College Football Predictions: 8 Locks for Week 4

At least for the first three weeks, the 2011 college football season has pretty much gone according to plan.

Yes, you can say that LSU beating Oregon the way they did was a little bit of a surprise, but really, that’s been about it.

The only two Top 10 teams to fall so far have been Oregon and Florida State, fellow top-ranked teams took both down.

There have only been a few minor surprises along the way like Baylor’s upset over TCU but now that conference play is ready to heat up, we're going to see a big increase in poll shakeups over the next few weeks.

This weekend, we have a couple intriguing match ups on tap that pit ranked teams against one another.

LSU-West Virginia, Oklahoma State-Texas A&M and Alabama-Arkansas all promise to be entertaining affairs and we should have a great Saturday to look forward to.

For all you gambling folks out there, here’s a look at eight teams you should get behind this weekend.

San Diego State (+10) at Michigan

Michigan coach Brady Hoke will welcome in his old team San Diego State to Ann Arbor this weekend and he knows firsthand that the Wolverines shaky defense will have to deal with a powerful Aztec offense, led by QB Ryan Lindley and RB Ronnie Hillman.

We’ve seen some encouraging signs out of QB Denard Robinson and the rest of this Michigan team in the first few weeks, but not enough to trust the Woverines, laying a double-digit point spread against a strong offense.

Pittsburgh (+6.5) vs. Notre Dame

Can we trust Notre Dame yet?

The Irish looked like a completely different team when they shut down Michigan State last Saturday, but they’ll need a similar effort if they want to survive a trip to Pittsburgh.

Panthers running back Ray Graham is the beast of the Big East and it will be a challenge for the Notre Dame defense to keep him contained.

Maryland (-8.5) vs. Temple

Maryland almost pulled off a comeback win over West Virginia last week but the Terps ran out of steam in the end.

Now sitting at 1-1, Randy Edsall should have no problem getting a rebound win against Temple this weekend.

The Owls gave Penn State a scare last Saturday, but I doubt they can put together back-to-back big efforts in consecutive weeks.

Miami (-12) vs. Kansas State

Miami is still riding the momentum of a big victory over Ohio State last Saturday night.

The Hurricanes have Jacory Harris back in the fold and they look ready to make a run at an ACC Coastal division title.

Before Al Golden’s crew can get into the ACC swing, first they’ll have to dispose of Kansas State, which shouldn’t be too difficult.

The Wildcats barely beat Eastern Kentucky in their home-opener and they don’t look like they’re equipped to keep up with the Canes.

Clemson (-2) vs. Florida State

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was pumped up after ending Auburn’s winning streak last week, and it will be interesting to see if his Tigers can harness that energy and keep things going against a reeling Florida State team.

The 'Noles defense is talented enough to neutralize RB Andre Ellington but now they will have to also worry about getting beat by playmaking freshman receiver Sammy Watkins.

South Carolina (-16) vs. Vanderbilt

South Carolina struggled against Navy last weekend but the Gamecocks are too talented to keep playing mediocre.

Surprisingly, Vanderbilt comes into the game 3-0 but that’s about to change.

Oklahoma (-21) vs. Missouri

You would think that Oklahoma would let its foot off the gas a little bit after such a big statement win over Florida State last week.

But this is Missouri coming to town.

Bob Stoops’ Sooners still remember what happened to them last year in Colombia and you can bet that they will be looking for revenge in a big way.

Troy (-12.5) vs. Middle Tennessee

For the Non-BCS conference pick of the week, let’s go with Troy to get off the schneid when the Trojans host Middle Tennessee.

These schools have been two of the most consistent teams in the Sun Belt for a long time, so it’s a bit odd to see both sitting at 0-2.

That means something's got to give.

Troy was beat up by Clemson and Arkansas in the first two weeks, but I expect a big season out of QB Corey Robinson, who has already thrown for 631 yards and four TDs in just his first two games.