Gator Country

After a tough week of picks last week, this weekend's college football slate looks a little more manageable for our college football pick 'em "experts." There are only a handful of top-notch games to be picked this weekend, and our competitive staff weighs in on them in this week's edition of the picks column.

There were only five games this week that our nine pickers disagreed about, so this week is a little less interesting than last week.

The most divisive game was Florida State vs. Clemson, with four of nine pickers taking the Tigers in the upset of the Seminoles after FSU lost to Oklahoma last week.

Surprisingly, only three pickers took No. 7 Oklahoma State against No. 8 Texas A&M. Maybe our respective voters are already giving A&M the benefit of the doubt as a potential SEC team.

Two pickers took Arizona State over USC, while one person each took Arkansas over Alabama and UNC over Georgia Tech.

There isn’t much else to say about this week’s slate of games, so let’s dive into our staff’s thoughts on this week’s matchups.

Thomas Goldkamp

After three weeks, I still sit atop the leaderboard, but I’ll admit I don’t have the kind of cushion I’d like. I feel kind of like Florida must have felt last week with the score 33-23 against Tennessee. This game is never really in doubt, but thanks to some silly mistakes I’m letting far inferior opponents hang around.

Don’t worry, Will Muschamp has inspired me to clean up my red-zone scoring issues and pick the right games where it matters this week. Give me Arkansas over Alabama as the game that puts me a point ahead of everyone else. I’ll take Oklahoma State over Texas A&M, Florida State over Clemson and USC over Arizona State to round out this week’s tough picks.

Derek Tyson

I may have fallen behind, but let’s be honest it’s because the other writers got lucky. That’s ok, we are only three weeks in to the season, I have plenty of time for a comeback! I don’t think there will be any surprises. I picked FSU, but if EJ Manuel doesn’t play that could be an interesting game. My upset pick for the week is UNC over #25 Georgia Tech.

Andrew Spivey

I do not see any upsets this week. The toughest game for to pick was the Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M game but I went with A&M in this one. I think the Alabama game will be close for the first half with Alabama’s defense taking over in the second half to give Alabama a 10-point win.

Tim Casey

Bragging rights: I have them. I went against the grain and picked Clemson to beat Auburn last week, making me the only person to get that game right. If that isn’t testimony to my superior intellect, I don’t know what else is. Thomas and I just made the 12-hour drive to Lexington today, which was plenty of time for me to remind him that I am a genius and I don’t even watch football on television.

Adam Pincus

Right now I am at 87 percent at picking games. I would say that is a great percentage, but I am in last place. Week four is where I separate myself from the pack…good or bad. First off, Gators outmuscle the Wildcats in Lexington. The game of the week comes out of the Big 12 with seventh-ranked Oklahoma State visiting eighth-ranked Texas A&M. The Aggies defeat the Cowboys at home and start the season 3-0 for the third straight season.

Last matchup I am focusing on is Florida State at Clemson. The 21st-ranked Tigers punish the Seminoles at home. The Tigers led by receiver Sammy Watkins are hot right now. FSU cannot win without a healthy E.J. Manuel at quarterback.

Safid Deen

Don’t call it a comeback! Jumped back into second place and looking to do more damage this week to my fellow GC clowns. This week is going to be awesome with so many Top 25 matchups. I’ve got Alabama, A&M and Clemson all taking care of business at home. Sorry FSU fans, your losing streak at Clemson still goes on. My upset pick for the week is ASU over USC. Despite the fact the Sun Devils prevented me from covering a national championship team (Florida softball), that crowd was too much for Mizzou in week two, and Lane Kiffin, you’re gonna fear the fork, too. I’m a poet, but I did know it. Have a great weekend everybody!

Below is each of our nine experts’ picks.

AP – Adam Pincus, AS – Andrew Spivey, DT – Derek Tyson, SD – Safid Deen, TC – Tim Casey, TG – Thomas Goldkamp, Du – Duffman, Ga – GatorPrincess8, St – StuckUpNorthGator

About the author

Thomas Goldkamp

Thomas Goldkamp is the Gator Country beat reporter for football and basketball. He graduated from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications and has been covering the Florida Gators since late 2009. He previously worked as a freelancer on the Rivals network, as well as at the Palm Beach Post. You can find his latest stories here.

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