College Football - Week 4

Week 4 of college football is in the books, and there were some amazing games! I went to the Tulsa-New Mexico game on Saturday. I moved to Tulsa earlier this year from Albuquerque. I became a fan of the Lobos over the years I was there, and went to quite a few of their games. I've hated the Tulsa football team ever since they beat Iowa in 1996, I know it was 21 years ago, but I'm still not over it. So, I was glad to be there rooting for New Mexico! The Lobos outplayed the Golden Hurricane (which might be the dumbest name in all of sports), but they struggled to put points on the board. They were down to their third string QB, he ran for 150 yards, but made some costly mistakes at the wrong times. New Mexico ended up hitting a 53-yard field goal at the last second to win the game! Very cool ending!

The only other game I watched Saturday was Iowa vs Penn State. I was a little nervous for the game, I was really hoping Iowa wouldn't get blown out like they did last year against the Nittany Kittens. What a game! Penn State seemed to be in control most of the time, but Iowa never gave up and eventually took a 7-5 lead into halftime. Iowa's offense got going a little bit in the second half and they took the lead 19-15 with 1:42 left, unfortunately, that was plenty of time for Penn State to march down the field. The game ended on a last second touchdown pass on 4th and goal from the seven. It was pretty heart-breaking, but it was one of the best, hard-fought, football games I have ever seen. Iowa gained a lot of respect that night, it felt like the entire country was rooting for them. I'll never pick against Iowa when they have a night home game, what a crazy atmosphere.

Here's my Top 25 for the week
1-Clemson 4-0
2-Alabama 4-0
3-Oklahoma 4-0
4-Georgia 4-0
5-TCU 4-0
6-Michigan 4-0
7-Penn State 4-0
8-USC 4-0
9-Washington 4-0
10-Virginia Tech 4-0
11-Wisconsin 4-0
12-Auburn 3-1
13-Ohio State 3-1
14-Miami 2-0
15-Washington State 4-0
16-USF 4-0
17-San Diego State 4-0
18-Utah 4-0
19-Oklahoma State 3-1
20-Notre Dame 3-1
21-Mississippi State 3-1
22-Louisville 3-1
23-West Virginia 3-1
24-Florida 2-1
25-LSU 3-1

Predictions for this week
I was 8-2 last week, not bad.

Clemson at Virginia Tech: Clemson is looking really sharp right now, Va Tech looks better than they've looked in years, but I don't know if they can hang with Clemson.

Clemson 27 Virginia Tech 17

Miami at Duke: Miami hasn't played much this year and they travel to undefeated Duke, who has looked better than I expected this year.

Miami 31 Duke 21

Memphis at UCF: I really like both of these teams, the AAC has a few really solid teams at the top of their conference. This could be a shoot out, Memphis has a solid QB.

UCF 38 Memphis 35

Oklahoma State at Texas Tech: Texas Tech is playing really well right now, but their schedule is about to get much tougher. Oklahoma State is coming off a tough home loss to TCU.

Oklahoma State 58 Texas Tech 49

Texas at Iowa State: Texas came in to the season overhyped as usual and lost right away. Iowa State is very close to being 3-0 after a tough overtime loss to Iowa. The Cyclones offense looks sharp, but can their defense keep them in any games in conference?

Iowa State 34 Texas 31

Iowa at Michigan State: How will Iowa respond after the Penn State game? Michigan State is coming off of their first loss of the season against Notre Dame, and they've struggled with holding on to the football. Turnovers could be the difference in this one.

Iowa 27 Michigan State 24

Air Force at New Mexico: Air Force has played tough in their two losses to Michigan and San Diego State. The Lobos bring an identical record 0-1 2-2 into this game. If Gerhart can avoid costly mistakes, the Lobos can win.

New Mexico 27 Air Force 23

USC at Washington State: Two of the 24 undefeated teams remaining go head-to-head, as well as two of the top QBs in the nation, Sam Darnold of USC and Luke Falk of Washington State. This should be a good matchup, USC has had some close calls this year.

USC 34 Washington State 28

Georgia at Tennessee: If not for a miracle hail mary by Florida, both of these teams would be undefeated. Georgia crushed Mississippi State a week ago and they're off to a great start.

Georgia 27 Tennessee 21

Mississippi State at Auburn: Mississippi State flew up the rankings after dropping LSU, but last week got whooped by Georgia. Auburn looks really good, with their only loss coming to Clemson.

Auburn 27 Mississippi State 10



Heisman Watch

I think after watching Saquon Barkley put up over 300 all-purpose yards against Iowa, he's my Heisman leader at this point, but will he be able to carry the work load all season? They still have to play Michigan and Ohio State, too.

1-Saquon Barkley Jr Penn State
Last week at Iowa - Rush: 211-1 Rec: 12-94
Season - Rush: 518-4 7.8 Rec: 23-335-2

2-Baker Mayfield Sr Oklahoma
Last week at Baylor - Pass: 283-3-0 Rush: 30-0
Season - Pass: 1,329-13-0 Rush 17-0

3-Lamar Jackson Jr Louisville
Last week vs Kent State - Pass: 299-2-2 Rush: 34-1
Season - Pass: 1,387-10-3 Rush: 337-4

Others to Watch
QB
Sam Darnold USC, Mason Rudolph Oklahoma State, Nic Shimonek Texas Tech, Luke Falk Washington State, Josh Rosen UCLA, J.T. Barrett Ohio State

RB
Rashaad Penny San Diego State, Bryce Love Stanford

WR
Cam Phillips Virginia Tech, James Washington Oklahoma State