ESPN College Football

Darn those Wednesday night games. I had a perfect record heading into the Louisville-Kansas State midweek matchup, which I chose to include in my Week 3 results. Oh, well. Just got to execute better. I'll aim for perfection again in Week 4.

Thursday

West Virginia 37, Colorado 35: The John Denver Bowl has all the makings of an old-fashioned shootout. The Buffaloes surrendered 24 points to Eastern Washington and have only the 91st-ranked passing defense. So it might be a good opportunity for Pat White to chuck it around some more. But the Mountaineers really need to get their running game established more than anything. Both teams are going to put up points against subpar defenses. West Virginia just has a little more skill and speed. Take Me Home Country Roads clips Rocky Mountain High by a note.

Friday

Connecticut 31, Baylor 16: The Huskies have allowed just one touchdown this season, but the troika of Hofstra, Temple and Virginia won't be producing many offensive how-to videos. Baylor comes in having amassed 96 points in its last two games and featuring dangerous dual-threat freshman Robert Griffin at quarterback. Still, UConn's defense is too smart and well-coached to get burned at home by a freshman QB, and the Donald Brown-led running attack will keep the Bears' offense off the field. Huskies will head to league play at 4-0.

Saturday

Iowa 17, Pittsburgh 10: The Kirk Ferentz Bowl has all of the makings of an old-fashioned shutout. Ferentz, who went to high school in Pittsburgh and served as a graduate assistant for the Panthers, has his Hawkeyes leading the nation in scoring defense (2.67 ppg) after allowing no touchdowns in three games. Dave Wannstedt probably beams at the idea of a knock-down, physical, throwback kind of game. Pittsburgh has the best skill player on either side in tailback LeSean McCoy. But Iowa has the better offensive line and overall rushing attack (more than 200 yards per game so far). Nothing in Pitt's first two games suggests the Panthers are creative or tough enough to beat a good Big 10 team, even at home.

Rutgers 33, Navy 23: The Scarlet Knights desperately need a victory, and so they're happy to see a team they've dispatched in each of the past three years. Navy is allowing more than 324 yards passing per game, and if Mike Teel can't get straightened out this week, something is seriously wrong.

Cincinnati 31, Miami (Ohio) 9: It's the 113th Battle for the Victory Bell in this underrated rivalry, and Miami actually leads the series by six games. The Bearcats will unveil a new starting quarterback in Tony Pike, so there might be a few hiccups along the way. But the RedHawks' offense has been putrid early on and can't score enough to keep up with Brian Kelly's bunch or punch holes in the Cincinnati defense. (Although, Miami's star safety has a super cool name).

South Florida 35, Florida International 7: There's almost no way that the Bulls can avoid an emotional letdown after their overtime win over rival Central Florida two weeks ago and the wild, last-minute 37-34 victory against Kansas last week. Still, the talent mismatch is so vast that USF won't need its best effort to romp.

Syracuse 23, Northeastern 12: This is the second time I've picked Syracuse to win this year, which makes me a wild-eyed optimist. The Orange smartly scheduled an FCS team they could actually beat, as Northeastern is a middle-of-the-road outfit in that division at best. But can anyone say with absolute confidence that this won't be an upset? Forget the coaching situation. If Northeastern wins, the Syracuse program may fold up into itself and disappear.

Last week: 4-1 (including Wednesday's Louisville-Kansas State game).
Season results: 14-6 (70 percent)