Reality check

Right now, I’m picking up the shattered fragments of the crystal ball I used to predict college football outcomes.
You’d have thrown it against the wall too after the sort of performance I turned in last week. I went an unsightly 15-7, bringing my season total to 36-11.
Some mea culpas are due to the Troy Trojans, Alabama Crimson Tide and Kentucky Wildcats, who I severely underestimated.

Thursday's game

No. 20 Texas A&M (3-0) at Miami (2-1)
A significant number of Texas A&M fans have been grumbling about head coach Dennis Franchione and looking forward to the possibility of a change. But Fran will remain The Man as long as his offense keeps averaging 46.3 points and 293 rushing yards per game. Miami’s quarterback situation is unsettled, although Kyle Wright will get the start. Texas A&M doesn’t have that problem with Stephen McGee running the spread offense (263 rush yards, 9.1 per carry).
Prediction: Texas A&M 27, Miami 16

Saturday

Southeastern Conference

No. 22 Georgia (2-1) at No. 16 Alabama (3-0)
Alabama QB John Parker Wilson showed some serious moxie in guiding a game-winning drive against Arkansas last week. The Crimson Tide lacks defensive depth and could be vulnerable against Georgia's tailback tandem of Knowshon Moreno and Thomas Brown. If this were in Athens, I'd favor Georgia. But Alabama has momentum after last week and 94,000 crimson crazies behind them. Oh yeah, one more thing: The Dawgs are 1-7 in T-Town.
Prediction: Alabama 31, Georgia 27

New Mexico State (2-1) at Auburn (1-2)
Auburn’s moribund offense could have trouble keeping up with New Mexico State coach Hal Mumme’s chuck-and-duck attack. Aggies QB Chase Holbrook is throwing for 399 yards per game. Hey, isn’t that Auburn's offensive output for the entire season? Seriously, the Tigers should improve as freshman QB Kodi Burns learns and plays more.
Prediction: Auburn 23, New Mexico State 17

No. 12 South Carolina (3-0) at No. 2 LSU (3-0)
LSU coach Les Miles hasn’t said if Matt Flynn or Ryan Perrilloux will start this game, but it’s nice to have two such qualified choices. Flynn missed last week’s Middle Tennessee State game with an ankle injury, but Perrilloux filled in with 298 passing yards and three TDs. Of course, with a defense like LSU’s, you could put Jerry Lewis at quarterback.
Prediction: LSU 24, South Carolina 10

No. 3 Florida (3-0) at Ole Miss (1-2)
Four different Florida receivers have had 100-yard games already this season. Plus, head coach Urban Meyer isn’t afraid to hand the ball to them out of the spread offense. Florida’s defense isn’t overwhelming yet, but the Gators will be really scary when they improve on that side of the ball.
Prediction: Florida 41, Ole Miss 13

No. 21 Kentucky (3-0) at Arkansas (1-1)
I love Arkansas tailback Darren McFadden, but only in that platonic man-crush kind of way. He rolled up 199 yards against Alabama, but cramped late in the fourth quarter (One Arkansas fan told me it was because he carried the Hogs on his back for so long). I mean, they'd hand the ball to D-Mac on third-and-eight with everyone in the stadium knowing he’d get the ball and he’d still pound his way past the first-down marker. Too bad Arkansas' passing game is so horrendous.
Prediction: Kentucky 31, Arkansas 30

Arkansas State (1-1) at Tennessee (1-2)
Tennessee was been burned repeatedly by the big play against Cal and Florida, but should be the team carrying the blowtorch this weekend.
Prediction: Tennessee 45, Arkansas State 12

Gardner-Webb (1-1) at Mississippi State (1-2)
Big ups to Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom for engineering an upset of Auburn last week. The Bulldogs will continue to astound us by reaching the .500 mark. Defensive back Derek Pegues is a stud. Don't be surprised if he gets an interception or two. Gardner-Webb lost by 22 at Ohio earlier this season, plus the name sounds more like a law firm than a football team.
Prediction: Mississippi State 24, Gardner-Webb 7

Atlantic Coast Conference

Georgia Tech (2-1) at Virginia (2-1)
Boston College poked holes in Tech’s defense last week and exposed the offense as one-dimensional. One dimension (ie. tailback Tashard Choice) should be enough this week.
Prediction: Georgia Tech 16, Virginia 10

North Carolina (1-2) at No. 23 South Florida (2-0)
South Florida will play as a ranked team for the first time in school history. Defensive end George Selvie leads a bullish defense with 5.5 sacks.
Prediction: South Florida 31, North Carolina 17

No. 15 Clemson (3-0) at N.C. State (1-2)
Clemson has won three consecutive games against N.C. State and should extend it with the Wolfpack in a rebuilding situation.
Prediction: Clemson 21, N.C. State 13

Duke (1-2) at Navy (1-2)
Duke hasn’t won two straight games since 2003, when it toppled the imposing twosome off Western Carolina and Rice. The Blue Devils snapped a 22-game losing streak against Northwestern last week. Now they can start a new losing streak.
Prediction: Navy 27, Duke 23

Army (1-2) at No. 14 Boston College (3-0)
Boston College obliterated a good Georgia Tech defense last weekend. QB Matt Ryan is already making a strong case for ACC Player of the Year. Guiding the Eagles to their first 4-0 start in eight years wouldn’t hurt.
Prediction: Boston College 41, Army 9

William & Mary at No. 17 Virginia Tech (2-1)
Hokies freshman QB Tyrod Taylor went for 287 yards last week in his first start. It may take William AND Mary both to deal with that.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 42, William & Mary 3

Maryland (2-1) at Wake Forest (1-2)
Wake Forest has lost to a pair of quality teams in Nebraska and Boston College. Maryland, which played West Virginia tough for a half last week, is also in the mix as one of the ACC's decent under-the-radar teams.
Prediction: Wake Forest 24, Maryland 21

National games of note

No. 10 Penn State (3-0) at Michigan (1-2)
Penn State hasn’t been tested, so this game could prove to be their biggest stumbling block. Michigan rebuilt some self-esteem by waxing Notre Dame.
Prediction: Penn State 28, Michigan 24

Iowa (2-1) at No. 9 Wisconsin (3-0)
Wisconsin has napped intermittently in wins over UNLV and Citadel. The Badgers really need to get it together.
Prediction: Wisconsin 21, Iowa 16