I have laundry piling up, a cover letter to write and plans to make for my Friday night, so of course I’m sitting down to write my college football picks column, because that’s the most prudent way to spend my time. 

It’s not procrastinating if you plan on doing the other things eventually, right?

Anyway, this is about college football. We’re already on the precipice of week four. It always seems to rush by so fast, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re having fun, right?

There are some interesting matchups this week as we dip our toes into conference play. Time to figure out who’s real and who’s a paper tiger, essentially. Alabama faces it’s first real challenge (sorry, Penn State). Oklahoma and A&M are going to find out where they really stand. LSU faces their third Top 25 team of the season. And Oregon returns to land of the major conferences as they travel to Arizona, a team on the ropes. 

Let’s see what happens.

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh - Pitt has had trouble with the pass. They’re ranked 119th in the country and the only team of consequence they’ve played was Iowa. Iowa passed for 399 on Pitt. FCS team Maine went for 334 and nearly beat the Panthers at home. Granted, they have some weapons on offense, especially with Ray Graham, but they have not shown that they can slow down mediocre teams through the air and now Notre Dame is rolling in with one of the top WRs in the country in Michael Floyd, a talented TE in Tyler Eifert and an offense that has put up 500+ yards in two of their games. 

I think if Notre Dame can continue to cut down on the turnovers and keep playing solid defense, Pitt is cooked. 

Irish win, 34-17

No. 14 Arkansas at No. 3 Alabama - ‘Bama has an insane defense and a muddled offense. Arkansas is 3-0, but on the backs of wins against questionable foes. If the Tide can figure out their QB quandry and continue to get good production out of Richardson and Lacy, they’ll be in good shape. The Hogs might give them a scare, but I think they survive.

Alabama wins, 21-16

No. 7 Oklahoma State at No. 8 Texas A&M - This game could really go either way. Both teams have explosive offenses, but A&M, to this point in the season, has the more dominant defense. Okie State hasn’t needed a dominant defense in any of their three wins and it shows, as they’re ranked 75th in scoring defense. I think A&M’s balance and better defense, not to mention home field advantage, leaves them with the win.

A&M wins, 38-33

No. 11 Florida State at No. 21 Clemson - The Seminoles are limping into this game, with three of their biggest playmakers questionable at this point. If EJ Manuel is a no-go, Florida State is going to have a tough time keeping up with Tajh Boyd and this emerging Clemson offense. Granted, Clemson had a near-run thing with Wofford a few weeks back, but I think they’re energized by their win over Auburn last week and will come out swinging agains the wounded Seminoles.

Clemson wins, 27-13

No. 2 LSU at No. 16 West Virginia - I honestly have no idea what to think about this game. Oregon was able to pass against LSU, but Mississippi State was not. Neither had much success running the ball. Which is fine for West Virginia, because they’ve struggled running all year. LSU puts teams away in the 3rd and 4th quarter, but so has WVU. I think that if the Mountaineers can keep Geno Smith upright, they have a chance against LSU. He’s a calm, cool passer with a lot of guts. And if West Virginia can stay close or get ahead in the second half, it might force LSU out of their comfort zone offensively. Plus, Les Miles has to lose a non-conference game eventually, right? Why not in Morgantown?

WVU wins, 33-31

Bonus Pick: No. 10 Oregon at Arizona - Arizona is reeling after two straight blowouts against Top 10 teams. Oregon has regained it’s swagger after losing to LSU in the opening weekend. The Wildcats just don’t have the horses to keep up with the Ducks. 

Ducks win, 48-24