NCAA College Football 2008 Week 4 Picks late games

NCAA College Football 2008 Week 4 Picks - late games

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Fearless Rick's College Football Week 4 Picks - Late Games

Rick Gagliano | September 20, 2008

All times Eastern - Click here for early games.

Saturday, Sept. 20

3:30 pm Boise State at Oregon (-12, 54) - The Ducks survived their first road game of the season, winning at Purdue in overtime, 32-26, last week, but lost their starting QB, Justin Roper, who suffered a knee injury in OT that will keep him sidelined 2-4 weeks. Freshman Chris Harper will start in his place as Oregon seeks a 4-0 mark.

Boise State is always a tough out on anyone's schedule, and they've begun their 2008 campaign with wins over Idaho State and Bowling Green. They may not be of the caliber of the 2006 team that upset Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, but they always field a solid squad. They are, however, a bit thin on the offensive line, which should make life a bit easier for the Duck defense, not traditionally a strong spot, but improved.

If Harper performs well at QB, this could turn into a rout. Whatever the case, Oregon's overall team speed and quality should prevail. Being undefeated and at home certainly doesn't hurt.

Prediction: Ducks 37 Broncos 19

3:30 pm Florida (-7 1/2, 51 1/2) at Tennessee - OK, it's time for some SEC football, and this is one of the more storied rivalries in the conference. The Gators have had an extra week off to prepare and they're probably going to need it as the Vols rebounded from their opening day meltdown at UCLA - a 27-24 loss - to hammer overmatched UAB, 35-3.

The problem is that Florida is unlike either UCLA or UAB. The Gators have some of the best offensive players in the nation, starting with QB Tim Tebow (who already has a Heisman trophy) and RB-WR Percy Harvin. The Gators are ranked within the top five of most polls and for good reason: after winning the national championship in 2006, they still managed to finish 9-4 without much of a defense. That's being fixed this year with 8 returning starters on both offense and defense.

As much as the Tennessee faithful would like to see a close game, last year this matchup went to the Gators, 59-20, and, while that game was at Florida, the reprise could be even worse. Looks like a blowout in the making.

Prediction: Gators 48 Vols 13

3:30 pm Notre Dame at Michigan State (-8 1/2, 48 1/2) - Getting seven turnovers from the Wolverines at home last week, the Fighting Irish improved to 2-0 with a 35-17 win, yet still remain unranked. Obviously, and especially according to the Vegas line, this is not a high-caliber Notre Dame team.

The Spartans lost a tough opener at Cal, 38-31, and have posted a pair of impressive wins over Eastern Michigan (42-10) and Florida Atlantic (17-0). Instead of facing a team searching for identity such as was the case with Michigan, they will be up against an more experienced bunch with an under-the-radar defense. Michigan State should get their running game into high gear and leave Notre Dame in its dust.

Prediction: Spartans 31 Fighting Irish 16

3:30 pm Virginia Tech at North Carolina (-1 1/2, 44 1/2) - The Tar Heels surprised a lot of people by hammering Rutgers last week, 44-12, and improving to 2-0. The 2-1 Hokies had their surprise in their home-and-season opener, a 27-22 loss to East Carolina. They followed that up with wins over Furman and Georgia Tech (20-17).

But let's take a closer look. Rutgers, the team NC pounded, has already lost their opener to Fresno State, 24-7, so the loss to the Tar Heels made them 2-0. And Fresno St. lost at home to Wisconsin this weekend past, so maybe the Scarlett Knights of New Jersey simply are not very good.

East Carolina, the upsetter of VaTech, pulled another upset, of West Virginia, and then gutted out a win over Tulane last week to improve to 3-0. Hmm... the Tar Heels beat a winless, unproven team. The Hokies lost on a blocked punt for a TD to a team that's 3-0 and also beat West Virginia, badly. So, maybe losing to East Carolina is better than beating Rutgers. It all makes perfect sense. The Hokies should win this by a touchdown or more.

Prediction: Hokies 21 Tar Heels 14

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7:00 pm Wake Forest at Florida State (-4, 48) - What's happening down in Seminole country? Well, Bobby Bowden's boys are off to a 2-0 start (smart not scheduling Miami as the season opener) with monster wins over Western Carolina (69-0) and Chattanooga (46-7). No doubt, senior Drew Weatherford has come of age. Unfortunately, he's not great and surrounded by receivers and backs with overinflated egos and underperforming stats.

Don't be fooled by the line. Wake Forest is one of the top three teams in the ACC. FSU will be lucky to finish .500 in the conference, as they did last year. The Dekes won this matchup last season at Wake, but they know the Seminoles well. QB Riley Skinner should light it up on Bowden's defense.

Prediction: Demon Deacons 30 Seminoles 20

7:45 pm LSU (-3, 38) at Auburn - You can slice and dice this one any number of ways, but the bottom line is that this game is ostensibly for the SEC West title. These are the two best teams in the division and its all on the line here. In their tune-ups, LSU pounded North Texas last week, 41-3, while Auburn was playing with fire in a 3-2 win over Mississippi State. One would figure that the tough SEC matchup was a better preparation for this game, and also that Auburn gets the home field, another advantage.

Last season, LSU won 30-24, at Baton Rouge, and they also won the national championship. Much has changed at LSU, including losing most of their offense. Auburn is a better team this time around. Either way, the Tigers will win.

Prediction: Tigers (Auburn) 20 Tigers (LSU) 13

8:00 pm Georgia (-6 1/2, 50 1/2) at Arizona State - The Bulldogs didn't look very good beating South Carolina by a TD last week, but the Sun Devils looked even worse losing to UNLV (don't those guys play basketball?). ASU didn't do much wrong in their 23-20 OT loss, they just didn't do enough of the right stuff. Rudy Carpenter threw a pair of TDs and had one pick, but the Sun Devils were only 2-9 on third down conversions and 0-1 on 4th down.

Georgia is going to pose a much tougher defense and should display more offense than they did against the Gamecocks, who have a solid defensive team (and they were at home, too). If Georgia - and the rest of the SEC - is as good as advertised, the Bulldogs will improve to 3-0 with an impressive road win.

Prediction: Bulldogs 28 Sun Devils 14

All times Eastern - Click here for early games

Copyright 2008, 2009, Rick Gagliano, Downtown Magazine. All rights reserved. Downtown Magazine is located in the Uinted States of America and is not affiliated with the National Football League or the NCAA. For more information, contact us here. Use of this site is for entertainment purposes only.

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