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College football preview: What to watch for in Week 4

ESPN's College GameDay travels to Eugene, Oregon, as the Ducks host the Stanford Cardinal.
Credit: Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images
Bryce Love of the Stanford Cardinal scores on a 67-yard touchdown run against the Oregon Ducks during the first quarter of the NCAA football game on Oc.t 14, 2017, at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California.

The fourth week of the college football season has many questions. Journalists/wannabe college football insiders Mark Bergin, Lara Saavedra and Eric Heubusch try to answer some of them.

What’s your tweet-length reaction to Week 3 of the college football season?

Mark Bergin: It would cost Florida State about $21.25 million to get rid of Willie Taggart after this season, which doesn't account for the money that would be owed to his assistants.

Florida State is 1-2 and been outscored 54-10 against FBS opponents this season.

Lara Saavedra: Some pundits had Wisconsin going undefeated heading into the Big Ten conference championship. Since that didn’t happen, it’s Ohio State’s to lose.

Seven Big Ten teams lost to unranked non-conference opponents last weekend. The Big Ten was 33-7 in those games all of last season.

Eric Heubusch: Either Florida rolls Tennessee, or the only solace for Gator fans this year will be Florida State’s season.

Which Week 4 game are you most looking forward to?

Bergin: Can Missouri snap its eight-game losing streak against ranked teams in this weekend’s matchup against No. 2 Georgia? Missouri last beat a ranked team on Sept. 27, 2014.

The Tigers enter as a 15-point underdog at home. If quarterback Drew Lock wants any chance of winning the Heisman Trophy, he needs a strong performance Saturday.

I also want to see if Alabama can score more than 50 points for a fourth consecutive game when the Crimson Tide host No. 22 Texas A&M.

One other SEC matchup to watch, Kentucky and Mississippi State both enter their Saturday contest with 3-0 records.

Saavedra: Looking at the Week 4 schedule, there are only a handful of games I’m looking forward to watching: Georgia at Mizzou, TCU at Texas and Army at Oklahoma.

Other than those games, I’ll also watch Texas Tech at Oklahoma State.

Texas Tech didn't have a good showing against Ole Miss in Week 1 but since then, they’ve had two blowout wins over Lamar and Houston.

Both Texas Tech and Oklahoma State have good offenses and I think it’s going to be a shootout. Tech will have their hands full at Boone Pickens Stadium, but if they can win on the road, they will move to the top half in the Big 12.

Any time I can see Mike Gundy dress as a referee lose is a good day.

Heubusch: Florida Atlantic at the University of Central Florida: the battle of the memes. Lane Kiffin versus the reigning “National Champs.” Who will be victorious? I’d love to see Lane get the W.

What’s your take on the return of Urban Meyer after a three-game suspension from Ohio State? Is the Zach Smith/Courtney Smith story going away?

Bergin: You can view my full thoughts here.

$570,507.68 -- That’s the amount of compensation Meyer lost as part of his suspension from Ohio State for his handling of domestic violence allegations against a former assistant coach.

Saavedra: Meyer wants to shut his critics up and he’ll do that only if he wins. I just feel for the student-athletes who have this huge distraction when all they want to do is play the game.

Heubusch: He’s got to win or he’s done. If he loses, him and Jameis Winston can go start a podcast or something.

Could you be a better mascot than this guy?

Bergin: To answer the question, I don’t know.

This reminds me of when Lane Kiffin intentionally made an awful hype video to increase FAU’ marketability.

I’m all in on investigating Colorado’s “Mascot-Gate.”

Saavedra: Of course. Everyone knows not to play with cannons. You can get hurt.

Heubusch: I don’t think so. I wouldn’t have gotten up.

ESPN’s College GameDay heads to Eugene, Oregon, this weekend for Stanford at Oregon. Which team will Lee Corso pick?

Bergin: Stanford running back Bryce Love returns to action Saturday after missing a game last week with an undisclosed injury. Love needs to get rolling if he hopes to launch a Heisman campaign this season. I think Corso picks Stanford.

Saavedra: I’ll go with Oregon.

Heubusch: The quack pack.

What will Sunday’s college football headline be?

Bergin: Alabama stays undefeated...against the spread

Note: The Crimson Tide enter Saturday's game as a 26-point favorite.

Saavedra: “Alabama versus everyone else” -- Alabama will continue their dominance in the SEC and continue to be the heavy favorite to win it all.

Heubusch: Taggart gone after FSU loses to Northern Illinois #MicDrop

Note: The AP Top 25 Poll is used for team rankings throughout this story.

Bergin is an alum of the University of Missouri, Saavedra is an alumnus of the University of Oklahoma and Heubusch is an alum of the University of Florida.

Mark Bergin is a journalist with 10News WTSP. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter and Instagram. You can also email him at mbergin@wtsp.com.

Lara Saavedra is a journalist with 10News WTSP. Follow her on Twitter or email her at lsaavedra@wtsp.com

Eric Heubusch is a researcher with 10News WTSP. Follow him on Twitter or email him at eheubusch@wtsp.com

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