1. Clemson Will Defeat Notre Dame...
...by two TDs or more. Notre Dame's only real "test" game in retrospect was Week 3's home game against Georgia Tech -- a game they won 30-22. However, we're more apt to look at their way-too-close 34-27 win at Virginia (a team which Boise State traveled to and blew out 56-14 this week) and raise our eyebrows. That's been Notre Dame's only road contest so far. We have a sneaking suspicion that a trip to Death Valley against a top-five talent level Clemson squad will prove the undoing of the undermanned Fighting Irish and, quite possibly, their playoff hopes. Pencil Deshaun Watson in for the game of his life and pencil Clemson in as legit College Football Playoff threats after this one.
2. Leonard Fournette Will Sniff 400 Yards Rushing
We might even be going light on this one. Army rushed 71 times against Eastern Michigan last week for a mind-boggling 556 yards and seven touchdowns. In short, the Eagles average giving up close to 4/5 of a first down on each Army running play. So, what happens when such a crappy run defense meets up with the far-and-away Heisman candidate, LSU RB Leonard Fournette, and his two straight 200-plus yard running games? Also, Les Miles is the kind of coach that won't shy away from using Fournette all four quarters in a blowout win to help bump the kid's Heisman stock up a notch or two Samaje Perine's 427-yard single game rushing record may be in jeopardy.
3. Georgia Will Hammer Alabama...
...so much so that every national college football show for the next couple of days will be talking about the "end of the Nick Saban dynasty" in Tuscaloosa. We're not buying that hype, but we're also not buying turnover-happy Jake Coker in front of 92,000 rabid UGA fans surrounding the hedges in Athens. Alabama's rushing defense may be able to get a handle on Nick Chubb for at least a half or so, but he'll occupy the front seven enough for QB Greyson Lambert to exploit one-on-one matchups against Alabama's vulnerable secondary. After this game, we might be looking at a Bama team in the bottom five of the AP Top 25 -- a weird sight indeed.
4. Ole Miss' Undefeated Season Will End In The Swamp
Lost in the chaos elsewhere last week was Ole Miss' bowling-shoe UGLY 27-16 home win over Vanderbilt. Ole Miss was finally able to pull away late on the back of a Jaylen Walton score, but the 11-point final margin is nowhere near indicative of just how much the aggressive Commodores tested the Rebels on both sides of the ball. We are convinced that the 4-0 Gators are charmed this year after their miracle flurry to beat Tennessee last week. Also, they're defense is damn talented and will be electrically charged by the energy at The Swamp. We predict that the Rebels will lose in Gainesville, opening the door for a fast-climber like UGA or Clemson.
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