Week 4 Predictions – 2024
Last Week: The Bucks had the week off, but I am sure they spent the time preparing for Marshall. Unfortunately, they lost some ground in the polls in the process. But that will be a rant for another day. For our Staff picks, we continued to do better than the drones on ESPN GameDay. Coach Rick, Gregg and Steven were all 5-0 on the week. We currently have a 5-way tie for first place in the standings, perhaps this week is where we start to see a little separation.
This Week’s Games: The Bucks return to the field, much to the delight of their fans. Marshall comes to town, much to the delight of their Athletic department budget. The only question is this game is will the Buckeyes cover the 40-point spread? …. The action starts on Friday night as a ranked Illinois team is playing a ranked Nebraska team. They may not be ranked at the end of the season, but this week it will be a great game. Which of these teams is the most legitimate? …. Michigan will take on USC in the Big House which would normally be a big deal. Is either team up to the level of their history? …. Utah and Oklahoma State will play in the house that Pickens built. Is this a match-up of two of the top teams in the Big 12? …. Oklahoma and Tennessee will square off in a new SEC conference game. Am I the only one that is struggling to keep up with all the realignment?
Buckeye Greats: As in the past, we will continue to include former Buckeye players in our prediction fun and we are thrilled to have Vaughn Broadnax back with us as a regular participant for the tenth straight year.
Here we go with our Week 4 Picks – Good Luck to All – Gregg
Marshall @ (3)Ohio State(-40)
Vaughn Broadnax (OSU-RB 1980-83): After our last game against Western Michigan, Ryan Day finally showed he is willing to play the young pups earlier in the game than he has in the past. That change of philosophy will pay huge dividends as the team progresses through the season as we have seen some of the pups willing to bite. I expect more pups put on display this weekend as the Buckeyes corral the Herd 49-3.
Andy: Ohio State has had two weeks to prepare for a team that is in the middle of the mac conference. While each game should be handled and approached like it is a tough opponent whether they actually are or not. Ohio State needs to focus on getting into a rhythm early on offense and get the score up high enough early so they can get a lot of the 2nd string guys in there to get some reps. I think OSU wins this one comfortably. Ohio State 45 Marshall 10
Cory: This game is Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff and I’m wondering – why? Marshall’s only win came over Stony Brook and their quarterback is completing 44 percent of his passes. Herd running back A.J. Thompson has game-breaking ability but Ohio State will be able to focus on shutting him down, and Stone Earle won’t be able to win the game with his arm. The Buckeyes are coming off a bye week so they are well rested for this one. The main goal is not to come into the game flat. Start strong and the game should be over by half time. Ohio State 45, Marshall 13
Dave: Ohio State 42 Marshall 10
Gregg: The only chance Marshall has of making this a game is if they left tainted Stewart’s Root Beer in the Buckeye locker room. For the third game in a row, the Buckeyes will have their way with the team on the other side of the field. My only concern is that we don’t really know how good this team can be. I hope the defense will be just as dominant, would love to see another shutout. I hope to see more from the running game and to be honest, I may have seen enough from Will Howard to tell me he can take this team all the way on his arm. Sadly, the Buckeyes could win 70-0, and it will not give them any juice with those AP poll jerks that seem to think that all you have to do is be in the SEC and you are a top ten team. Ohio State 63 Marshall 0
Joe-S-U: OSU
John: Both sides of the ball look pretty dominant against W. Michigan two weeks ago. So long as the early bye week doesn’t result is a loss of focus, we should look for more of the same against Marshall. Take the over, as the Bucks should win bigly this week. Ohio State 59 Marshall 6
Josh: Both Ohio State and Marshall had a bye week leading up to this game, so I anticipate that both teams will show some new wrinkles that have not been on the game film before. This could caiuse the Buckeyes to have a slow start, but I think that won’t matter in the end, and we will see Ohio State takeover in the second quarter after making the right adjustments. Put the (Stewart) dogs in the truck and let’s go home. Ohio State 56 – Marshall 3
Steven: There’s nothing much you can nitpick from the Buckeyes’ last game, a 56-0 thumping of Western Michigan. All that game domination managed to accomplish was to give the voters a reason to go “meh”. Marshall won’t provide much more of an upgrade, so the Bucks will need to, as they say, “wash, rinse, repeat”. The Thundering Herd come to Columbus having beaten Stonybrook and lost to Virginia Tech. They are giving up about 150 yards per game both on the ground and through the air which puts them in the upper half of FBS programs. One could reasonably expect those numbers to climb this week, about a hundred more each would seem to be a good estimate. Bucks keep cooking with 500+ yards of offense. The run game brings home scores from 3 or more rushers, (the law firm of Henderson, Howard & Judkins at your service). OSU 61-6
Trout: This should be another easy game for the Buckeyes. Marshall isn’t a great team, so they shouldn’t put up much of a fight. I can see Will Howard have another solid day throwing the ball. As well as one or even both the running backs going over 100 yards. This game should be over by halftime. The Herd may get some points in garbage time, but it will be too late for them to catch up. The Buckeyes win big and remain undefeated as they move on to Big Ten play next week. (Ohio State, 63-10)
Final Score: Ohio State x Marshall x
(24)Illinois @ (22)Nebraska(-7.5)
Vaughn Broadnax (OSU-RB 1980-83): The Illinois and Nebraska game will be an unexpected matchup for these two teams with exception of their fans. Now we have a top 25 game between two B1G teams as well. Dylan Raiola has helped reinvigorate the Nebraska team and bring some significance back for their fans. Brett Bielema has brought back a hard nose attitude to Illinois football and starting to see the fruits of his coaching style. Unfortunately for the Fighting Illini, the playing at Nebraska. Although I see a close game, I also see the edge going to the home team. Nebraska edges Illinois 28-24.
Andy: At the beginning of the season this matchup wasn’t probably very alluring to many people, but Illini coach Bret Bielema has his team punching above their weight and so does Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule. In a match up like this that is close, I try to look at which team has the better lines of scrimmage and the better quarterback. Right now that team is Nebraska. Nebraska 28 Illinois 24
Cory: The hype train is starting for Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are off to a 3-0 start thanks in large part to the performance of true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola. Raiola is completing 73.8 percent of his passes, with five touchdowns, and he’s got just one interception and only been sacked once. He certainly looks the part so far. Not to be outdone, Illinois enters this game 3-0, as well. The Illinois have a decent quarterback of their own in Luke Altmeyer. The former Ole Miss player in his second year with the Illini, and his numbers continue to improve. Illinois is not to be underestimated in this matchup. Bret Beilema will make an ugly game because he doesn’t care how he wins, just that he wins. That said, playing at Lincoln when the team is hot is no easy feat. The Cornhuskers are also significantly better on third down than Illinois so I expect them to remain undefeated. Nebraska 24, Illinois 16
Dave: Nebraska 28 Illinois 20
Gregg: I am not a big fan of Friday night college games but this should be a good one. Both teams are unbeaten and have probably outperformed their preseason expectations. The real question is can they keep it going? The winner of this game will be in the top 20 and actually be added to the watch list for the playoffs. The loser will have to win their right back into that conversation. Both teams have asserted themselves defensively. giving up less than 8 points a game. With that in mind, I expect a big defensive struggle and will give the edge to the home team and let Bret B figure out what to do next. Nebraska 13 Illinois 10
Joe-S-U: Illinois
John: I caught a few minutes of the Nebraska/Colorado game and can see why Ohio State wanted Dylan Raiola. He has the potential to be a very good QB for Big Red. That said, the Husker’s first three opponents weren’t exactly a murders row, so this will be their first real test of the early season. Illinois looked impressive knocking off then #19 Kansas in week two. I think the Illini make a close game of this, and if it were being played in Champaign, I might be inclined to pick them for the win. With the game in Lincoln, I think that give Nebraska enough of an edge to eke out the win. Nebraska 31 Illinois 28
Josh: I was surprised by both teams being ranked at this point of the season, but I think part of that is hyping up teams that should not have ranked as high as they were at the start of the season. Illinois defense is going to give Dylan Raiola some new looks that he might not be prepared for, and a lot better challenge than Colorado presented. I think this one will be a classic Big Ten West slug fest with Nebraska taking the win at home. Nebraska 24 – Illinois 17.
Steven: This is the game of the week in the Big Ten, and rightfully so, it has its own day. Amazingly enough, Bret (Illinois coach Bret Bielema) has the Illini back in the national conversation. On the other side, Matt Rhule has Nebraska on much the same upward trajectory. It is a bit of a shame that both of these clubs, dying to claw their way back to relevancy, meet so early in the season, but a Friday night nationally televised game where they are basically the only game in town could really elevate both programs and the Big Ten. The Illini are the more mature team and are led by Junior QB Luke Altmyer, who has been quietly good this season. Across the field, Nebraska Freshman QB Dylan Raiola has been nothing short of a transformative catalyst for the Husker program. Sometimes it only takes one unique talent to get a team to believe they can win. Raiola is that kind of player. Gonna ride the Raiola hype train until we see somebody trip him up. Nebraska 28-19.
Trout: The Fighting Illini have had a really good start to the season, but I don’t think their win streak will continue against Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are still a work in progress too, but their freshman phenom quarterback gives them the edge in this game. I think it’ll be a close game. Even with Raiola at the helm, Nebraska hasn’t been blowing out teams. But they are still better than Illinois in my opinion. Obviously, they are not the Nebraska teams from the 90s. But they seem to be better than the dumpster fire teams of the Scott Frost era. I can see this game coming down to the wire, with Nebraska hanging on to win by a single score. The Cornhuskers win in a nailbiter and become 4-0 for the first time in years. (Nebraska, 23-18)
Final Score: Illinois 31 Nebraska 24 OT
(11)USC(-5.5) @ (18)Michigan
Vaughn Broadnax (OSU-RB 1980-83): With USC and Lincoln Riley finally recognizing the value of having a competent defense, I have to applaud him. The Weasels are in trouble again as I see USC’s special players doing special things. Then Weasels are a sinking ship and that is why most of the rats jumped off earlier this year. The smart ones anyway. USC delouses the vermin up north 35-10.
Andy: A lot of people believe this is the game of the week this week and going into this season I probably would have agreed. The problem is Michigan is a bad football team this year, they have a few excellent players on defense and the rest of their team is dogwater. They struggled to do anything against Texas until late in the game against the Longhorn backups. USC seems to have improved their defense a lot, I witnessed a team that was swiss cheese on defense last year become excellent at the fundamentals like being in the right position at the right time and making tackles. USC has the advantage on both sides of the ball and they have the better quarterback, I’m giving this one to the Trojans. USC 27 Michigan 10
Cory: Before the season, the matchup between USC and Michigan looked like a terrific one on paper. Now that we’ve got to see both teams, it kind of looks like this may not be much of a game. USC makes its Big 10 debut on a road trip to Ann Arbor where the Wolverines are absolutely struggling right now. After getting blown out by Texas, Michigan struggled again at home, this time only managing to beat Arkansas State by 10 points. Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore has seen enough of Davis Warren, who had three picks in last week’s win, and is moving on to Alex Orji at quarterback. I expect a heavy run game from the Wolverines, but will it be enough to keep up with USC and quarterback Miller Moss? The Trojans had a bye week last week, so they’ve had two weeks to prepare for this game. Michigan may be energized by the move to Orji, but it won’t be enough to stop them from dropping to 2-2. USC 31 Michigan 20
Dave: Michigan 21 USC 17
Gregg: In spite of the fact that Michigan had an early season loss to Texas, both of these teams are considered playoff teams and possible Big Ten champions. The Trojans lead the series 6-4 and this is just their second trip to Michigan. I am more interested in seeing what happens the rest of the season to the team that losses this game. Michigan has not recovered from losing most of their coaching staff and most of their key players from the team that was National Champions last year. USC seems to be playing well, and I see them going and getting the win in Ann Arbor. USC 31 Michigan 17
Joe-S-U: USC
John: USC looks to be back and may be the second best team in the Big Ten right now (man that feels weird to type). Plus, they are coming off a bye week, giving them more time to prepare for a Michigan team that has no offensive identity and were exposed somewhat on Defense by Texas. The game is in Ann Arbor, so anything is possible, but given the issues at Quarterback especially, a Michigan win would have to be considered a pretty big upset. Karma is a fickle you know what. USC 31 Michigan 17
Josh: USC has been one of the surprise teams this season, especially after beating LSU in the opening week. Michigan has not looked solid up front on offense, and that could lead to an opportunistic Trojan defense to create some chaos. Sherrone Moore announced Alex Orji would get the start which means we will see a lot of the run game being utilized. I think USC goes into the Big House and prove they are a contender in the Big Ten while Michigan drops into despair. USC 34 – Michigan 13.
Steven: Alex Orji is in at QB for the Wolverines. Will it matter? Probably not. The Wolverine’s issues go deeper than the QB position, but not by much. Aside from the QB position, their only consistent receiving threat is the tight end Colston Loveland. Loveland was hurt last week and is still questionable to play on Saturday. Without a reliable QB or experienced receivers, the Wolverine offense is sitting at 106th in the country out of 134 programs. The Wolverine run game, which was supposed to carry them through the QB transition from JJ McCarthy to Orji or the benched Davis Warren, has been OK, but not overpowering. Donavan Edwards has split time almost 50/50 with Kalel Mullings and they have the run game at a respectable 50th in the country. Coming into town, USC brings the 16th ranked offense in the nation, led by QB Miller Moss. While Moss hasn’t thrown a ton of TDs yet this season, he’s hyper efficient and, much in the mold of his predecessor Caleb Williams, is an excellent leader. There should be a slight bump for the UM offense with Orji coming in, but it is tough to imagine them overcoming the possible loss of Loveland to beat a tough USC team, even at home. USC 33-19
Trout: I think I have to go with the Trojans in this game. Although I am skeptical about how good USC really is, I think they are better than this year’s Michigan team. The Wolverines have two poor options at quarterback, their star running back has not produced much, and just 2 weeks ago, their defense got steamrolled by Texas. It just seems like Harbaugh left the cupboards bare when he left. Having said all that, I do think the game will be somewhat close. I see the Trojans getting out to a solid lead, but not being able to seal the deal, because of their lackluster defense. Although it’s looking better this year, USC’s defense has never been great under Lincoln Riley. Michigan will stick around for most of the game, but when the dust settles, the Trojans will be on top by a somewhat comfy lead. USC wins and hands Michigan their second loss of the season. (USC, 35-22)
Final Score: USC x Michigan x
(12)Utah @ (14)Oklahoma State(-2.5)
Vaughn Broadnax (OSU-RB 1980-83): Utah has not played as well as expected this season. One could even say their quarterback is not rising to the occasion. Oklahoma State on the other hand, is not running the ball effectively with their star running back Ollie Gordon. What will give? I can only go with a tossup. I flipped the coin and Utah won with tails. Utah over Oklahoma State 31-28.
Andy: This is an interesting matchup for me. The Cowboys were supposed to have a big run game behind Ollie Gordon, but so far he has struggled to be as impactful as he was last year, while their quarterback Alan Bowman (former Michigan quarterback) has quietly got off to a good start of the season completing 67% of his passes and throwing 8 touchdowns in 3 games. Utah is going to try to take away the deep ball from Oklahoma State and see if Ollie can take over the game. I expect this one to be close. Utah 30 Oklahoma State 27
Cory: Stop me if you’ve heard this before – but quarterback Cam Rising is injured. He is questionable for this week’s trip to Stillwater to take on Oklahoma State due to the finger injury, and if he cannot play then freshman Isaac Wilson will get his second straight start, and he threw for 343 yards and four touchdowns in last week’s win over Utah State. Oklahoma State enters the game 3-0 and are coming off a dominating win over Tulsa. The Cowboys have been great offensively, as expected, but running back Ollie Gordon is off to a terrible start. Considered by many to be one of the best running backs in the country, Gordon is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry this season. With the uncertainty at quarterback for Utah I like Oklahoma State to remain undefeated this week. Oklahoma State 30 Utah 21
Dave: Oklahoma State 24 Utah 21
Gregg: This one is hard for me to get my head around. In addition to this being a key Big 12 conference matchup and a Top 25 showdown, the quarterback battle between Utah’s Cam Rising and Oklahoma State’s Alan Bowman should be a good one. Ironically, both players are in their seventh year of eligibility. If Rising is close to 100%, I am going to give the edge to the Utes. Utah 38 Oklahoma State 31
Joe-S-U: Utah
John: I have no feel for this one at all. I did read that Utah is considering applying for what I believe would be an eightth year of eligibility for Cam Rising. Enough already. It’s long past time to revert back to you have five years to play four. If you are on the John Blutarsky education plan you have no business still playing college sports at the end. Soap box away. Oklahoma State 37 Utah 20
Josh: At the beginning of the year, I had pegged Utah to be the Big 12 champion, but they struggled more than I expected them to on defense last week. Oklahoma State has not had its breakout game yet, but this could be an opportunity to put themselves in poll position for the league, especially since Kansas, Kansas State, Colorado, and Arizona have some issues. I think the Cowboys get the win at home. Oklahoma State 42 – Utah 27
Steven: Can Utah QB Cam Rising stay healthy for one minute? No, the answer is no. If he’s in the game, I like Utah’s chances. If not, the scales tip heavily in favor of the Cowboys. Oklahoma State is throwing the ball all over the place, sporting a top 10 passing offense. Utah counters with a top 30 pass defense. The Achilles heel for the ‘Boys is their defense is atrocious, (125/134). If the Utes can slow down the OSU offense even a little bit, I like their chances. Everyone went into last, or maybe the past 2 seasons with Utah as a playoff contender. This year they just might pay off those predictions. Utes 31-28
Trout: This game is a bit of a toss-up for me. Both teams seem to be pretty good. Both have shown to be able to put up points. And strangely enough, both teams have 7th year senior quarterbacks. If I have to choose one team, I will have to go with the Cowboys. Oklahoma State’s quarterback, Bowman has nearly 1000 yards in only 3 games. Granted, that could just mean that the Cowboys are more of a pass heavy team, but if you look at the stats, their running game is about on par with the Utes. I can see the game being a close shootout. With both teams racking up a lot of points. However, in the end, the Cowboys do just enough to pull off the victory. (Oklahoma State, 49-42)
Final Score: Utah x Oklahoma State x
(6)Tennessee(-7) @ (15)Oklahoma
Vaughn Broadnax (OSU-RB 1980-83): Finally, it looks like the game of the week will pit two legendary programs with Tennessee visiting Oklahoma. Despite being at home, I don’t see the Sooners’ defense throttling the Volunteers’ offense. Tennessee runs away with this one 45-10.
Andy: This has to be the matchup of the week for me, Tennessee under coach Huepel has been excellent on offense and rather weak on defense. Through three games they Volunteers are allowing an average of only 4.3 points per game which puts them at 3rd in the country. On offense they have a rising stud at quarterback in Nico Iamaleava who fits into their scheme perfectly. Oklahoma has struggled offensively through two games and quarterback Jackson Arnold has looked like a true freshman. I have to give the edge to Tennessee especially given how well their defense has been performing this season. Tennessee 31 Oklahoma 13
Cory: Should more be people paying attention to Tennessee? The Volunteers have demolished every team they’ve played this season, and their offense might be the best in the country. They’ve amassed over 900 passing yards, and over 1,000 rushing yards. It’s absurd. Oklahoma is off to a good start, but there’s a reason they’re underdogs in this game. Oklahoma’s offense has produced half as much as Tennessee this far. Yes, Brent Venables is a defensive coach but I think Tennessee will be too much for them in this game. Tennessee 35, Oklahoma 24
Dave: Tennessee 28 Oklahoma 21
Gregg: This game will be the top match-up for the week and of course is where ESPN GameDay will find themselves. Hisgorically, these are two of the powerhouses of college football and yet they have only played each other 4 times. It is a shame that it took conference realignment to bring them together but at least for now, maybe we can get this a bit more often. But now it is finally time for the 2024 season to get started. I think one of the playoff projections I saw had eight SEC teams in it which is just a joke. I am hoping they start knocking each other off and this will be a game that will send the winner up the playoff ladder and force the loser to start looking for help to find a slot. Tennessee has looked very impressive so far and bring with them former Sooner quarterback Josh Heupel as coach. He led Oklahoma to a national championship in 2000 and hopes to win another this year. I will go with the Volunteers to steal a road win as they have the quarterback with the hardest name to pronounce. Tennessee 27 Oklahoma 24
Joe-S-U: Rocky Top
John: Man, am I tired of the SEC slobberfest in the sports media. “ Six teams in the top 8! Greatest conference ever!! They should get six into the expanded playoff!!!” Blah, Blah Blah. With two conferences making up about 60% of the population of the “Power Five” conferences you are going to have this kind of disconnect early in the season. I can’t wait until November to hear ‘Ole Capt. Frosted Tips cry over how a 4 loss Texas A&M is more deserving than a one loss Notre Dame or two loss Penn State because the SEC is just so darn good. In this one, Oklahoma has looked good early, but Tennessee has looked dominate in all three of their early games. I like the Vols’ in this one. Tennessee 38 Oklahoma 20
Josh: Oklahoma hosts their first ever SEC home game against Tennesee who appears to be the media darling after being overmatched teams, and only giving up 13 points in 3 games. Offensively, I think Tennessee will give Oklahoma some challenges, and I think that will be the difference in the game. Tennessee 35 – Oklahoma 28.
Steven: For those who have watched UT this season, you may have noticed this guy by the name of Nico Iamaleava. Keep working on pronouncing his last name because you’re going to be doing it a lot this season. I’m not sure where Volunteer coach Josh Hueppel keeps finding these guys, but Iamaleava is a stud who is sporting a 71.6% completion percentage. The guy is a bit like previous QB Hendon Hooker, but a bit taller and being a freshman, not as muscular, yet. Hueppel may well have another SEC player of the year on his hands. The Vols head into Norman with the top scoring offense in the country. Oklahoma counters with a balanced attack led by QB Jackson Arnold. The Sooners have not been quite as prolific an offense, but have played slightly better competition than the Vols. It is the Sooner defense that is worrisome. While not giving up a ton of points, (which has them ranked 27th nationally), they let both Tulane and Houston hang around. Against an offensive machine such as Tennessee, Boomer Sooner may go bust. Tennessee pours it on in the second half. UT 37-17
Trout: Although I don’t fully believe the hype with Tennessee this year, I do think they should beat the Sooners comfortably. Besides their first game against Temple, Oklahoma has looked pedestrian against lesser teams. Tennessee on the other hand has blown out all of their opponents with relative ease. Granted one of those was an FCS school. If nothing else, it shows that Tennessee can put up some points.The Volunteers will jump out to a few score lead, and Oklahoma won’t be able to respond in kind. I don’t see it being a complete blowout, but I do see Tennessee winning by a double digit margin. Oklahoma starts off with a loss in their SEC debut. (Tennessee, 42-21)