3 weeks and 3rd coach goes down…….tough for GT HC Geoff Collins who was tasked with a rebuild to a more conventional offense from the Paul Johnson era but didn’t get it done fast enough, Covid or no Covid per the GT powers to be. Took out the AD as well. Lots of rumors to include Neon Deion Sanders coming to Hotlanta but that is for the speculators and WE are prognosticators so moving ahead!!
Upsets were plentiful with The U, Longhorns and even the Boomer Schooner having a wreck in Norman!
Lots of other close calls but isn’t that why we would rather watch college football than reruns of the 2007 ABC show “Cavemen” based on the GEICO commercials or “I Wanna Marry Harry” where 12 women ( not ladies ) compete for a chance to marry a Prince Harry look-a-like but think he is the real guy?….pretty sure we know who won that contest. But alas, enough of that and lets get ready for a heavy dose of conference play where you can expect more shocks and upsets.
ZT glad to see a little cooler weather come in as that means CHILI Season! Ok, not like ZT wouldn’t eat a huge bowl if it was 106 degrees outside but just seems more ‘sociably acceptable’ to have a Chili stain on your shirt in October than in August. ZT did actually judge a legit Chili contest in DC back in the 90’s and it was great. Wife not nearly as excited the following day……..Moving on to prognosticate!!!
#7 Kentucky Wildcats @ #14 Ole Miss Rebels 11am cdt
Mark Stoops and the Wildcats are doing what you are supposed to do….Win! But so have the Rebels. A pair of 4-0 teams on the 1st Saturday in October smells like SEC Football. Wildcats QB Will “stone washed” Levis has 10 TDs to 4 INTs but the O-line has allowed 16 sacks this year. KY will get a boost in the run game with the return of RB Chris Rodriquez. This will allow RB Kavoseiy “Up In” Smoke to be better used situationally. Joey Freshwater Kiffin really hasn’t played heavy competition but was tested by the Golden Hurricanes of Tulsa last week. Can Ole Miss score points? Absolutely! QB Jackson “a la cart” Dart is leading a run-oriented offense that is currently tops in the SEC ( without actually playing anyone in the SEC ) and that is unique for a Kiffin-coached team. Vegas not respecting KY…But ZT is. Upset Special Wildcats 27 Hotty Toddy 24
#2 Bama @ #20 Arkansas Razorbacks 230pm cdt
Injured Hogs are dangerous, particularly in their own hog house. ZT loves Bacon but never seen an Elephant eat any. Biggest question for Bama is will the WRs step up this week? Almost as big is, even though they practice against Bryce Young, can the secondary stop the Arkansas air attack? ARKANSAS AIR ATTACK? That is hard to even say based on their years of running the ball so well. Hog QB K J ” May-Day” Jefferson can run and throw noting he had 105 yds rushing vs. A & M last week while also tossing 2 TDs and no INTs. ZT sees Bama getting the W but in a close one. Red Storm Surge 38 Bacon Boys 28
#9 Oklahoma State Cowboys @ #16 Baylor Bears 230pm cdt
Plenty of Cowboys live in Stillwater and plenty of Baptist and a few Branch Dividians still live in Waco, drink Dr. Pepper and watch Fanville commercial reruns on a continuous loop at the Butter My Bisquit Cafe. Sounds awesome. Baylor picked up a nice road win in the land of Iowa State corn last week. Some solid play by QB Blake “none of my body parts are mis-” Shapen tossing 3 TDs while their D was solid against the run and caused a few TOs. OK State has whipped up on a typical non-conference group of pilgrims but has scored 155 points in 3 games. BUT, remember Baylor crushed the Cowboys’ 2021 CFP chance and payback from a Cowboy is always rough and usually involves a tree stump in some form or fashion. Angry Cowboys 31 Running Bears 28
#22 Wake Forest Demon Deacons @ #23 Florida State Seminoles 230pm cdt
Demon Deacons ( geez…ZT only recalls having to type that 4 times all year in 2021! ) broke out all the magic last week against Dabo but it just wasn’t enough. Assume they went home and hung out at the Krispy Kreme until the Hot Now sign came on ( KK was founded in Winston-Salem and is on ZT’s bucket list to spend 24 hours straight in the original location noting how important KK has been to the development of ZT’s physique). Now they travel to Tallahassee for a date with the newest addition to the Top 25. Seminoles fresh off a thumping of Boston College and really just tormenting Gator and Hurricane fans immensely! Wake has won the last 2 but this is a different set of Criminoles (ok, more jaywalkers than the criminals of the past). ZT leaning on FSU’s better running attack and stingier defense. Seminoles 38 Demon Deacons 35
#10 N C State Wolfpack @ #5 Clemson Tigers 630pm cdt
ESPN Gameday at Clemson…..ok, makes sense with 10 vs 5. Maybe a little rainy with the remnants of Ian but likely the field will be closer to the texture of a month old banana…..Ok, so the Wolfpack pulled out a win over the ECU Pirates in the opener and TT Red Raiders in Week 3 led by QB Devin Leary but that’s it. It’s now October and Clemson is the same color as a pumpkin…. QB Ukelele rescued Dabo’s Bubbas from Wake Forest in OT last week but that was also their first real competition of the year. Lots of media buzz about an upset. Momma says alligators are ornery because they got all them teeth and no toothbrush. ZT says Clemson fans have only a few teeth and share a toothbrush so he is going with the ornery Clemson team in this one. Tigers 24 Wolfpack 20
ZT’s Quick Snack Selections – like a Little Debbie Creme Pie, just less fattening
Texas Tech Red Raiders @ #25 Kansas State Wildcats 11am cdt
Both teams coming off big upset wins last week so who handles it the best? ZT believes he personally inspired KSU QB Adrian Martinez last week by noting he had yet to play up to his potential Add in RB “The Double” Deuce Vaughn (ZT loves the movie Road House) and the Purple Power Cats will come home to take care of the Red Raiders in Manhattan. Purple Power Cats 24 Red Rash Raiders 21
#4 Michigan Wolverines @ Iowa Hawkeyes 11am cdt
Fun Stat……Iowa 5 -1 vs. Top 5 teams at home for the last 6 who dared visit the Children of the Corn since 2008. Only 1 problem, ZT knows some boys from Michigan and they all eat corn. Even Wolverines HC Jim “I really did eat a booger” Harbaugh likes corn. Iowa goes to 5-2 vs. Top 5 after this one. Wolverines 27 Men who live for Corn 17
Iowa State Cyclones @ Kansas Jayhawks 230pm cdt
Cyclones have played well and lost a close one last week to Baylor in Ames and will travel to Lawrence to face the 4-0 Jayhawks! 4-0 with wins over West Virginia, Houston, and Duke while averaging over 48 points per game. QB Jalon Daniels has been solid but Cyclones D will be best they have seen. ZT loves Defense and calling for more bad weather this week, but in the Midwest. Cyclones 34 Ruffled Feathered J-Hawks 28
Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ #3 THE Ohio State Buckeyes 230pm cdt
Have you ever seen an old woman beat a rug? This will be worse. Buckeyes 49 Beaten Scarlet Carpet 10
#17 Texas A & M Aggies @ Mississippi State Bulldogs 300pm CDT
ZT likes Pirate Mike Leach. ZT would wrap Jimbo Fisher in bacon and drop him off at a bear preserve. That said, just feel Aggies pulling the upset in Starkville ( mainly as ZT has been to Starkville and was upset to just be there ). Upset Special Aggies 24 Bulldogs 21
LSU Tigers @ Auburn Tigers 600pm cdt ( so both fan bases can get drunk )
Why would ZT pick this game? Why not! Game at Auburn, which should be renamed “The Real Magic Kingdom” after that game last week. When LSU HC Kelly meets Auburn HC Harsin at midfield before the game he whispers “This just sucks. Let’s get fired, get our buyouts and Coach O says we can come sit in the Hot Tub with him on Saturdays.” They shake hands and…. Upset Special #2 ………Tigers 27 Tigers 24 (come on ZT!!)………OK Auburn 27 LSU 24
ZT headed back to the Vat of Chili on his back porch….likely advised to camp out there for the weekend by his wife.
Padre is in the HOUSE!!!! He has been watching Dr.Dolittle and Ace Ventura Pet Detective to see what he is missing in his mental connection with his Gators. Not sure if it will help but he is more than ready to prognosticate for week 5!!!
Florida 38 Eastern Washington 20
My Gators played with heart against Tennessee. They actually won the total yards category. But that, and some Mississippi welfare funds with the help of Brett Farve, can give us a big “Moral Victory of the Month Trophy.” We can display it in the “Wait till Next Year” display case. In all seriousness, I believe in Napier– as a person and as a leader. It will take him time, but I believe he can turn it around at UF. ” In Napier I Trust!”
Michigan 16 Iowa 10
Bo Schembechler’s and Hayden Fry’s old teams square off against one another. And like an episode from Stranger Things, the game brings back memories from the mid-1980s. Stranger Things has monsters. This game has khakis and three yards and a cloud of dust. To be honest, this game may be scarier than the monsters on Stranger Things!
Kansas State 30 Texas Tech 24
Texas Tech is coming off a big upset of Texas. Kansas State is coming off a big upset of Oklahoma. The Wildcats, and their 14th year senior Adrian Martinez, win in the Little Apple.
Ole Miss 31 Kentucky 17
Twitter Warrior Kiffin vs. Hard-Nosed Stoops. Speed vs. Strength. Kentucky is tough as nails and can pack a punch. But, you can’t hit what you can’t catch. Ole Miss by double digits at home.
FSU 38 Wake Forest 17
Wake had Clemson last week. Lost a heart breaker. I was there!!! Amazing game. Sad ending. FSU blew out Boston College. One previous opponent is not like the other. Sadly, the Noles roll at home as Wake is weary from last week. And VERY sadly, those Walmart gold helmets are raised high in the sky Saturday evening.
Oklahoma State 26 Baylor 23
It would be a mild upset on paper, but I am not sure it is in reality. Nothing funny to add. Mullet jokes and ” I am 40″ jokes seem played out. Those would fall as flat as the states of Oklahoma and Texas.
Bama 41 Arkansas 20
Before last Saturday, I believed this would be an amazing game. Then the Ark/A&M debacle happened. Arkansas is heartbroken. They completely outplayed A & M and lost…..because someone ( KJ or Coach?? ) decided that it was a good idea to leap over the O-line from the FOUR YARD LINE!!! Heck, Carl Lewis wouldn’t even try that. That was the worst decision since my son tried the Beverly drink at the World of Coke (if you know, you know!). Arkansas is still depressed and bitter—like that Beverly drink after-taste. Bama rolls.
Texas A & M 27 Mississippi State 26
Jimbo and his 5-star players, who TOTALLY came to A & M for the school and not the NIL money, got crazy lucky last week. This week his crazy, talented team finds a way beyond lucky bounces. Aggies find a way.
LSU 30 Auburn 16
The Tigahs beat the Tigers. Colonial Kelly pours some Louisiana salt on Harsin’s inevitable pink slip wound.
Clemson 23 N C State 20
Get ready college football world: A close College GameDay attended victory will probably lead to another Dabo high horse, soapbox rant about something wrong with the world and college football. Oh who am I kidding, he will probably be right. I still love you, Dabo!!
Georgia – Indiana Jones with a Gun Mizzou- The guy with the fancy sword
Mizzou will be dead on the ground like the sword guy.
UPSET OF THE WEEK Purdue 26 Minnesota 24
The majority of my upset predictions this season have gone about as well as Donald Trump at a NOW meeting or Joe Biden at a NRA meeting. And yet, here I am again making a crazy pick. Boilermakers run through the Gophers in Minneapolis.
Friday Night Bonus: Confirmed submitted before kickoff by ZT. Ok, He is the Padre so NO confirmation needed by that chili-eating meathead.
UCLA 34 Washington 33 1030pm edt Friday Night
Late night kick for those in the Piedmont area. And yet, I bet there are more people watching the game in my house on TV than in the Rose Bowl for the mild upset.
Padre out to finish preparing an “express” sermon message since his Gators will now be playing on Sunday at Noon edt due to the impacts of Hurricane Ian.
Pigskin Prognostications by the Piedmont Padre and Zimmern's Twin 