6 bold college football predictions for Week 4: Ole Miss on upset alert

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If you love college football, you’re in for a big-time slate this weekend. There will be six ranked matchups on Saturday. Two of them will revolve around the Big Ten and the other four will take place in the SEC.

Teams are searching for signature wins, while some coaches are looking to stay off the dreaded hot seat.

Let’s take a look at some bold predictions heading into Week 4.

MORE: Predicting Big Ten football scores in Week 4: USC, Oregon look to slow each other down

Faizon Brandon has a better performance than Arch Manning

Tennessee made the move to start five-star freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon this season, and so far, the move has paid off. He has played well, throwing for 552 yards and six touchdowns. The important thing is that he’s taken care of the ball and has the ability to beat the opposition with his arm or his legs.

But Saturday will mark the first true test for the phenom. The Texas Longhorns come into Knoxville searching for another statement win. Two weeks ago, Arch Manning led his offense to scoring 21 points in the final quarter to beat the Buckeyes.

However, Manning has had a tendency to have some letdown games, and this could be one of them. Tennessee has a good defense, recording 13 sacks already this season, plus it’s a home game. Brandon has the chance to shine at home against Texas, but will it be enough to pull out a big win?

Ole Miss has a letdown game in the swamp

Ole Miss might be the best team in the nation. The Rebels had a thrilling Week 1 win over Louisville, then Ole Miss took care of Lane Kiffin and LSU last weekend. It’s hard to name any team that has a better resume than Pete Golding’s team after three weeks of play.

But when there are highs, there are also lows. And this could be one of them. Right now, the media is singing the praises of Ole Miss and the Rebels are likely hearing it. Trinidad Chambliss is currently winning the Heisman Trophy, and Kewan Lacy is a great running back.

However, Vegas knows something we don’t as the Gators are favored to beat Ole Miss this weekend. Will that hold true? Florida has an electric offense led by running back Jadan Baugh. He could give the Rebels fits, and Ole Miss can’t afford to be overlooking Florida.

Alabama’s defense costs itself a game

Quarterback Keelon Russel has done a good job for Alabama through three weeks, but the more impressive thing for head coach Kalen DeBoer has been that he’s found a rushing attack. The Crimson Tide are averaging over 200 yards per game on the ground and that’s something DeBoer’s teams have struggled with in the past.

While Alabama has a good offense, the defense has been lacking. The Tide have the No. 62 scoring defense in the country, and Alabama just gave up 36 points to a struggling Florida State team.

South Carolina has the potential to be electric. The Gamecocks are coming off a 41-34 loss to Mississippi State, but it appears that quarterback LaNorris Sellers has figured some things out. Alabama could be in for a dogfight on Saturday.

Sam Leavitt turns back the clock in Week 4

It appeared to be a match made in heaven for Lane Kiffin. Sam Leavitt helped lead LSU to a massive 51-10 win over Clemson in Week 1 — turns out Clemson isn’t very good, though. But Leavitt has struggled with turning the ball over. Through three weeks the Arizona State transfer has tossed three touchdown passes and five interceptions.

At some point, Kiffin needs his star transfer to play like it. And Week 4 is a must-win for the Tigers. They will host Texas A&M, which also needs to win after suffering a home loss to Kentucky last weekend.

The Aggies are supposed to have one of the best defenses in the country, but that hasn’t proved to be true yet. This is time for Leavitt to turn back to clocks and play like a No. 1 transfer he was supposed to be.

Lincoln Riley feels the heat

Not many people thought USC would beat Oregon when the season began. The Ducks were supposed to contend for a national title, and while they still can, Oregon has a lot to prove. Dan Lanning’s team lost to Oklahoma State and is sitting at 2-1 on the season.

USC is favored to win this game on Saturday, but the Trojans’ defense has not been good. USC was in a dogfight to beat winless Rutgers last weekend because of its poor defense. The offense can only do so much and Oregon is looking to prove something.

Dante Moore is still a good quarterback and Lanning can’t suffer another early-season loss. The bad thing is, USC has yet to make a College Football Playoff under Lincoln Riley and it’s time for the offensive-minded coach to get the job done.

A loss to Oregon won’t put the Trojans in a good spot moving forward and Riley would certainly start to feel the heat.

Utah shows it’s the best team in the Big 12

The Big 12 is the most wide-open conference among the Power Four conferences. Texas Tech was the preseason favorite, and while the Red Raiders beat Houston last Friday, Texas Tech looks very beatable.

BYU is playing good football but so is Utah. The Utes have dismantled everyone in their path and this weekend doesn’t mark too difficult of a game, but it’s an away Big 12 game. Utah travels to Iowa State, a team that was a few plays away from beating rival Iowa in Week 2.

Another convincing win, and Utah will be a team to watch.

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