Week 4 Picks--Here we go!

Stats
1. Schweinfurth 9-3 (3-0 upset)
2. Draper            7-5 (1-2 upset--stupid kickers!! 2 weeks in a row!)
3. Hoying           6-6 (1-2 upset)
4. Auer               4-4 (0-2 upset)

Clemson Tigers @ Florida State Seminoles
Draper:  This is a big time game in Tallahassee.  The expectations are enormous as FSU has a fairly simple schedule.  Getting by Clemson would be huge for the national title hopes of the Noles.  Thus far, the Noles have been essentially perfect against subpar competition.  Clemson has monster speed and superstars at the skill positions.  Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins are explosive, but I expect the stout Nole defense led by Bjoern Werner to shut the door.  EJ Manuel becomes firmly entrenched in the Heisman race with a big emotional win at home.  Clem: 17--FSU: 31
Auer: FSU's first real test. So far they have been BEYOND impressive and annihilated each of their opponents thus far. Clemson has talent, but their O-line is very young and probably won't give Boyd the protection necessary to make it a good game. The 'Noles will look to make a statement! Clem: 16--FSU: 45
Hoying: It's not the Bowden Bowl anymore, but the stakes have rarely been higher.  The Noles have been getting fat off of a steady diet of Little Sisters of the Poor, and America is waiting for a real test of whether Florida State is really back.  Clemson looks to take the inside track to a second consecutive ACC title.  No one else in the ACC looks at all competent, especially after last weekend's poor showing, so the winner here could make a decent run at a 13-0 record and a title game berth.  So who wins?  Florida State has looked disgusting on defense, and Clemson star QB Tajh Boyd will not have the level of success he enjoyed in last year's tilt.  Don't look for another shutout, but the Noles will give an A-level performance as they stay in the lottery to get annihilated by Alabama.  Clem: 13--FSU: 27
Schweinfurth: This is the game where we find out if The Seminoles are for real or not. Clemson has some serious firepower on offense with Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins.  FSU's defense has been stout so far, but it really hasn't been tested so far.  The domination of Wake Forest is one thing but this Clemson team is another. Clemson will get some points but E.J. Manuel will have the 'Noles' offense rolling as well.  Clemson will keep it close, but Florida State's D wins this one for Noles.  Clem: 20--FSU: 31

Michigan Wolverines @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Draper: Who's back?  Michigan got slaughtered in week 1, but pretty much every team in the nation would have been embarrassed in that game.  Notre Dame was very impressive in East Lansing over a tough (yet always flaky) Sparty.  Revenge will be on the minds of the Irish for the shootout last year which will let Michigan take an early lead.  The special part of this Irish team is the defense.  It's no 'world-beater', but it's a much improved crew led by Mante T'eo.  The Wolverines defense on the other hand...bad.  Notre Dame beats the Irish and the echoes begin to awaken.  UM: 24--ND: 34
Auer: I love being the only guy to hate a team so much I'll (almost) never pick them to win. This series has been highlighted by 3 straight upsets, and ND has yet to find a way to contain Denard. Notre Dame made a statement in East Lansing, and will look to avenge last year's loss in The Big House, but will fall short as the Heisman hype is rekindled for Shoelace. UM: 38--ND: 37
Hoying: Notre Dame concludes its B1G tour with the big kahuna.  After scraping by Purdue and embarrassing Michigan State, the Irish have worked their way into the BCS at-large discussion, while Michigan is still looking for a little respect heading into, let's face it, a soft Big Ten slate.  I maintain that the Wolverines are still the best squad in the conference (barf) and the dynamic Denard will have a much better chance moving the ball on a surprisingly good Irish defense than the plodding, predictable Spartan attack.  If only they had the defense to match.  Notre Dame's high-powered attack will be just enough to outscore Meeeeechigan as the B1G continues to suck.  UM: 27--ND:28
Schweinfurth: The Big Ten needs this game.  After looking like a second tier conference against some Pac-12 foes, UM can send a statement that the B1G isn't all terrible.  After watching Notre Dame dismantle MSU last week, Michigan has a rough climb ahead.  Michigan will need a big game from Denard, but I just don't see that happening.  I expect Denard to launch a few ducks again this week and, this time, it will be different.  There is no Junior Hemingway to bail Robinson out this year. UM: 14--ND: 35

Kansas State Wildcats @ Oklahoma Sooners
Draper: Is this the shocker of the week? Last year, Collin Klein led the wildcats to a sneaky good season.  Bill Snyder showed that 'old people, while slow and dangerous behind the wheel, still serve  a purpose'.  The Sooners have limped out of the gate, but they usually get up for the big games at home.  Landry Jones has a nice steady performance that, while not flashy, will win the game.  Klein will also have a sneaky good game to make it much closer than people expect...and no one will care because it's KSU.  KSU: 27--OU:31
Auer: I don't know a lick about either team, but I do remember that KSU seems to be in the habit of getting a pretty high-up in the rankings, and then running up against real competition. Enter Oklahoma. Look for Whaley and Williams to overpower a yet-to-be-tested Wildcat defense. KSU: 9--OU: 45
Hoying: RGIII jump-started his Heisman campaign with a big performance against the Sooners, and Wildcat QB Collin Klein is talented enough to start down the same path with a victory in Norman.  Klein should run all over a soft Oklahoma run defense, but will the Wildcat defense be able to contain Landry Jones and the Oklahoma passing attack?  Bill Snyder will be working his geezer magic, but Big-Game Bob Stoops doesn't lose games like this at home.  Sorry, Kansas State.  Enjoy another almost great year.  KSU: 30--OU: 38
Schweinfurth: The Wildcats are ranked (mostly because there are no good middle tier teams this year) and are off to a good start this year.  Oklahoma is one of the few "good" this year and is much better than Kansas State.  I don't expect a close one, but Bill Snyder always gets his teams up for games.  KSU: 13--OU: 35

UAB Blazers @ THE Ohio State University Buckeyes
Draper: Maybe this is the game I expected last week because UAB is TERRIBLE.  There are no excuses this week.  This absolutely has to be a solid blow out.  The secondary needs to get to tackling fundamentals, and Miller needs to become more consistent.  The offense looked confused last week and that can't happen.  This is a tune-up to the B1G opener at MSU so I hope Urban puts the hammer down. Note to defensive players not named Roby, Simon, or Hankins: GET BETTER!  UAB: 10--OSU: 51
Auer: I had the distinct benefit of NOT watching last week's game, so I'm assuming everything is a-okay in Buckeye land and Urban will have the troops ready to punish the Blazers.... btw, what the heck is a Blazer? Is their mascot a dress jacket? The Bucks shouldn't have any trouble in this one, and every back-up should get some meaningful playing time. UAB: 10--OSU: 43
Hoying: This Buckeye squad needs to watch some 2002 game film of Mike Doss, so they can learn to WRAP PEOPLE UP.  Last week featured an unacceptable defensive outing against a bad Cal squad, with linebackers bouncing off third-string running backs and DB's covering big empty zones between receivers.  The good news is an effort like that can still beat UAB.  The bad news is that this offense is going to have to become Michigan if the Buckeyes are going to outscore anyone else this year.  One more chance to find a balanced offense, Bucks.  Otherwise, we can sit back and wait to see how long it takes for Braxton to break in half.  UAB: 13--OSU: 31
Schweinfurth: Tackling should be the name of the game this week.  The linebackers and safeties of OSU (specifically Shazier and Bryant) need to stop going for kill shots and just tackle guys.  I think we will see guys get pulled if this doesn't happen for a series or two.  On offense, I expect that Braxton will take about 10 runs and continue to work on the passing game.  UAB scores a TD late but this is a blowout from the start.  UAB: 13--OSU: 56

Upset Special
Draper: Missouri over South Carolina

Auer: Virginia over TCU
Hoying: Oregon State over UCLA
Schweinfurth: Temple over Penn State

Grading the Bucks--Week 3: Cal

This was a sloppy sloppy game.  OSU has some major issues to fix on BOTH sides of the ball.  Cal is straight up bad. This shouldn't have been close and the Bears had a late lead.  This is unacceptable.  The lack of fundamentals and maturity is concerning.  A win is a win, but this isn't good enough to win down the road (although the B1G is a train wreck).  I gave a pass for UCF as I think they have talent.  With Cal, no excuses.

Offense: C-
 The loss of Hyde was painfully apparent.  There was no clear running threat on the inside which certainly hurt Braxton's ability to both run and throw.  There were some sparks (Miller's run was incredibly well executed), but more issues than there should have been.  Miller still looks tentative and indecisive throwing the ball.  The interception was just atrocious; 10 seconds in the pocket and he threw it right to a wide open corner.  The horror of that play wipes out the explosive run in my book.  The WRs let Braxton down in the first, but stepped up later--when Braxton started missing big.  Nevada and Southern Utah had no issues scoring...yet we couldn't consistently move the chains...ouch.  The yards are nice to look at, but the lack of a consistent offensive gameplan is a major sticking point.

Defense: D+
Cal....Cal for God's sake.  Fundamentals were horrendous by 8 of the defenders.  Missed tackles abounded.  Note to Curtis Grant: when you finally get on the field, you probably shouldn't leave a steaming pile of crap in your wake if you want more playing time.  Spielman had to be punching a hole through the concrete wall watching this defense.  Our secondary spends more time trying to line a guy up and blow him into the next zip code than fundamental tackling.  I'm really questioning if Travis Howard knows proper tackling technique as every hit is geared at making Sportscenter (even if he doesn't bring the ball carrier down).  I would be remiss if I didn't applaud the perform of 3 individuals: Jon Simon was double teamed all game and he still affected the outcome, Jon Hankins absolute controls the middle of that line, and Bradley Roby had a spectacular game.  Beyond those 3, this defense has major major issues.

Special Teams:C-
Missed PAT...enough said.  It almost cost us the game.  Punting/returns were fine, but can't have a failure in the kicking game like that.

Coaching: C
The offensive and defensive gameplans were bland.  Still no throws downfield early to stretch the defense (but Braxton is clearly iffy with the deep ball).  The loss of Hyde should have seen more Zach Boren pounding the rock inside but we saw none of that.  Hall still had some tentative running after the injury.  Defensively, I'm more frustrated with the lack of fundamental tackling than gameplan.  5 sacks show that the D-line is starting to affect the game, but the secondary isn't improving (other than Roby).

Overall: C-
Get. Better.