Big games in Oklahoma this week
The week 3 had much better results across the board for our pickers, so it seems people are starting to get a better grasp of where teams stand. Week 3’s winner was mrbuzz1885, who correctly picked 9 out of 11 games, only missing on his picks for Wisconsin and Vandy. So far this is the best single week of correct guesses on the year, congrats mrbuzz1885! To accompany winning week 3 mrbuzz1885 has also taken the top spot on the overall scoreboard with 24 correct picks on the year. chilidogringsfo stays in the top 3 alongside YankeeJacket with 23 overall correct picks. Congrats y’all, I’m interested to see how everyone does next week.
Brett Davis-Imagn Images
I know the Keydets are our weakest competition on the year, but dang it feels good to win against an fcs opponent comfortably. This was a nice win where most of the team got to shine in one way or another with many 2nd and 3rd string players getting opportunities to make some big plays. Hopefully our team got enough rest this week to set them up to go back into ACC competition this week against Louisville.
Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
In other news Washington State got to slap their Washington counter part for leaving the PAC-12. Oregon State was unable to do the same, but I’m sure most PAC-12 fans are getting plenty of catharsis from the upset by the Cougars. SEC had a good week beating out of conference foes with Ole Miss, Alabama, and Oklahoma crushing their out of conference opponents. uga struggled, but still found a way to win as they seem to always do. While the dwags did win, they slipped from their top spot in the AP poll. Hopefully the dwags lose in their next game against Bama… Please Lord let them lose.
BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
This week we have some big-time ranked matchups in Oklahoma for both the Sooner’s and the Cowboy’s. Most of the country will have their eyes focused on Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to see which undefeated teams will stay undefeated after week 4. My eyes will be in on Louisville as I expect an upset win for the Jackets this week.
picks:
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets @ #19 Louisville Cardinals (-10.5)
Logan: Wow, a 10.5 point spread? Do people have no faith in us? I get that FSU win at the start of the year isn’t looking as good, but we still won 3 games and only lost to Syracuse in a close shootout. Louisville has only won 2 games and they weren’t even against P5 opponents. This game is another case of how good do you think our defense will be against Louisville’s offense. Our offense is good, so is Louisville’s defense, so can our defense actually get some stops and allow our offense to score? I think our defense is improving as the season goes on, and I have not been that impressed with Louisville’s offense. Gimmie Tech to win this one.
Logan’s pick: Georgia Tech
NC State Wolfpack @ #21 Clemson Tigers (-16.5)
Logan: I kind of pity the Wolfpack. I wrote a whole article this offseason about how this might be their year in the ACC, but the first few games we have seen regression from both the defense and offense from last year. Clemson meanwhile beat down App State after their embarrassing loss to uga. Clemson seems to be on the war path right now to prove they are still the top team in the ACC. Getting this game at home sure sets up well for Clemson to have another dominant performance. I want to think NC State will cover, but until their players show me some explosiveness on the field, I don’t think I can have confidence in NC Stater. I’ll take the tigers in this one.
Logan’s pick: Clemson
#24 Illinois Fighting Illini @ #22 Nebraska Cornhuskers (-8.5)
Logan: Clearly Raiola is a better QB than I thought after winning the past few weeks. Illinois has a talented defense, but so does Nebraska. Illinois’ biggest weakness is their O-line’s ability to protect the QB. While Illinois can score, they have been doing so either through top receiver Pat Bryant or their tough running back Kaden Feagin. Nebraska should be able to lock in on those 2 players and effectively shut down the offense. Another knock for the Illinois offense is being on the road in a stadium packed with Cornhusker fans as this will be the Illini’s first road game. Nebraska should win this one by a fair margin and I expect Nebraska to move up to the top 15 next week if they do win. I’ll take Nebraska to cover at home.
Logan’s pick: Nebraska
Cal Bears @ Florida State Seminoles (-2.5)
Logan: This has got to be the worst start for Florida State since the start of the millennium. DJU has thrown 1 TD and 2 INTs on the year, the FSU defense is a joke, and on the sideline all the players just look dead inside. Cal on the other hand is playing like they should be a top 25 team after taking down Auburn on the road. Maybe the travel distance will hurt Cal, but statistically the Bears seem to have everything going for them. Cal does have weaknesses in their pass blocking like some other teams on this list, but they more than make up for it in their strong run game, and as we have seen FSU is not the best at shutting down the run. I’m gonna keep putting FSU on our picks until they finally win a game, but I don’t think they’re winning this one. I’ll take Cal.
Logan’s pick: Cal
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (-4.5) @ Virginia Tech Hokies
Logan: Virginia Tech is not the ACC dark horse we thought they were at the start of the season, or at least they haven’t proven themselves as an ACC dark horse in their first few games. Rutgers has started the season 2-0 and is looking pretty good so far. Rutgers has had a balanced attack in the first few games and their defense has been tough to overcome, granted their first 2 games were against MEAC and MAC opponents. VT has definitely had a tougher schedule, and they have come a long way with figuring out their offense. We are still figuring things out on the season, and I think VT might figure some things out this week now that they have had time to get used to their play calling. VT should win this game at home.
Logan’s pick: Virginia Tech
Stanford Cardinals @ Syracuse Orange (-9.0)
Logan: We all got to see how good Syracuse is first hand. As long as they have Kyle McCord passing the ball it is going to be tough for me to pick against them. Stanford has to travel a long way for this game and Stanford hasn’t had the same success that Cal has had early on. I don’t know if Stanford is going to be ready for what the Orange bring on offense and defense. I’m going to take Syracuse in this one.
Logan’s pick: Syracuse
Baylor Bears @ Colorado Buffalo (-1.0)
Logan: Colorado looked good last week against Colorado State, but that has kind of been their M.O. since Coach Prime took over. Colorado does well against teams below the P5 level, but seem to struggle with their P5 opponents. Baylor’s 1 loss this year was to #12 Utah, and it wasn’t a bad loss. I think Baylor’s defense is going to cause problems for Colorado and that the Buffalo will struggle to stop Baylor’s run game. Give me the Bears here.
Logan’s pick: Baylor
Battle for the Iron Skillet:
TCU Horned Frogs (-2.0) @ SMU Mustangs
Logan: What a strange start to the season for an SMU team that came back with nearly all their talent from last year’s 11 win season. I think SMU clearly has some work to do, especially on offense where the receivers and QB don’t seem to be in sync. TCU has had a few things shake the wrong way for them. I feel like going on the road in a rivalry game as the favorite is always a tough matchup, and TCU is going to have a tough battle on their hands this week. Rumor is we are going to see a new QB for SMU and I think that will make all the difference for the mustangs. I’ll take the mustangs to cover.
Logan’s pick: SMU
#11 USC Trojans (-6.0) @ #18 Michigan Wolverines
Logan: This is a home game for the reigning NCAA champions, and yet the opponent is favored by 6 points. If Michigan wants to be taken seriously again they have to show up this game, especially on offense where Michigan really struggled against Texas. USC has looked good, but maybe not as good as #11 in the country. I think Michigan will keep this one close, so I will take the Wolverines to at least cover in this one.
Logan’s pick: Michigan
#12 Utah Utes @ #14 Oklahoma State Cowboys (-2.5)
Logan: In this game Oklahoma State has a better QB, but a weaker defense than Utah does on paper. Depending on the side of the proverbial football argument you are on (does defense win championships or do talented QBs win championships) this game could go in very different directions. I’ve always been on the side that defense wins championships so I will go with Utah here.
Logan’s pick: Utah
#6 Tennessee Volunteers (-7.5) @ #15 Oklahoma Sooners
Logan: This game will tell us so much about how the season will look. Both of these teams have been off to the hottest starts they’ve had in recent memory. Tennessee in particular has looked stellar on offense and hasn’t even been challenged, so they come into this road game riding higher than the smokey mountains. I could see this game going either way, but having watched the Tennessee games I just can’t see a way this Volunteers team losses as they are now. I’ll take Tennessee.
Logan’s pick: Tennessee