College Football 2011: Predicting the Winner of Every Week 4 game

The college football season just keeps rolling along and we’re heading into Week 4, marking the one-third mark of the season. It really is too short. Sigh.

We dive into conference play in almost all cases this week, setting the stage for the eventual conference championships and BCS bowl matchups.

With much talk and attention given to the pending implosion of the Big 12, the ACC raiding the BCS and the Pac-12 becoming the Pac-14, Pac-16 or Pac-20, the players have been able to do what they do best—play—while the grownups squabble over what the college football landscape will look like in 2012 and beyond.

There are 60 games involving 107 teams from the FBS, 13 teams play schools from the FCS.

Thirteen teams have a bye week: Iowa State, Kansas, Louisville, Navy, Northwestern, Purdue, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wake Forest, Washington State, Western Kentucky.

Let’s take a look at every Week 4 game and predict some winners!

NC State at Cincinnati

Both teams head into this game 2-1. The Wolfpack will be without at least three defensive starters Thursday night when they visit the Cincinnati Bearcats. Linebacker Terrell Manning and defensive lineman J.R. Sweezy will both be out with injuries and cornerback Jarvis Byrd is out for the season.

Couple that with the relative inexperience of QB Mike Glennon and it spells trouble for NC State.

Winner: Cincinnati

Central Florida at BYU

BYU tanked versus Utah in last weekend's Holy War. UCF lost to the surging FIU program. I'd say these two teams are pretty evenly matched. The altitude in Provo (4,551 feet) could prove to be an issue for the Knights.

Winner: BYU

Tennessee State (FCS) at Air Force

It seems tome that Air Force could schedule better non-conference games. I mean, its not like the MWC is a bad conference. Hmmmm.

Winner: Air Force

Virginia Military Institute (FCS) at Akron

Is VMI a real school? A college or university? Well, I'll be, you learn something new every day. According to Wikipedia, VMI is "is the oldest state-supported military college" in the country. Good for them.

In other news, the fact that Akron's team name is the Zips amuses me to no end.

Winner: Akron

Arkansas at Alabama

No. 14 Arkansas travels to No. 3 Alabama in what is sure to be one of the games of the week.

Without a doubt, this Razorbacks team is the best the Crimson Tide have faced all season and will be their first real test (with no disrespect to Penn State).

Winner: Alabama (though I'd really like to see the Hogs pull this one out)

Oregon at Arizona

Arizona has to be reeling from its 1-2 start on the 2011 season.  And Oregon, despite last year's BCS Championship appearance, has something to prove (mainly that it isn't the one-dimensional team many think it is).

That said, Oregon's swagger alone could beat this Arizona team.

Winner: Oregon

USC at Arizona State

USC has won 11 straight versus the Sun Devils.

USC is one of the few 3-0 teams to beat all FBS opponents.

ASU is 2-1.

ASU beat then-ranked Mizzou and tanked at Illinois.

This is classic ASU.

Vontaze Burfict and Brock Osweiler are an advantage for ASU.

Matt Barkley and Robert Woods are an advantage for USC.

Winner: USC

Central Arkansas (FCS) at Arkansas State

I am sure this is a fascinating game for Central Arkansas and Arkansas State and the state of Arkansas, much like SDSU-Fresno State in California.

However, let's face it, the real game of the week in the Natural State is the Hogs-Bama clash.

Winner: Arkansas State

Army at Ball State

Interesting game. Army upset Northwestern last week and rides that momentum into this matchup.

Winner: Army

FAU at Auburn

Auburn, fresh off the loss at Clemson, will not stumble again this week. Plus, it's FAU.

Winner: Auburn

Rice at Baylor

Baylor and Rice may find themselves thrown together as the Big 12 and Big East scramble to remain viable as their flagship programs depart for better conference deals. (Yes, I know Rice isn't in an AQ, but it could be!)

That said, Baylor is the superior team and will have no problem dominating this game.

Winner: Baylor

Tulsa at Boise State

Tulsa heads to the Smurf Turf where, let's face it, Boise State does not often lose.

Winner: Boise State

UMass (FCS) at Boston College

Sigh. Another FBS vs. FCS matchup. Oh goody, my favorite!

Winner: Boston College

Bowling Green at Miami (Ohio)

Miami of Ohio should handle Bowling Green pretty easily.

Winner: Miami

UConn at Buffalo

The Buffalo Bulls (that tickles me) take on the Huskies at home. UConn was competitive versus Iowa State last weekend and looks to turn that near miss into a win versus Buffalo.

Winner: Connecticut

Cal at Washington

Oh. Interesting. Somehow Cal never lives up to its potential and Washington has been improving by leaps and bounds each season since its infamous no-win season of 2008. This should be a great game, but I have to go with Steve Sarkisian and the Washington Huskies.

Winner: Washington

Central Michigan at Michigan State

Michigan State should thoroughly dominate this game—it is far and away the better team. (That said, the Spartans also should have beaten Notre Dame.)

Winner: Michigan State

Florida State at Clemson

What a great game this should be. Clemson, fresh off an upset of Auburn, and Florida State, fresh off a loss to the No. 1-ranked Sooners, should make an epic battle.

Clemson seeks to prove it is legit. The Seminoles seek to prove they aren't overrated.

Winner: Florida State

Colorado at Ohio State

Ohio State will seek a successful rebound from its loss at Miami versus the Buffaloes. This should not be a problem for the Buckeyes.

Winner: Ohio State

Colorado State at Utah State

Utah State almost beat Auburn in Week 1, and to me, that says a lot.

Winner: Utah State

Tulane at Duke

I don't imagine there are many instances where Duke football is favored to win. This is one of them. It beat Boston College by one point in Week 3 and will look to get a two-game winning streak going versus the Green Wave.

Winner: Duke

UAB at East Carolina

This is an exciting matchup of two 0-2 teams. Who will emerge with the victory?

Winner: East Carolina

Eastern Michigan at Penn State

Are we not into conference play yet? Sheesh. The Nittany Lions should have no issues winning this game.

Winner: Penn State

Lousiana Lafayette at FIU

FIU is a surprising 3-0 with victories over North Texas, Louisville and Central Florida. Look for the Golden Panthers' winning streak to be extended to 4-0 with a win over La.-Lafayette.

Winner: FIU

Florida at Kentucky

The Gators are just getting better as the season wears on. Chances of catching them inexperienced and unawares are growing slim.

Winner: Florida

Fresno State at Idaho

Neither team is great, making this a decent matchup. The Vandals should (according to Vegas) win this by a touchdown.

Winner: Idaho

Georgia at Mississippi

The Bulldogs are simply too much for Ole Miss to handle in this SEC matchup. (Thank God for conference games.)

Winner: Georgia

North Carolina at Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets are 3-0 and have hung 63, 49 and 66 points on each of their first three opponents while holding them all to 24 points or less.

The Tar Heels are also 3-0, and this will be their first road game of the season.

Winner: Georgia Tech

UC Davis (FCS) at Hawaii

UNLV beat Hawaii this past weekend, but I don't see the Warriors losing at home to an FCS school.

Winner: Hawaii

Georgia State (FCS) at Houston

Clearly, if it were up to me, there would be no FBS vs, FCS matchups. Sure, the FCS wins some of the time, but, GAH—boring!

Winner: Houston

Western Michigan at Illinois

The Fighting Illini are 3-0 and sending a message to the Big Ten: "Don't count us out yet!"

Winner: Illinois

Indiana at North Texas

Indiana is 1-2, North Texas is 0-3. Boy, this will be a thriller.

Winner: Indiana

Louisiana Monroe at Iowa

Really? We're not done with these games yet? This is exhausting.

Winner: Iowa

Kansas State at Miami (FL)

The 'Canes are fresh off a rematch of the 2003 BCS title game in which Ohio State beat the Hurricanes in OT.

Despite a looming and persistent NCAA investigation, Miami is looking good.

Winner: Miami

South Alabama (FCS) at Kent State

Neither team is going to light the world on fire. Kent State is the home team. This is my justification.

Winner: Kent State

Louisiana State at Mississippi State

Mississippi State is a good team and will easily handle Louisiana State at home.

Winner: Mississippi State

LSU at West Virginia

This could be an interesting game. WVU's offense versus LSU's defense.

However, I think LSU's defense is just frightening and will be the deciding factor in this game.

Winner: LSU

Virginia Tech at Marshall

The Hokies are 3-0 but haven't really been tested yet. Nor will they be this week.

Winner: Virginia Tech

Temple at Maryland

Maryland and their ever-changing uniforms should easily hand the Owls another loss.

Winner: Maryland

SMU at Memphis

The Mustangs just don't have enough firepower to challenge Memphis, which should win by a margin of two to three TDs.

Winner: Memphis

San Diego State at Michigan

This interesting matchup pits current Michigan head coach Brady Hoke against his former gig at San Diego State.

Obviously, the advantage here goes to Hoke's Wolverines.

Winner: Michigan

Middle Tennessee at Troy

Winner: Troy, by at least seven.

Minnesota at North Dakota State (FCS)

This game is well within Minnesota's grasp, which is good, since in the coming weeks it faces Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin—not a promising gauntlet for it to run.

Winner: Minnesota

Missouri at Oklahoma

Are the Sooners beatable? Yes. Is Missouri the team that will do it? Unlikely.

Winner: Oklahoma

Nebraska at Wyoming

Nebraska will win this game. It is simply in a whole other class than Wyoming.

Winner: Nebraska

Nevada at Texas Tech

Nevada has yet to find its rhythm (if it has one). Texas Tech has not exactly been challenged yet this season, even though it is 2-0.

Winner: Texas Tech

Sam Houston State (FCS) at New Mexico

New Mexico will pull off its first win of the season, which would tie its win record for the 2010 season.

Winner: New Mexico

New Mexico State at San Jose State

San Jose State should easily pull off this win.

Winner: San Jose State

Cal Poly (FCS) at Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois will rebound from its loss to Wisconsin with an easy win against this FCS opponent.

Winner: Northern Illinois

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh

The Fighting Irish are favored, but I have a feeling Pitt is going to pull off the win.

Winner: Pittsburgh

Ohio at Rutgers

The Scarlet Knights are reportedly applying to become a member of the ACC, which won't distract them.

Winner: Rutgers

Oklahoma State at Texas A&M

For now, these two teams are members of the Big 12. Next year? Pac-14/16 and SEC?

I love this Oklahoma State team and think it will go far. Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon are one of the most dynamic duos in college football this year.

Winner: Oklahoma State

UCLA at Oregon State

Well, this is fun. Both teams are pretty hapless this year. The Beavers are winless and the Bruins are 1-2 and still have QB issues. Why they still have QB issues is not clear since Richard Brehaut has been far more efficient than Kevin Prince, yet Slick Rick Neuheisel continues to play Prince. What a genius.

That said, I think the Beavers might actually have more issues than the Bruins.

Winner: UCLA

Vanderbilt at South Carolina

Oh, this one is easy, South Carolina all the way. Do we even need to discuss this?

Winner: South Carolina

Southern Mississippi at Virginia

UVA is 2-1, with the loss being to a very good UNC Tar Heels team. As the game is in Charlottesville, the Wahoos should pull out the win.

Winner: Virginia

Toledo at Syracuse

After its beat down at the hands of USC, Syracuse will rebound at home versus Toledo.

Portland State (FCS) at TCU

Really? Another FCS opponent? Wow.

Winner: TCU

Southern Utah (FCS) at UNLV

Well, I fully expect the Rebels to blow this after their surprising win versus Hawaii. However, they are favored, and their opponent is an FCS school, so...

Winner: UNLV

UTEP at USF

The Bulls are 3-0 and looking like a BCS sleeper team. UTEP will not present a challenge for South Florida.

Winner: South Florida

South Dakota (FCS) at Wisconsin

Sigh. Do we even need to discuss this? Wisconsin's third string could win this game.

Winner: Wisconsin