More accurate than Kellen Moore, it’s Brandon Ford’s week four college football picks.

After a highly successful 7-3 record last week in picks, I’m back again and this time impersonating Lou Holtz, just without the speech impediment.  Had it not been for Michigan State’s frolicsomeness against Notre Dame and the entire state of Arizona messing up my swag (Both Arizona and Arizona State lost last week), I would have been a perfect 10-0 and on the pursuit of perfection.  However, due to the conspiracy that the NCAA officials have against me, I’m 7-3 so far and plan to go 17-3 by the end of this week. Just like Floyd Mayweather against Victor Ortiz, I’ll do whatever I can to accomplish my goal, even if I have to sucker punch the entire LSU defensive line to get there. 
            There are many intriguing storylines that are taking place in week four of the college football season.  Can #4 Boise State continue dominating their amazingly tough schedule when they face the always intimidating University of Tulsa?  Can Marshall University overtake West Virginia Tech in terms of relevancy in the state of West Virginia and defeat #13 Virginia Tech?  Can Central Arkansas defeat Arkansas State?  We will find all this out and more by 11:30 Saturday night, and I don’t know about you dear reader, but the plight of Marshall University to overtake West Virginia Tech has me on the edge of my seat every Saturday. 
            The game of the week takes place in Morgantown, West Virginia as the #2 ranked LSU Tigers take on the #16 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers.  This could potentially be a future conference matchup in the near future, as many online rumors have West Virginia becoming the fourteenth team to enter the SEC, just behind Texas A&M, who are number thirteen.  The defense of LSU is one of the quickest in the nation and shut down a pretty good offense in Mississippi State last Thursday night.  However, the offense of the Mountaineers seems to be coming into its own, and the key matchup in this game will be the LSU defensive line against the Mountaineers’ offensive line.  If WVU’s offensive line can give Geno Smith time to make plays, the Mountaineers will have a chance to pull the upset, but if not, this could be a long night for the Mountaineers.  In hurts me to pick with my brain here, but I’m going with LSU to win this game by double digits.  As a Mountaineer fan, I hope I’m wrong here, but I can’t see WVU’s offensive line holding off a bunch of future NFL players long enough to allow Geno Smith to win the game for them.
            The second biggest game of the week takes place in Tuscaloosa, Alabama when the #3 Alabama Crimson Tide takes on the visiting Arkansas Razorbacks, who are the fourteenth ranked team in the nation.  Alabama’s defense, much like LSU’s, is filled with a bunch of future NFL players and if Arkansas’ offensive line doesn’t step up, Arkansas Quarterback Tyler Wilson will be on his back more often than not on Saturday.  Arkansas has a fine offense (averaging 47 points per game so far) but Alabama’s defense has only given up 6 points per game, so this is truly a battle between an elite defense and offense.  Seeing as this game is in Alabama, I’m going to give the advantage to the Crimson Tide and I fully expect them to take care of business on Sunday.
         On Saturday, we also have a battle of two top ten teams, when #7 Oklahoma State visits College Station to take on the eighth ranked Texas A&M Aggies.  The biggest question in this game is if Oklahoma State can contain the Aggies offense, which might be a struggle since the Cowboys give up nearly thirty points a game on defense, while the Aggies score 41 points a game.  The Cowboys are no strangers to shootouts, and this game will end up being one. I fully expect both of these teams to get close to forty points and in the end, Oklahoma State Wide Receiver Justin Blackmon will be the difference, as I expect him to have a huge game and end up being a huge factor as to why the Cowboys pull out the victory in College Station.

Other Picks:

#1 Oklahoma defeats Missouri

#4 Boise State defeats Tulsa

#10 Oregon defeats Arizona

#12 South Carolina defeats Vanderbilt

#13 Virginia Tech defeats Marshall

#22 Michigan defeats San Diego State

Upset Alert: #21 Clemson vs. #11 Florida State