College Football picks, predictions Week 4: Can Vols finally beat Florida?

No. 20 Florida at No. 11 Tennessee (3:30 PM on CBS)

Prediction: We all know the success Florida has had against Tennessee this century. The Gators are 18-4 against Tennessee since 2000 and have won each of the last five meetings. But this year, things finally feel different.

Florida QB Anthony Richardson’s game against Utah at the beginning of the season was an outlier, not the norm. Tennessee’s offense is so crisp and so fine-tuned, it’ll take a much more disciplined team to take down these Vols than what we’ve seen from the Gators so far this season.

Neyland Stadium may be the loudest we’ve ever heard it when Florida’s offense takes the field for the first time in the ball game and it’ll have a dramatic impact on the game.

Pick: Tennessee -10.5

Indiana at Cincinnati (2:30 pm on ESPN2)

Prediction: This should be an easy task for Cincinnati. If they can kinda-sorta hang with the No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks, I don’t think they’ll have any issue game planning for Indian QB Connor Bazelak, who fizzled out of the SEC after a failed stint as Missouri’s signal caller. The Bearcats’ defense is allowing 294.3 yards per game and the Hoosiers are allowing 445.3 per game. Indiana is 3-0 but their average margin of victory has been 6.3 points against Illinois, Idaho, and Western Kentucky.

Pick: Cincinnati -16.5

James Madison at Appalachian State (2:30 PM on ESPN+)

Prediction: App State has given college football fans plenty to talk about each week of the season. They had a 124-point shootout with North Carolina in Week 1, a Week 2 upset over No. 6 Texas A&M, and a hail-marry winner as time expired in Week 3. What will the Mountaineers have in store for us this week? They face James Madison at home, a team that’s been bumped up from the FCS to the Sun Belt and they can score a ton of points. App State is 2-1 and won by an average of 3.5 points. Take JMU and the points in this one.

Pick: James Madison +7.5