By: Rich Douglas
Week 4 of the college season is already upon us, as most teams will play their last non-conference tilt, while there are some that are engaging in some interesting conference battles
Boise State at Fresno State -3
The Mountain West has had a rough start to the year in regards to covering against non conference opponents, but this in conference matchup seems pretty clear to me. Fresno State is coming off of an unscheduled bye after their game against Colorado was postponed and Derek Carr should pick apart a Boise State secondary that looked miserable against Washington and even got fooled against an anemic Air Force passing attack. Boise's front 7 gave up over 200 yards rushing to both Washington's standard rushing offense as well as Air Force's complex triple option. Either way you cut it, Fresno's high powered offense should blow by the Broncos at home.
West Virginia at Maryland (-6.5)
The Terrapins have quietly moved themselves to be one of the better teams in the ACC, averaging over 40 points a game so far, and racking up 7.9 yards per play on offense. Its been the health of QB CJ Brown, who's completing passes at a 67.1% rate for over 11 yards per attempt. Brown has been getting it done with his feet as well, rushing for 257 yards and 5 TDs. The offensive line has done its part to keep Brown healthy, allowing just 4 sacks and not a single pressure through the 3 games. The Maryland defense will be tested by WVU, but Dan Holgerson's squad is not nearly the explosive monster it has been. The Mountaineers average 6.4 yards per play, but have converted just 32.5% of their third downs, and have just 8 red zone trips all season. The offensive line will be under fire as well, with the Terps amassing 14 sacks already, and WVU surrendering 5 sacks and 6 more hurries so far.
Marshall (+9) at Virginia Tech
The Hokies have been one of the more frustrating teams to watch this season. The defense is one of the best in the nation, forcing opponents to convert just 27% of their third down attempts, and to be able to run for just 2.5 yards per attempt. The offense though has been pretty near inept, with Logan Thomas completing only 47 passes this season for just 5.2 yards per attempt with 4 Ints to 3 TDs. This is why the Thundering Herd have a good chance to cover, and possibly shock VT, because their defense is better than advertised. Last week against Ohio, the Herd defense got hamstrung by a few offensive miscues and a special teams score. The offense of course is there for Marshall, with Rakeem Cato airing it out to the tune of a 64% completion rate with 8 yards per attempt, tossing 7 TDs and just 2 Ints. The run game will also test that VT front, with Steward Butler averaging over 9 yards per carry in limited touches, and Essray Taliaferro averaging 3.2 yards per carry in the redzone.
San Jose St. +4 at Minnesota
David Fales is one of the most underrated QBs in the league and I think this high powered offensive attack should have no problem against the Gophers. After shutting out a weak Sac State team, they ran into the buzzsaw that is Stanford, but were still able to cover the game. Fales will have a much easier time coming off of a bye and against a Minnesota team that might have the weakest schedule in their 3 games this season. In their wins against UNLV, New Mexico State, and Western Illinois, they were only able to cover against UNLV and were down late in the 3rd quarter against Western Illinois last week. Their pass game is very weak, and I expect them to lose the game out right. Take the points.
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