College Football: 25 Hunches for Week 4

Notre Dame finally won a game, Michigan entered the rankings and we had the Big East Raid II.

What a week.

This just in, Wisconsin, Iowa and Northwestern are going to meet in a dance-off with Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech to see who gets to bail for the Pac-12.

Word is Bret Bielema will teach Bob Stoops how to Dougie...

Just kidding.

This list runs down some hunches about what might transpire across the country next week.

It has nothing to do with food, planking or Barry Manilow, so if you found your way here by searching those terms, save yourself the trouble and leave now.

 What you will find is 25 "hunches" about Week 4 in college football.

25. Kansas State Will Fall from the Ranks of the Unbeaten

Kansas State is one of only 33 remaining unbeatens in college football.

That ends this weekend.

Miami, fresh off their beating of Ohio State, gets to host the Wildcats.

The Hurricanes are far too athletic and speedy for KSU, and after this one, Bill Snyder will seriously consider retiring...again.

24. Michigan State Makes It Back into the Rankings

The two polls have conflicting opinions of several teams.

Michigan State is one of those teams.

The Coaches' Poll has the Spartans at No. 23, while they are unranked in the AP.

They fell particularly hard in the AP, going from 15 to unranked after losing on the road.

It's as if voters were just waiting for an excuse.

Anyway, they have an easy task ahead of them this week in Central Michigan.

They currently sit just outside the AP poll, and with a win, will sneak back into the rankings.

23. Georgia Tech's Top 25 Stay Will Not End

Georgia Tech has looked very good in the early stages of this young season.

They are currently ranked in both polls, after jumping out to a 3-0 start.

The Jackets lead the nation in points per game and average nearly 430 yards rushing on the ground per game.

Nope, that's not a typo, 430!

This week, the Jackets get to host North Carolina in a battle of ranked (Coaches' Poll) teams.

The Tar Heels are also 3-0, and have an extremely talented defensive line and some potential on offense.

However, they will have a tough time slowing down Tech's rushing attack, and the Jackets will emerge from this one after the dust has settled with the victory.

22. Ryan Lindley and Ronnie Hillman Will Keep Up with the Fighting Denards

New Michigan head coach gets a visit from his former team this weekend as the Wolverines try to improve on their status as a ranked squad.

Michigan has stayed unblemished to this point, thanks to the play of one Denard Robinson.

Against the Aztecs, they can expect a tough challenge.

Even though the team is from the MWC, they are no pushover.

The offense features a quarterback, Ryan Lindley, who has recorded seven touchdowns and one interception, and has only been sacked once.

The running game is where SDSU really does its damage, however, as Ronnie Hillman has scored eight touchdowns to date, four of them against BCS conference opponent Washington State.

The Wolverines will emerge with a "W," but it won't be close to easy.

21. Notre Dame Will Get Back to .500

The Irish were limited on offense to fewer than 300 yards last week by Michigan State, they were only 5-12 on third down and turned the ball over three more times, bringing their grand total to 13 through three games.

However, their defense was tougher on the Spartans run game than anyone has been in recent memory except Alabama, and they won by a more than two touchdowns.

This week, they travel to Pitt.

The Panthers are in trouble.

Tino Sunseri is no Dan Marino. and their defense is nowhere close to Michigan State's.

Brian Kelly should be able to remain calm in this one as the Irish knock off Pitt easily.

20. Lee Corso Goes to 4-0 on Gameday

Until he is proven wrong, base all your picks about the big game on what Lee Corso has to say.

The man is now 3-0 picking the feature game on ESPN's "College Gameday", and this week, he will remain perfect.

However, since the show is in Morgantown, he might want to watch his back especially close if he picks LSU. Those Mountaineers can be vicious.

19. Oregon Will Win by 30-Plus

The Ducks are traveling to Tucson to take on Arizona in the late game on Saturday.

There is no doubt in my mind about the outcome of this one.

Stanford wiped the field with the Wildcats last week to the tune of 37-10, and the Ducks will win even bigger.

Darron Thomas has been great for Oregon, and the play-makers the Ducks have on the field will overwhelm UA.

This one will be high-scorin, on the Ducks' side of the column.

18. Arkansas at Alabama Will Be the Game of the Week

The Razorbacks are looking very good, even after the departure of Ryan Mallett and the injury to Knile Davis.

'Bama is looking like a legit top three team, and they get to play at home.

This game will be the most entertaining game of the weekend, as the Razorbacks try to show that the Tide defense is not invincible.

Ronnie Wingo, Jr. has taken over admirably for Davis and provided the spark needed to keep the Arkansas running game trucking along.

This is going to be a tight one in Tuscaloosa.

17. Florida State Will Beat Clemson by 17-Plus

Look, Florida State lost to Oklahoma, but the 'Noles are still on the inside track for a BCS berth.

They just can't afford to lose focus.

Clemson has demonstrated the ability to exploit defenisve weakness (see Auburn game), but they have yet to face a defense as fast and disciplined as that of the Seminoles.

Even if Greg Reid gets beat again, Tigers' quarterback Tajh Boyd does not have the arm to throw a perfectly placed ball to his receiver.

Clemson has had a solid season so far, but against FSU, Dabo Swinney's team will look lost.

By the way, that's a great name for a coach in South Carolina...

16. No Letdown from Oklahoma

Coming off of their big win in Tallahassee, the Sooners have a revenge match coming up.

They get to host Missouri.

The Tigers knocked the Sooners off of their No. 1 perch last season, effectively ending the Sooners' shot at the national title game.

This one might be painful for the Tigers.

Oklahoma will not be overlooking this game or experiencing some kind of let down in intensity.

The fact that Kenny Stills has emerged in a big way alongside super-receiver Ryan Broyles has to have Gary Pinkel and his coaching staff extremely concerned, as they have nobody that can help slow down the Sooners' passing game.

Revenge will be sweet for the Sooners.

15. The Battle for Second Best in Big 12 Will Be High-Scoring

We have established that, thus far, Oklahoma is a cut above the rest of the Big 12.

So who is second best?

Texas A&M and their potent rushing attack?

Or the explosive offense of Oklahoma State?

We find out this weekend.

Whoever wins this one will have the inside track to a possible BCS berth and all of the early season momentum.

And this one won't be boring.

The Cowboys are averaging over 51 points per game, and A&M is scoring over 41 per contest.

14. Brock Osweiler Will Outplay Matt Barkley

At 6'8", Brock Osweiler is the tallest quarterback in the FBS.

Osweiler and the Arizona State Sun Devils suffered their first loss of the season last week on the road against Illinois in a tight contest.

Coming up, the Devils face Matt Barkley and the USC Trojans, as they attempt to knock off a ranked team at home for the second time this season.

Barkley has had his moments, but has shown some glaringly obvious flaws at times thus far, while the same could be said for Osweiler.

I expect the big fella to out-play Barkley and lead the Devils to a win.

Fork 'em...

13. The Big Ten Goes Undefeated Due to Cupcakes

As mentioned last week, the Big Ten is looking mighty weak once again this season.

They then proceeded to have two of their ranked teams suffer big losses on the road, further entrenching the opinion that other than Nebraska and Wisconsin, there may not be a legit BCS contender in the conference.

Their depth is suspect, at best.

However, the scheduling gods smiled upon them this week.

Purdue and Northwestern are off, and eight of the remaining 10 teams play at home against cupcakes.

The only two squads on the road are Nebraska at Wyoming and Indiana at North Texas.

The rest of the conference gets to feast at home on a slate of every directional school in Michigan, South Dakota, North Dakota State and Colorado.

Michigan has a challenge in the Big House against San Diego State, but if there is ever a week the conference will come through unscathed, this is the one.

12. Virginia Tech Will Just Keep Winning

You hearing much about Virginia Tech?

Me either.

It's as if they pulled a Macaulay Culkin and just disappeared.

However, unlike Culkin, these guys are definitely going to make a splash this season.

It's about time somebody started paying attention to the Hokies.

Logan Thomas is settling in to his role at quarterback, and the defense has posted nine sacks in three games already.

The emergence of Georgia Tech and Miami as potential road blocks in the Hokies' path to the ACC Championship game should be noted, but for now, these guys are just creeping slowly toward the top 10, and they just keep quietly taking care of business.

11. Seth Doege Will Start Getting Some Love

Call him a "system quarterback" a "gunslinger" or "twinkle toes" for all I care, but the man can throw the football.

Doege established a record for completion percentage last week against New Mexico, completing 90.9 percent of his attempts.

He was 40-44.

It doesn't matter who they played, that is a ridiculous number.

Doege has tossed eight touchdowns thus far, admittedly against inferior opponents, but as rumors swirl about Tech being part of the Big 12 to vacate for the Pac-12, fans can enjoy some explosive offense.

10. Marcus Lattimore Will Keep on Rolling

So far, the Gamecocks have not looked as if they are the legitimate SEC title material some have made them out to be.

They struggled to beat Navy and lucked out at Georgia.

That being said, running back Marcus Lattimore has lived up to his hype and is on track to be a serious contender for the Heisman.

He was the catalyst behind SC's success against Navy and Georgia, and will continue to keep on rolling against a 3-0 Vanderbilt squad.

Lattimore is averaging over six yards per carry, and has found the end zone seven times.

While Vandy is sitting pretty right now, they generate very little push up front and will have a very difficult time slowing down South Carolina's offense, especially Lattimore.

9. Iowa State Will Suprise Texas

Ok, I'll admit it, I was surprised when Texas won on the road this week.

The Shipley-McCoy connection seems to work for the 'Horns, and the defense played reasonably well.

Of course, it was against UCLA.

Next up is a trip to Ames, Iowa to face the Cyclones on October 1.

Yeah, it's next week, but I'm preparing you, Texas fans.

ISU already knocked off rival Iowa and is currently undefeated.

Quarterback Steele Jantz has scored six touchdowns through the air and two more with his feet.

Texas will have their hands full, and be knocked out of the rankings by Jantz and the Cyclones.

Steele...good football name.

8. Case Keenum Will Throw for over 300 Yards

Houston has the best quarterback in the state of Texas playing for them.

Keenum is currently sitting at 12th in quarterback rating, has tossed 10 scores already and two interceptions.

He has completed at least two touchdown throws in each game and has the Cougars sitting at 3-0.

This week, they face off against hapless Georgia State.

Expect Keenum to go off, yet again.

Looking for a new BCS buster?

Houston might be your squad.

7. Florida Will Add One More to Their Win Streak

Enjoy the fun while you can, Gator faithful.

Chris Rainey and the rest of the Gators travel to the Bluegrass State to take on Kentucky this week and will win.

Then it's over.

Following that contest, the Gators host Alabama, then travel to LSU and Auburn before meeting Georgia.

A 4-0 record is fun, but the Gators are likely to find themselves at .500 before they get a break and host Vanderbilt Nov. 5.

This week will be their last win for a while.

6. Jaime Salazar Will Miss a Field Goal

Look, I'm not the type of person to kick a guy while he's down, but this is getting out of hand.

Arizona looked lost against Stanford in the second half last Saturday, and much of the blame can be laid at the feet of Salazar.

He not only missed the field goal that would have pulled the Wildcats within three just before halftime, he also shanked his next attempt, after which the Cardinal promptly scored.

Game over.

Had Salazar made both, 'Zona may have been able to make it interesting for a while.

Anyway, the Arizona kicking game is atrocious, and should Salazar get the nod this week against Oregon, expect at least one more botched attempt.

5. Taylor Martinez Will Look Sharp

Taylor Martinez has to be a close second to Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson in the Big Ten's Player of the Month Race.

Martinez has shown steady improvement in leading the Huskers to 3-0, limiting the hits he takes, making better reads and limiting his mistakes.

in the Huskers final tune-up before the biggest game of the season in the conference to date, expect Martinez to look sharp and show even more improvement.

This guy is still young, but has the talent to make a run at the Heisman in the next two seasons if he can avoid serious injury.

4. Montee Ball Will Break Double Digits

Wisconsin's featured running back, Montee Ball, is a force to be reckoned with.

He has been the hottest back in football since late in 2010, scoring 21 times since Nov. 1.

No other running back is even close.

He currently sits at eight touchdowns for the season, seven on the ground and one receiving.

Expect him to hit double digits this weekend against lowly South Dakota.

3. Somebody Will Change Conference Affiliation by the Time You Have Read This

Who's next?

Over the weekend, the ACC announced that it had poached two more of the Big East's programs, Pitt and Syracuse.

That just proved how far below football basketball is in the world of college athletics.

The best basketball conference in the country gets broken up over a couple of football teams.

Anyway, by the time you have read this, we will start hearing rumors of another move and by as early as next week, we could see some major shifting in the college football landscape.

Is anybody else annoyed that this is all happening in the middle of the season?

2. Plenty of Couch-Burning in Morgantown

College Gameday has announced they will be parking in Morgantown, West Virginia this weekend for the Mountaineers bout with LSU.

WVU fans will have to tone down the vitriol just a tad if they hope to get them to return, but will show the rest of the country that they are as avid as any fanbase in the nation.

Even so, the Mountaineers are going to be overmatched on the field in this one.

True, LSU is not exactly explosive on offense, but given time to throw the ball, Jarrett Lee can get it done.

Where this becomes a problem for WVU is when you consider they have posted only one sack this season.

No pressure equals a long day for West Virginia.

1. The ACC Will Continue to Produce Explosive Plays

Guess which conference leads the nation in plays of 50 yards or more from scrimmage this season.

That's right, the poachers also known as the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Georgia Tech sits at No. 1 after three weeks, with 10 plays of 50-plus yards, and an amazing 28 of 20-plus.

Clemson is tied for second with five plays of 50-plus, while Florida State checks in at sixth with four.

N.C. State and Virginia Tech are also tied at ninth with three apiece.

If you are looking for exciting, explosive plays, look for those teams this weekend.