Looking at this week’s schedule, part of me is glad I will miss the majority of Saturday’s action during my trip to Orlando. I guess I’d compare the action, excitement and debate generated by all of the great matchups of week 3 to a Master and Commander-style naval war epic and what do we make of week 4? Well if the schedule is any indicator, it’s shaping up to be a splash fight between two slow-moving elderly folks aboard those plastic paddle boats where you are propelled forward by your legs. None the less, there are some games that are worth watching, if you really have nothing better to do.

Game of the Week: #12 South Carolina at #2 LSU – 3:30 P.M. – CBS

I think it says something about the sorry state of early season college football when a team like South Carolina, a team that has one, count ‘em, one somewhat quality win to their credit is considered one of the top 15 teams in America. None the less Spurrier takes his Gamecocks to Death Valley for an afternoon showdown with the Bayou Bengals. The line on this one? Tigers by 16. Not usually what you would expect from a game between the 2nd best and 12th best teams in the country. This should give fans a pretty good idea of just how inflated USC’s record really is. I think the Gamecock defense will fair better than Virginia Tech’s defense did at slowing down the Tigers running game but I don’t think South Carolina has an answer for Early Doucet, Trindon Holliday and Brandon LaFell. If I were Steve Spurrier, I would seriously consider having backup quarterback Chris Smelley warming up and Baton Rouge General on standby when Blake Mitchell hits the field in Baton Rouge. Consider the following quote from Steve Spurrier in today’s edition of Columbia, S.C.’s The State newspaper:

“At times (with) our pass protection, we don’t block the guy,” Spurrier said. “We ‘offer’ at him a little bit. Next thing we know our guards are watching him go by.”"

Saturday, “the guy” that Spurrier is referring to will be Glenn Dorsey, you might have heard of him. He’s like the best defensive player in America and sure-fire, can’t-miss first round pick in next year’s NFL draft. The concussion-inducing proposition of the nation’s best defensive line going against one of the SEC’s most porous offensive lines is enough to make you tune in to see Blake Mitchell and his lame barbed wire, or tribal armband tattoo get knocked around a little bit. Expect the Tigers to win and win big.

O.G.I. – Other Games of Interest

Washington at UCLA – 10:15 PM ET – Fox Sports

A week after getting exposed as the frauds they are, UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell and his Bruins have Ty Willingham and the rebounding Huskies coming to town. Washington and their quarterback Jake Locker is a team that I find very intriguing and could pose some serious matchup problems for UCLA. The Bruin defense struggled last week to stop Brian Johnson and Utah and the similarities between Johnson’s strengths and those of Locker are striking.

#22 Georgia at #16 Alabama – 7:45 PM ET – ESPN

Can lightning strike twice? Can Nick Saban and the new era Tide beat ranked opponents in consecutive weeks? Forget about the rankings for a minute. Georgia is still a pretty good football team and Saban appears to have Alabama on the road back to glory (I don’t know about 16th best team in America but I digress). For Georgia, the formula should be real simple. Run the stupid football and limit turnovers. Get Knowshon Moreno and Thomas Brown the football early and often and repeat. Oh and make sure they don’t cramp up towards the end of the game. ‘Bama gave up almost 6 yards a carry last week in their pseudo-victory against Arkansas and had Darren McFadden not watched the end of the game from the sideline, the outcome of said game might have been different. If Matthew Stafford can take of the ball and not commit costly turnovers, Georgia has a real good chance of knocking Alabama back out of the top 25 and throw the brakes on the Tuscaloosa-based Saban worship — for this week at least.

#20 Texas A&M at Miami (FL) – 7:30 PM – Thursday – ESPN

I find this game interesting but not real interesting. Randy Shannon is trying to restore what is left of the legacy that was “The U” and Dennis Franchione is trying to keep the Aggies from becoming the fourth best team in the Big 12 … again. Franchione should have been looking at how Oklahoma’s offense dismantled the Miami defense and try to emulate that as best he can. Controlling the line of scrimmage will be huge for Texas A&M if they don’t want to get stung at the Orange Bowl.

Under the Radar Game of the Week – #21 Kentucky at Arkansas – 6:00 PM – ESPN2

In the words of Michael Scott, “Fool me once, strike one but fool me twice… strike three.” Last week, I thought Arkansas had every chance of beating Alabama and an atrocious first half inevitably cost them the game. Against my better instincts, I’m going with Arkansas to defend their home turf and shut down the resurgent Wildcats, who are riding high after upsetting #9 ranked, intrastate rival Louisville last week. I don’t give Kentucky’s defense enough credit to be able to consistently stop Darren McFadden and Felix Jones despite that they gave up only 101 yards on the ground to Louisville. But let’s be fair, the Cardinals aren’t anywhere near as dedicated to a solid rushing game as Arkansas is and their 27 rushing attempts is proof of that. Arkansas defense particularly it’s secondary, which was dreadful last week against Alabama and made their receivers look like.. well, like Florida’s receivers, has to step up effectively defend Keenan Burton, Jacob Tamme and Rafael Little. Can they do it? We’ll see. But it is certainly gut check time for the Razorbacks. I promise though, if they don’t win this week, I’m never picking this team against another good-to-mediocre team for the rest of the year.