1) Who are your "Final 4" teams right now?
Jon Fox: Oregon (tops in the Pac 12), Oklahoma (top in the Big 12), Alabama (tops in the SEC), and LSU (wild card that I have ending with 1 loss). Unless it becomes trench warfare, the SEC west will probably send 2 schools to the playoff.
Stavenly Spielbrick: Florida State is obviously the top team in college football this year, with Alabama right behind them. So, expect to see both of those teams in the final 4. Oregon is another powerhouse that should make it. My dark-horse pick is UCLA and their Junior QB Brett Hundley. The kid is a well-rounded leader of the offense and should make it at the next level, as well. UCLA plays good defense, so expect them to be playing in a late bowl game, if not the championship.
Mac Magee: 1 FSU, 2 Alabama, 3 Oklahoma, 4 Oregon.
Caleb Wahlgren: My final four teams right now are Oregon from the Pacific 12, Oklahoma from the Big 12, Florida State from the ACC, and Auburn from the SEC. It is very early, but it’s already become clear to leave the Big 10 out of the running for the time being, they didn’t really have a contender after Michigan State lost to Oregon.
Matthew Dixon: Florida State, Baylor, Oregon, and Texas A&M. Florida State has an easy schedule (even without Jameis for the first half this weekend). Baylor will come out of the Big 12 with an improved defense with Oregon having enough offense to finally beat every team on their schedule. Texas A&M will throw their way to the playoffs, at least based on what we have seen thus far.
2) Which undefeated top 5 team will NOT make the College Football Playoff and why?
Fox: Right now, Florida State will not make the college football playoff. Their strength of schedule is just too weak to surpass the rest of the top teams in college football.
Spielbrick: Auburn seems to fall off at some point every year due to the tough SEC schedule. I expect them to drop a few division games, putting them out of contention. They have LSU, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Georgia, and Alabama in 6 out of the 8 final games. That is a tough road to travel.
Magee: Oregon. They are always overrated. Oct. 11 at UCLA, Nov. 1 vs Stanford, and the Pac 12 title game are all stumbling blocks and a one loss Pac 12 team. They will take a backseat to any 1 loss SEC or FSU team.
Wahlgren: I realize leaving Alabama off this list may come as a surprise, but they haven’t played anyone, and they lost their last two games against tough opponents. It shall be seen what will happen, but I gave the nod to Auburn from their victory last season. It’s never easy to leave Alabama off any high rankings, but that was the choice because the four potential conference champions would be worthy to be there.
Dixon: Oklahoma. Or should I say Choklahoma? Bob Stoops' team will inevitably fall at some point in the season and the most likely games is against Baylor on November 8.
3) Which matchup are you most looking forward to in Week 4?
Fox: West Virginia - Oklahoma. Oklahoma is rightfully favored in this game, but the Mountaineers' offense will make this very interesting. They ran Alabama up and down the field three weeks ago and Oklahoma doesn't have the coaching that Bama does. Don't be surprised if this game is much closer than people think.
Spielbrick: Since, I took it to #5 Auburn already, let’s see how they matchup Thursday night on the road, against # 20 Kansas State. This will be a good test for the 2-0 Tigers. Florida State puts their number one ranking up against #22 Clemson. Miami of Ohio travels across town to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in a South-West Ohio matchup. UC is favored, but rivalries bring out the best in underdogs.
Magee: #22 Clemson at #1 FSU. This is easy. Winston's first half suspension makes this must see TV!
Wahlgren: There are several good games this weekend, but the one I am looking forward to the most is a rematch of history. Nebraska hosting Miami (FL). Part of this is because I love my Cornhuskers. Nebraska lost in the 1984 Orange Bowl when Tom Osborne elected to go for two. Tommie Frazier and the Cornhuskers won the 1995 Orange Bowl over Miami, which helped clinch a National Championship. Nebraska also somehow made the 2002 Rose Bowl, which was the National Championship to play against a dominant Miami team. They had Andre Johnson, Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, Jeremy Shockey, Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Jonathan Vilma, and Vince Wilfork. They crushed the Huskers, by a final of 37-14, and they haven’t played each other since then. It should be an epic competition.
Dixon: There are so many good matchups to choose from this weekend. Iowa-Pitt, GT-VT, BGSU-Northwestern, UF-Alabama, Miss St-LSU, NIU-Arkansas, and OU-WVU are all intriguing. The California at Arizona matchup is the one that is most intriguing. Cal is an upcoming team while Arizona is trying to breach into the upper echelon of Pac-12 teams. Both teams have high powered offenses, but this game will come down to which defense comes up with the big plays. That will probably be Arizona, but California is a much improved team.
4) Pick the Winner of the Division 3 Football game between #7 UW-Platteville and #5 North Central College.
Fox: North Central. Why? I have no clue.
Spielbrick: Wisconsin-Platteville lost in the playoffs to North Central last season. The rematch is set for Saturday. Both teams are undefeated and both won in their openers. I will take North Central over Platteville. Platteville had a close one last week at home against Dubuque.
Magee: Division III? I'll go with NCC. And I'm sure I'll never know if I was right.
Wahlgren: The North Central College Cardinals seem poised to stay true to their seeding. They have only played one game so far in this young season, defeating St. Norbert by a final of 51-17. UW-Platteville Pioneers on the other hand, struggled last week at home against the University of Dubuque. With the Pioneers traveling down to Naperville, Illinois, this seems like it should be around a touchdown victory for the Cardinals, with a final score of 38-31.
Dixon: North Central by 10 points. Make no mistakes, this game will be close until a late touchdown by North Central to give them the 45-35 victory. NCC did win 52-24 last year against UW-Platteville in the second round of the playoffs. The home field will once again prove to the be difference, though a 28 point victory seems unlikely this time around. Wide receiver Peter Sorenson should have a big game catching the ball for North Central.
5) Which game is most likely to produce an upset in Week 4?
Fox: Kansas State will upset Auburn on Thursday night. Auburn doesn't play well on the road, Snyder is a master of preparing his team for a visitor and the Auburn defense-while well coached-has major talent issues.
Spielbrick: This is a tough week to pick an upset. There are no obvious choices, so I will dig deep. Could 0-3 Miami of Ohio surprise Cincinnati, who could be looking past the Red hawks? The Bearcats travel 2 hours north to Ohio State, the following week. Ohio State is without their top QB and looks to be struggling. Could UC be eyeing the biggest win of their season, a week too early? I doubt it too! No upsets this week.
Magee: North Carolina at East Carolina: ECU comes home after a rough slate to start. UNC will take advantage of the tired Pirates and pull the upset as 3 point underdogs.
Wahlgren: This may be a bit of a shocker, but I’m going to call out the Brigham Young Cougars for an upset while they host the Virginia Cavaliers. Virginia has been close in games so far this season, knocking off Louisville at home last week, and battling tough to come close against the UCLA Bruins in the opener. It will very close to see who is going to pull out a victory.
Dixon: With all the decent games this week, it is a tough choice. However, the OU-WVU game screams upset special (reminder to all that yours truly gave out Central Michigan over Syracuse last week. CMU got CRUSHED 40-3). Nevertheless, there is always something about playing in Morgantown that makes it difficult. In 2013, WVU beat #11 Oklahoma State 30-21 at home and lost 47-40 to Texas in OT. 2012 saw WVU lose 50-49 to Oklahoma in Morgantown and beat Baylor 70-63 at home. There is just something that brings out the best in the Mountaineers and they will squeak out a field goal win over OU.