the game in which the magic runs out for Bo Nix and Auburn. While the true freshman did lead Auburn to a win against Oregon, some forget that he look deplorable for the majority of that game. Playing on the road at Kyle Field can be crazy enough, but having to face Kellen Mond, Jimbo Fisher, and that offense adds a whole different layer onto this. While Auburn's defense should keep them in it, Mond and the Aggies will have the home crowd on their side, and will send Auburn crashing back to earth with a loss.

Texas A&M 24, Auburn 13

No. 11 Michigan vs No. 13 Wisconsin

It's gut check time for Jim Harbaugh and Michigan, who have to deal with Jonathan Taylor just weeks after they nearly lost at home to Army. Taylor vs Don Brown's defense will be fun to watch, but the quarterback play of Shea Patterson and Jack Coan could determine the winner. Whichever one makes the last mistake could be the team that ends up losing. If Harbaugh falls at Camp Randall, his job security is something that the Wolverines need to take a long, hard look at.

Wisconsin 24, Michigan 16

No. 7 Notre Dame vs No. 3 Georgia

By far the biggest regular season game of the year to this point, Ian Book and the high-flying Notre Dame offense will face Jake Fromm and Georgia in Athens. Both these teams have NFL players on defense and two accurate quarterbacks, meaning this game will come down to who can run the ball the best. Given how D'Andre Swift and the rest of the backs have bulldozed through the rest of their competition, everything indicates that if Andrew Thomas and the offensive line control the line of scrimmage, the Bulldogs should come out of this skirmish with a win.

Georgia 35, Notre Dame 28