It's always fun to throw out some bold college football predictions and see what sticks, you know?
Heading into Week 4, there has been plenty of off-field drama surrounding conference realignment, and I'll address that in this story.
Some of these bold predictions are serious, some are fun, some are sarcastic and some contradict other bold predictions or my Week 4 picks.
Let's have fun with this and share your serious, fun and sarcastic predictions in the comments, but keep it nice and collegial, OK?
Let's take a look at 50 Bold Predictions Heading into Week 4.
The Big 12's Dan Beebe Refuses to Step Down
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The Big 12 is one big, dysfunctional conference, and its days are numbered—unless commissioner Dan Beebe steps down, per Oklahoma's request.
By week's end, the Big 12 will once again be thrust into disarray, as Beebe refuses Oklahoma's demands and the Sooners grab their cohorts in drama, Oklahoma State, and seek a new home.
Larry Scott and Pac-12 Posturing About Not Expanding Ends
Late Tuesday night, the Pac-12 released the news that the presidents of the member universities had gotten together and vetoed the idea of expansion beyond 12 at this time.
The operative words there are "at this time."
The Pac-12 starts its new 12-year, $3 billion media rights deal next year, wherein all members will split the pie evenly.
When the Big 12 fails to meet Oklahoma's demands and falls apart, watch the Pac-12 become the Pac-14.
This "we don't want to expand" stuff is pure posturing; the Pac-12 wants to be one cool customer.
Vanderbilt Is 4-0
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Vandy pulls off the not so improbable upset of South Carolina to improve to 4-0.
Commodore fans across the SEC have minor heart attacks at being two-thirds of the way to bowl eligibility so early in the season.
Arkansas Beats Alabama
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The Crimson Tide are favored, but the scrappy Hogs will show they are a force to be reckoned with in the SEC West by beating Alabama.
Three Top 10 Teams Will Lose
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Three of the current AP Top 10 will lose this weekend (Oklahoma State faces Texas A&M, so there is one automatic loss in the Top 10).
The Top 10 are:
1. Oklahoma
2. LSU
3. Alabama
4. Boise State
5. Stanford
6. Wisconsin
7. Oklahoma State
8. Texas A&M
9. Nebraska
10. Oregon
USC Defeats ASU at Home
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Vontaze Burfict, Brock Osweiler and the rest of the Arizona State Sun Devils will be unsuccessful in their quest to break USC's 11-year winning streak against them.
USC will make it 12 in a row Saturday night in Tempe.
UNLV Wins Two in a Row
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UNLV, after starting the season 0-2 and looking like one of the most dismal teams in the FBS, pulled off a surprise upset of Hawaii last week.
This week the Runnin' Rebels will roll against Southern Utah, picking up their second win in a row and second win of the season.
WVU Upsets LSU
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Geno Smith and the Mountaineers stun the Tigers with an upset of LSU in Morgantown.
Brian Kelly Has Another Meltdown
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Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly can't keep his cool as his Fighting Irish play badly versus Pittsburgh.
Notre Dame Stumbles Again
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Notre Dame can't sustain the momentum from its win last week against Michigan State and drops another game to Pitt for a 1-3 record.
Lou Holtz Continues to Make Argument for Notre Dame in Top 25
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Lou Holtz, continuing to be the very definition of "homer," continues to sputter and decree the Fighting Irish one of the top teams in the country despite their record.
The Big East Loses UConn
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This isn't a stretch, since the Huskies have "serious interest" in leaving the Big East for the ACC, but with further attrition, the future of the conference is called into question.
Oregon State Still Winless
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Slick Rick Neuheisel and the Bruins manage to pull off a win in Corvallis, relegating the Beavers to the Pac-12 cellar formerly reserved for the surging Cougars of Washington State.
UCLA Loses Another QB to Injury
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Slick Rick finally commits to QB Richard Brehaut, but Brehaut suffers an injury and goes down, continuing the UCLA QB curse.
Les Miles Bungles Clock Management
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Les Miles, that old character, bungles time management in the LSU-WVU game, and this is a factor in the Tigers loss.
Triple-Overtime Thriller
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Who will it be? Arkansas-Alabama? Oklahoma State-Texas A&M? LSU-WVU? USC-ASU? Which game of this weekend's 60 FBS games will be the triple-overtime thriller?
Longhorn Network Dies
Realizing that the Longhorn Network is going to kill a conference and cause massive animosity, Texas and ESPN drastically restructure their deal, effectively killing the network and opening the way for the Big 12 to either flourish or die.
FIU's Mario Cristobal Fields BCS Team Offers
FIU is having a heck of a year, and the man behind it all is head coach Mario Cristobal.
It is only a matter of time before he starts fielding major FBS and BCS offers, so why not this week?
Carson Palmer Seen Tailgating at USC vs. ASU Game
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Carson Palmer, defiantly refusing to budge in his demand to be traded from the Bengals, was tailgating on USC's campus last weekend. (I have photos with him.)
Still unemployed, Palmer heads to Tempe to cheer on his alma mater.
Clemson Shocks Florida State
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Clemson, riding high after its win versus Auburn, welcomes the Seminoles to Memorial Stadium and promptly beats them.
BYU Accepts Offer to Become Member of Big 12
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BYU takes advantage of the conference shuffle to accept an invitation to become a member of the Big 12.
Rutgers Announces Move to ACC
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Big East drops to five football members when Rutgers moves to the ACC. Conference officially on life support.
UCLA Fires Neuheisel
Jeff Gross/Getty Images
I believe I said this last week as well. I continue to believe the threat is imminent.
Slick Rick has been dismal for the Bruins program despite boldly declaring upon arrival that the football dynasty in Los Angeles was over.
Um, yeah, that hasn't really worked out for Neuheisel and UCLA.
Houston Nutt Hits the Unemployment Line
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FIU's Mario Cristobal could be in discussions rather shortly for the Ole Miss job, as Houston Nutt has failed to produce.
Colorado Upsets Ohio State
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In a shocking turn of events, new Pac-12 member Colorado travels to Columbus and beats the Buckeyes.
Big East Adds Navy and Air Force
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The Big East, shocked into taking action by the defection of four teams (Pitt, Syracuse, UConn and Rutgers), invites Navy and Air Force to join the league.
Paul Dee Spotted at All You Can Eat Crab Leg Buffet
It's an easy and amusing hit (to me), folks.
Big East Issues Ultimatum to Notre Dame
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Big East to Notre Dame: Join conference for football or have other sports kicked out of Big East.
Brady Hoke's Michigan Loses to San Diego State
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Brady Hoke's former team, sporting his recruits, soundly defeats the Wolverines.
Mountain West and Conference USA Announce Merger, Bid to Be AQ
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The MWC and C-USA, two mid-majors on the rise, consolidate to create super conference in bid to become a BCS AQ conference.
At Least One School Delivered Notice of Inquiry from NCAA
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Last week South Carolina and Oregon got the official notices from the NCAA. This week, another school joins the ranks of programs under investigation.
West Virginia Leaves Big East for ACC
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West Virginia makes its case for inclusion in the ACC, and it's a good one.
Mizzou Shocks Oklahoma
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Mizzou rides into Norman the underdog but rides out with a win over top-ranked Oklahoma.
Landry Jones Turns in Second Underwhelming Performance in a Row
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Landry Jones and the Sooners beat the Seminoles, but Jones was far from showy in his victory. He went 18-of-27 for 199 yards with one TD and two INTs.
A second average performance will drop him to the bottom of the Heisman hopefuls list.
UCLA Eyes Boise State's Chris Petersen
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Slick Rick is on his way out for sure, and UCLA boosters have their eye on Boise State coach Chris Petersen. Is this the week they formally begin discussions with him?
ECU Welcomed to the Big East
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ECU, seeing an opportunity to be in an AQ conference, applies for and is welcomed into the Big East. In other news, if all my predictions come true, the Big East might be the first super conference.
TCU Backs Out on Big East, Joins Big 12
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Obviously, things are shaky with TCU's commitment to join the Big East next year.
When the Big 12 comes calling, setting up a great rivalry with Baylor as part of the deal, TCU jumps ship for the conference closer to home.
Bleacher Report Writer Goes Nuts
Ha ha ha—thought I'd insert a little levity, folks.
Florida Quietly Goes 4-0
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Florida improves to 4-0, steadily moving up the rankings.
Kellen Moore Dominates Heisman Talks
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This is typically a time of year when Boise State falls off the radar due to its weakish conference schedule.
However, with lackluster play from Landry Jones and a similarly weakish schedule for Robert Griffin III's Baylor, Kellen Moore stays very firmly planted in the Heisman discussions after Week 4.
Case Keenum and Houston Will Be 4-0
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After beating UCLA, North Texas and Louisiana Tech, the Houston Cougars have a pretty clear shot at a perfect season. This week Georgia State comes to town, and the rest of their schedule is as follows:
at UTEP
vs. ECU
vs. Marshall
vs. Rice
at UAB
at Tulane
vs. SMU
at Tulsa
The Highest Scoring Team in Week 4 Is Georgia Tech
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The Rambling Wreck has scored 63, 49 and 66 points in its games so far this season. This week the Yellow Jackets face off against UNC. Don't expect their offense to let up.
Turnovers Have Impact
Turnovers always screw things up, and this week is no different, as one team will attribute its offense's inability to hold on to the ball as the reason for its loss.
South Florida Improves to 4-0
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South Florida opened its season with a win over Notre Dame and went on to beat Ball State and Florida A&M. This week the Bulls beat UTEP to advance to 4-0 on the season.
Mike Leach on Radar
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Mike Leach, biding his time and writing his tell-all book about what a giant jerk Craig James is, is ready for his next big head coaching gig. Where will he land?
UCLA?
Georgia?
UNLV?
Texas A&M Beats Oklahoma State
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We're at slide 46 of 50, and I am running out of steam. Honesty.
Oklahoma State gets blindsided by Texas A&M.
Ole Miss Beats Georgia
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Houston Nutt redeems himself for a few more days by beating Mark Richt's Bulldogs.
Mark Richt's Seat Warming Up
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Georgia, humbled by two losses to start the season, plus a loss to Ole Miss, begins to seriously think about firing its coach. Hey, Mike Leach is available!
Iowa State Improves to 4-0
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The Cyclones pick off the Longhorns to go 4-0 and stake a claim to the Big 12 title.
Excessive Celebration Penalty Continues to Be Stupid
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To paraphrase the new rule—basically, if the ref thinks excessive celebration has taken place, the touchdown is nullified and the down is replayed.
This is a stupid rule, and it is going to cost someone the game.
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