Week 4 College Football Predictions: Which Teams Will Make Biggest Statements?

The picture at the top of the college football world is getting clearer all the time. As the weeks roll by, some teams fall by the wayside while others step forward and announce to the world that they are ready to compete for conference and national championships.

In Week 4, the following teams will make it known that they are here to stay.

LSU

The Bayou Bengals have the toughest draw of the week in my opinion. The West Virginia Mountaineers come in ranked 16th in the nation and I feel that they're actually a little bit underrated. They have a powerful offense led by quarterback Geno Smith and their defense was one of the better ones in the nation last year.

For many, this game has upset written all over it, but I'm not feeling it. LSU dismantled the Oregon Ducks in Week 1 of the season and Oregon is a better team than West Virginia. As good as the Mountaineers' offense is, it's not good enough to overcome LSU's world-class defense.

Oklahoma is riding high as the top-ranked team in the nation. After Saturday night, they will be praying that LSU gets knocked off at some point this season. You do not want to face them in the national championship game.

Texas A&M

After several years of being little more than a mediocre team, the Texas A&M Aggies finally look ready for prime time. Their offense, led by the trio of Ryan Tannehill, Cyrus Gray and Jeff Fuller at quarterback, running back and wide receiver, respectively, is likely as good as any in the nation.

The biggest difference now is the defense. Last year with Von Miller wreaking havoc and defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter calling plays, the Aggies took a big step forward. They look to be even better in 2011 with much of their defensive talent returning.

That defense will be the difference in their game this weekend against Oklahoma State. Both teams have powerful offenses, but the Aggies have a big advantage on the defensive side of the ball. No defense could really shut down the Cowboys' Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon, but A&M will be able to slow the pair down.

Nebraska

The Huskers have quietly gotten off to a great start in 2011. They sit at 3-0 with wins over Fresno State and Washington, both decent squads. In Week 4 against the Wyoming Cowboys, Nebraska will really get things going.

So much of what they do on offense is based on quarterback Taylor Martinez. Martinez moving out of the pocket is their biggest offensive weapon and his success rate at doing that is what they base their game plan on. So far this season, he hasn't been all that great.

He leads the team with 384 yards rushing, which is impressive, but he has not thrown the ball well enough to keep defenses honest when they take on better teams in conference play. Martinez has completed less than 50 percent of his passes.

The defense also needs to pick things up. They allowed Fresno State 29 points and Washington 38 points. That's not the Huskers' defense we're used to.

Against Wyoming, they will get both aspects worked out. Sometimes all a team needs is a boost in confidence and they will get that against weaker competition ahead of the start of their conference slate.