Another week, another chance for our staff to drop some knowledge.
Here is the Crystal Ball Run, Week 4 staff picks!
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh: Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ABC
Tom Perry’s Take: Notre Dame finally put together a solid performance en route to a nice win over previously ranked Michigan State, but the Irish still turned the ball over too much. Pitt pulled off a Notre Dame showing at Iowa. After building a nice lead on the road, Todd Graham’s team imploded and lost. It was the kind of loss that would make Dave Wannstedt proud. Don’t forget that Graham led Tulsa into South Bend last year and left Notre Dame with a win.
Notre Dame 38, Pitt 21
Everyone Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Pitt 24, Notre Dame 21
Allen Kenney: Notre Dame 32, Pitt 30
Kevin McGuire: Notre Dame 27, Pitt 20
Matt Yoder: Notre Dame 30, Pitt 21
Mike Felder: Notre Dame 37 Pitt 24
North Carolina at Georgia Tech: Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ESPN
Mike Felder’s Take: The Heels haven’t won in Atlanta since 1997, something most folks do not realize. The Dodd has been a house of horrors for Carolina and this game has all the makings to be another in a long line of disappointments. The Heels aren’t very disciplined on defense, have issues in the secondary and Georgia Tech’s offense is rolling like a machine. UNC’s going to have to keep pace with Georgia Tech’s beast and that means on target throws from Bryn Renner and resurrecting their hit or miss running game.
Georgia Tech 34 North Carolina 28
Everyone Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Georgia Tech 23, North Carolina 14
Allen Kenney: Georgia Tech 21, North Carolina 17
Kevin McGuire: Georgia Tech 31, North Carolina 24
Matt Yoder: Georgia Tech 28, North Carolina 20
Tom Perry: Georgia Tech 28, North Carolina 24
Georgia at Ole Miss: Saturday, 12:21 p.m. SEC Network
Aaron Torres’ Take: Simply put, I don’t trust either of these teams any more than I trust my dog to act appropriately when I leave food on the table. In all likelihood, neither team is very good, and each could be amongst the handful of worst teams in the SEC.
With that said, I trust Georgia a bit more. They really are trying under Mark Richt, and if the South Carolina game proved anything, it’s that they are playing hard for him. As for Ole Miss? They’re way less talented than the Dawgs, and truly seem apathetic to whether Houston Nutt is in Oxford beyond this year.
Georgia 27, Ole Miss 10
Everyone Else’s Take:
Allen Kenney: Georgia 17, Ole Miss 7
Kevin McGuire: Georgia 28, Ole Miss 17
Matt Yoder: Georgia 33, Ole Miss 16
Mike Felder: Georgia 42 Ole Miss 26
Tom Perry: Georgia 44, Ole Miss 24
No. 11 Florida State at No. 21 Clemson: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ESPN
Allen Kenney’s Take: The Seminoles come in limping off a hard-hitting game with Oklahoma the previous week. They leave victorious after shutting down Clemson and offensive coordinator Chad Morris’ spread offense. Cody Trickett makes just enough plays in place of E.J. Manuel to pull out a win.
Florida State 23, Clemson 21
Everyone Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Florida State 24, Clemson 17
Kevin McGuire: Florida State 27, Clemson 24
Matt Yoder: Florida State 26, Clemson 21
Mike Felder: Florida State 37 Clemson 25
Tom Perry: Clemson 26, Florida State 17
Kansas State at Miami: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ESPNU
Mike Felder’s Take: Kansas State is 2-0 after beating two less than powerful teams and to be quite honest we don’t know much about the Wildcats. In Miami we do know they’re fired up after beating the wheels off of Ohio State. Expect to see this Canes offense continue to blossom as Jacory Harris plays within himself and gets the ball to his playmakers. Sean Spence and the defense will suffocate the Wildcats rushing attack.
Miami 41 Kansas State 17
Everyone Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Miami 31, Kansas State 13
Allen Kenney: Miami 17, Kansas State 13
Kevin McGuire: Miami 24, Kansas State 17
Matt Yoder: Miami 21, Kansas State 10
Tom Perry: Miami 38, Kansas State 17
No. 7 Oklahoma State at No. 8 Texas A&M: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ABC
Matt Yoder’s Take: You can have your Arkansas-Alabama or LSU-WVU, but this is the one game I want to see this weekend. Which one of these two teams will be the number one challenger to Oklahoma in the Big XII?
Overall, the most interesting stat for this game may be this – it’s the first matchup between two Top 10 teams at Kyle Field since 1975! The Aggies may be more balanced on offense with Ryan Tannehill and Cyrus Gray, but the Cowboys’ offense may just be a bit more dynamic with Justin Blackmon on the outside. Oklahoma State is averaging over 600 yards of offense a game! It’ll be a classic and a shootout, but I think the Cowboys have a couple more bullets than the Aggies.
Oklahoma State 42 Texas A&M 40
Everyone Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Texas A&M 31, Oklahoma State 28
Allen Kenney: Texas A&M 40, Oklahoma State 34
Kevin McGuire: Oklahoma State 30, Texas A&M 27
Mike Felder: Oklahoma State 45 Texas A&M 38
Tom Perry: Texas A&M 30, Oklahoma State 28
No. 14 Arkansas at No. 3 Alabama: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. CBS
Kevin McGuire’s Take: A huge SEC West battle between Alabama and Arkansas. The Arkansas offense and defense have put up some solid numbers early on but their first road test of the season could be a rude awakening against one of the top defenses in the nation. Alabama has allowed just over six points per game this season, and the quarterback question for the Tide seems to be a thing of the past. I think that no matter what Bobby Petrino tries to throw at Nick Saban’s defense, he’ll run out of effective plays. Roll Tide in this one.
Alabama 27, Arkansas 17
Everyone Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Alabama 27, Arkansas 10
Allen Kenney: Alabama 28, Arkansas 21
Matt Yoder: Arkansas 21 Alabama 17
Mike Felder: Alabama 24 Arkansas 17
Tom Perry: Alabama 24, Arkansas 20
No. 15 Florida at Kentucky: Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ESPN
Matt Yoder’s Take: The Gators are off to a solid start this season as it appears the marriage of Charlie Weis and Will Muschamp may be the perfect match of offensive and defensive gurus. Kentucky has been just awful, don’t be fooled by their 2-1 record. The only way the Wildcats win this one is if it turns into a basketball game.
Florida 38 Kentucky 10
Everyone Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Florida 27, Kentucky 3
Allen Kenney: Florida 30, Kentucky 16
Kevin McGuire: Florida 34, Kentucky 13
Mike Felder: Florida 49 Kentucky 20
Tom Perry: Florida 42, Kentucky 14
Missouri at No. 1 Oklahoma: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. FX
Allen Kenney’s Take: Revenge for last year’s loss in Columbia keeps the Sooners sharp after last week’s big road win against Florida State. OU harasses sophomore quarterback James Franklin into three turnovers on the evening, coasting comfortably in the second half.
Oklahoma 45, Missouri 14
Everyone Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Oklahoma 38, Missouri 14
Kevin McGuire: Oklahoma 30, Missouri 20
Mike Felder: Oklahoma 51 Missouri 17
Matt Yoder: Oklahoma 41, Missouri 14
Tom Perry: Oklahoma 32, Missouri 12
No. 5 LSU at No. 16 West Virginia: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. ABC
Tom Perry’s Take: For Tom’s excellent, in-depth breakdown of what to expect Saturday night in Morgantown, click here.
Everyone Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: LSU 27, West Virginia 20
Allen Kenney: LSU 34, West Virginia 21
Kevin McGuire: LSU 23, West Virginia 17
Matt Yoder: LSU 27, West Virginia 21
Mike Felder: LSU 27 West Virginia 16
No. 10 Oregon at Arizona: Saturday, 10:15 p.m. ESPN2
Kevin McGuire’s Take: Arizona certainly has not had a favorable schedule. Three straight games against a ranked teams wraps up this weekend, with a third straight prime time game against another of the elite teams in the country.
Arizona struggled to keep up at Oklahoma State and failed to keep up with Andrew Luck and Stanford last week at home. Now they get to host the Oregon Ducks, who saw LaMichael James rip off over 200 yards (thanks in large part to two long runs) last week to possibly get back on track. Arizona will once again find it tough to keep pace with such a potent offense but will hope to have Juron Criner up to full speed. Criner played last week against Stanford just days after an appendectomy, but without a running game to rely on the Wildcats look to be short on offensive weaopons against a team with plenty in the arsenal.
Oregon 46, Arizona 21
Everyone Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Oregon 41, Arizona 14
Allen Kenney: Oregon 34, Arizona 27
Matt Yoder: Oregon 51 Arizona 28
Mike Felder: Oregon 47 Arizona 28
Tom Perry: Oregon 48, Arizona 21
No. 23 USC at Arizona State: Saturday, 10:15 p.m. ESPN
Aaron Torres Take: I believe in this Arizona State team. Well, as much as you can believe in any team that makes more bad decisions than Lindsay Lohan and is more penalized than your local minor league hockey team.
Coming off a loss at Illinois, Arizona State will be refocused. It may only last a week, but ‘SC caught them at the wrong time.
Arizona State 24, USC 16
Everyone Else’s Take:
Allen Kenney: Arizona State 20, USC 13
Kevin McGuire: Arizona State 21, USC 20
Matt Yoder: USC 31, ASU 24
Mike Felder: USC 27 Arizona State 24
Tom Perry: Arizona State 27, USC 21
