Games of the Week/Big Ten Rundown 4

#1 Alabama (3-0) @ #10/11 Arkansas (3-0) -
I gotta tell you that I must've lit a spark under the Crimson Tide by having the Buckeyes ranked ahead of them from day one. I'm assuming that the average household reads this blog, especially every football player in America, so Bama must have seen that they were only ranked #2 to begin the year. They have looked very, very impressive so far en route to a 3-0 start. Their first road game is this weekend when they travel to Fayetteville to take on Heisman candidate QB Ryan Mallett and the red-hot Arkansas offense. I think this will be a game where Arkansas gets off to a great start only to see the Tide climb their way out of an early deficit to reclaim the lead. Then... here comes the UPSET. I like Mallett to lead another game winning drive against an SEC team to beat the Crimson Tide and send everyone into Razorback pandemonium (don't worry, they are no better than a 9-10 win team... but they are good enough to beat Alabama on a rainy day I think).

Alabama- 24
Arkansas- 27

#24/NR Oregon State (1-1) @ #3 Boise State (2-0) -
I'm going for broke here... you can't tell me that Oregon State doesn't have the talent to beat a top flight non-BCS school. They almost did, and quite frankly should have beaten TCU to begin the year. I am a big believer in what OSU can bring to the table, and I am picking the ill-guided upset this weekend. Sounds like a lot of upsets, but anything can happen.

Oregon State- 31
Boise State- 28

#21/22 West Virginia (3-0) @ #12/15 LSU (3-0) -
A Big East team visiting an SEC team sounds like manslaughter, but the Mountaineers have enough pieces to make sure that this thing doesn't get ugly. I like LSU's defense to save the day and ultimately give the Tigers the victory, but never count out the pesky big play combo of RB Noel Devine and WR Jock Sanders. West Virginia keeps is very close heading into the fourth quarter before two LSU touchdowns seal the deal.

West Virginia- 20
Louisiana St.- 34

Big Ten Rundown-

A very boring week of Big Ten football... the fun begins in October.

Eastern Michigan @ Ohio State- TBA
Austin Peay @ #10/11 Wisconsin- ...Badgers win.
Ball State @ #18 Iowa- ... Hawkeyes rebound and win.
Bowling Green @ #21/22 Michigan- Blue wins by more than 5.
Temple @ #20/23 Penn State- A close game; edge to PSU.
Northern Colorado @ #23/25 Michigan State- Sparty wins for their coach.
Central Michigan @ Northwestern- Close 1st half with 'Cats winning.
Akron @ Indiana- The Hoosiers light up the scoreboard.
Toledo @ Purdue- UPSET! I think Purdue will lose to Toledo on Saturday.
Northern Illinois @ Minnesota- The Gophers prevail.