College Football Week 4 Games to Watch

Ken — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:23:46 +0000

Well, N.C. State already played Thursday and got clobbered by Cincinnati. I was all ready to predict a two-touchdown loss for State; I didn't think they'd lose by 30. State's problems are many; I'll discuss them in the recap in a couple of days.

Games to watch on Saturday

At noon, #22 Michigan plays Brady Hoke's former team, San Diego State, on the Big Ten Network. It could actually be a pretty tight game, but for the sake of my blood pressure, let's hope not. ESPN has two unbeaten ACC teams as North Carolina takes on Georgia Tech. Notre Dame will be looking to continue its redemption process against Pitt on NBC.

At 3:30 there are two veritable blockbusters. This week's Game of the Week is #3 Alabama against #14 Arkansas on CBS; there's also #7 Oklahoma State against #8 Texas A&M on ABC or ESPN2. The matchup on ESPN, #11 Florida State against #21 Clemson, also figures to be a good game (and an important one in the ACC). Ohio State plays Colorado on ABC or ESPN2, and that's no gimme for the reeling Buckeyes.

The big night game is #2 LSU against #16 West Virginia on ABC. LSU is pretty stout and WVU is probably overrated; but I like this game because I want WVU to get a reality check. There's also Missouri vs. #1 Oklahoma on FX; OU is a 22-point favorite, but I wouldn't count out Missouri here.

There are two entertaining night games out of the Pac-12 at 10:15: #10 Oregon plays Arizona on ESPN2, and #23 USC takes on Arizona State on ESPN.

Michigan game prediction: Michigan 34, San Diego State 21. I think SDSU will start quickly and grab the lead at some point in the first half, but Michigan's second-half adjustments this year have been stellar. Expect a heavy dose of Denard Robinson zone read plays right from the get-go.