College Football Picks Week 4: FSU rivals face road tests

Sep 23, 2022 - 10:30 AM

Oh, Miami. What a tough week for the almighty Hurricanes.

First, a loss at College Station after drastically outgaining the Aggies thanks to some special teams miscues. Then, their quarterback basically says he doesn’t like to play in front of their fans.

Probably unfair to TVD because he was asked what he prefers and surely didn’t intend to offend UM fans. But this is a website filled with Florida State fans and I can’t imagine many of you are interested in lending him the benefit of the doubt on this one.

The Canes aren’t part of the pick slate this week, but a pair of other FSU rivals are as Clemson and Florida face ranked conference opponents.

I once again went 5-5, bringing the season total to 21-20. Thank god for the extra game in Week Zero allowing me to remain one game above .500 on the year even after 3 straight 5-5 weeks. I’ll blame my wife’s graduation from Auburn for last week’s even record because I wanted to pick Penn State, but I also want to have a home.

Of course, I could always just start trailing mr_britt’s picks and buy myself another house because he’s on a heater right now. After claiming last week’s Comment Section Competition with an 8-2 performance along with 2 others, he rattled off a 9-1 week. It was our best week by any predictor so far. The only miss? SMU failing to cover against Maryland.

mr_britt now becomes our first two-time Comment Section Champion of the season. I’ll just arbitrarily decide that the overall winner will be the person who gets the most weeks as Comment Section Champion because why not.

Comment Section Champions:

• Week 0 — NoleOhana (8-3) yeah, we did 11 games that week
• Week 1 — OhNoleHeDidnt (7-3)
• Week 2 — Jason Kuruvilla, DenverNoleFan & mr_britt (8-2)
• Week 3 — mr_britt (9-1)

Could you be the next Comment Section Champion? Leave your picks below.

If you’re new to the proceedings (which many of you probably are because I’ve only done this for one season), drop your picks in the comments with the spread provided. The following week, I’ll tally up the wins and losses, give a salute to whoever dominates the weekend and add you to our BRAND NEW BULLET LIST OF CHAMPIONS above. Remember, that I’m just a guy with a keyboard, not a gambling pro, so this isn’t advice. Just giving all of us a viewing guide and rooting interest as we watch the football season.

Reminder that I pull all the lines from Tallysight.com because they make it easier for me to track my picks.

• No. 5 Clemson Tigers (-7.5) at No. 21 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Noon ET, ABC)

I’ve gone back and forth on this one many times all week. Wake Forest has Sam Hartman back which makes them incredibly dangerous plus they’re at home. But that Clemson defensive line is really damn good. If they keep consistent pressure on Hartman, the Demon Deacons will have a hard time keeping up. I’ve finally settled on a late gross cover simply because Clemson won’t be able to score enough to put them away. Give me that touchdown.

Brian’s Pick: Wake Forest +7.5

• Duke Blue Devils (+7.5) at Kansas Jayhawks (Noon ET, FS1)

A huge matchup of unbeaten bluebloods in early fall that could have major implications on the No. 1 seed in the tourney. Nope... not hoops. We’re talking football with the Blue Devils and Jayhawks. Both big surprises at 3-0 early in this season. Kansas has done it with explosive offensive performances in some really impressive road victories over Houston and West Virginia. The Jayhawks are putting up 53 points per game. Duke hasn’t been quite as explosive but is averaging north of 36 points per game as well. Who’d have thought this would be a fun game. and ho would have thought I’d lay the points.

Brian’s Pick: Kansas -7.5

• No. 20 Florida Gators (+10.5) at No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)

That’s a big number! Turns out Florida might not be as good as their victory over Utah would lead you to believe. After a thumping by Kentucky, the Gators narrowly survived a late charge by the USF Bulls thanks largely to two errant snaps including one on what would have been the game-winning field goal. Tennessee’s offense moves fast and can put up points in a hurry. That were slowed by Pitt for awhile and then posted 34. I think Tennessee can put up way more points than Florida is capable of contending with so let’s go with Rocky Top.

Brian’s Pick: Tennessee -10.5

• No. 22 Texas Longhorns (-6.5) at Texas Tech Red Raiders (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

The injury report (doesn’t exist in college, but you get the point) will be one to watch here as Texas QB Quinn Ewers practiced some earlier this week and could suit up for this game. He was lighting up Alabama’s defense in what looked like a brewing blowout before he got injured. If Ewers is back, I think Texas smashes this number and then some. If he’s not, I still trust Bijan (Robinson, you should know him on a first name basis for the amount of times I’ve referenced him over the past two years) and the boys will carry the cover.

Brian’s Pick: Texas -6.5

• Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+2.5) at North Carolina Tar Heels (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

YUCK! Turns out Notre Dame might suck. After a close loss to Ohio State, the Irish were crowned with the dreaded moral victory parade but they’ve been bad in their two games since. They lost to Marshall and barely survived Cal. North Carolina, on the otherhand, got written off as bad after a close win to App State, who turned out to be pretty damn good. I think UNC’s defense is terrible, but I don’t think Notre Dame’s offense is capable of consistently taking advantage of that. TAR.

Brian’s Pick: UNC -2.5

• No. 15 Oregon Ducks (+6.5) at Washington State Cougars (4:00 p.m. ET, FOX)

Well, Oregon made me look dumb. The Ducks absolutely rolled BYU last week and might be good despite getting throttled by UGA (who remains an absolute buzzsaw and might not be challenged all season). Bo Nix is playing much better with Kenny Dillingham back calling plays for him. Meanwhile, Wazzu has a road win against Wisconsin on their resume and still don’t seem to be getting any respect. They won’t get it from me either. Quack.

Brian’s Pick: Oregon +6.5

• No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks (+2.5) vs. No. 23 Texas A&M Aggies in Arlington, TX (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN)

I’ve been excited to pick this game for 2 weeks. Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson is my guy and I simply don’t like A&M’s offense this year. This series has been super fun since the Aggies joined the SEC and I’m glad this game is getting a primetime spot to shine. It’s had some really wild finishes that have been under the radar.

Brian’s Pick: Arkansas +2.5

• Wisconsin Badgers (+18.5) at No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

The preseason national title favorites (is that true? Idk. I think so. We’ll rock with it) haven’t really clicked yet this year. They’ve had some injuries in the receiving corps that already had some really big shoes to fill. I’ll take this as the spot that they figure it out. Despite the large number, I’ll go Buckeyes.

Brian’s Pick: Ohio State -18.5

• Boston College Eagles (+16.5) at Florida State Seminoles (8:00 p.m. ET, ACC Network)

You can find my and the rest of our team’s picks in the Staff Predictions article.

Brian’s Pick: Boston College +16.5

• No. 7 USC Trojans (-6.5) at Oregon State Beavers (9:30 p.m. ET, PAC12 Network)

You wanna know why USC is leaving for the Big Ten? This game. This has no business on PAC12 Network. These are two of the four best teams in this conference as Oregon State has been sneaky good this year getting buried where no one will see the game. Not a great way to promote the conference. USC being in the top ten still feels like a giant fraud, but that offense is stupid good. Caleb Williams plus Jordan Addison. Who would’ve thought? Let’s get storm the field in Corvallis Saturday night.

Brian’s Pick: Oregon State +6.5

TL;DR

Wake Forest +7.5

Kansas -7.5

Tennessee -10.5

Texas -6.5

UNC -2.5

Oregon +6.5

Arkansas +2.5

Ohio State -18.5

Boston College +16.5

Oregon State +6.5