The Sweep, Week 4: Cruel To Be Kind

If you know, you know. Sincerely, a guy who has cut toddlers' fingernails.

UCLA pulled the plug on its DeShaun Foster experiment this weekend, letting the former Bruin great go after significantly less than two full seasons in Westwood. Normally I'd decry this move because I think coaches need at least two full seasons to show signs of turning around, but it's clear that Foster just wasn't the right coach for the job. The Bruins consistently looked overmatched under him and it wasn't getting better.

It's tough for young adults -- and remember, college athletes are young adults -- to deal with the loss of a mentor, especially when 75% of the season remains to be played. There is a kindness in UCLA's (seeming) cruelty, however: the transfer portal is open for UCLA football players for 30 days now, and since none of the players played four games, any players who transfer can redshirt.

I'm not worried about Foster. He'll get a buyout and he'll get an assistant coach gig, probably a pretty good one. Here's hoping his staff has good fortune too. As for UCLA, this looks to be a lost season to go along with all the others this century.

Right. The games.

No. 9 ILLINOIS AT No. 19 INDIANA (6:30 pm, NBC/Peacock): Why do I have the feeling this is going to be the best Big Ten football game of the entire season? I'm not saying these are the two best teams in the conference, because they're not, but I feel like this might be the best game. Indiana has hardly missed a step from its playoff run last season, while Illinois is increasingly looking like a late-Naughties Wisconsin squad ... and remember, those Badgers could be giant-killers. Can the Illini defense tame an explosive Hoosier offense? Will Illinois grind down Indiana they way Wisconsin used to wear its opponents out? These are all interesting, compelling questions. I like Indiana in this game but I wouldn't be at all surprised if I was wrong. IU 34, UIUC 31.

IOWA AT RUTGERS (Friday, 6:30 pm, FOX): Well, here's a conundrum: Rutgers is undefeated. Iowa isn't. The game is in New Jersey, and it's on a Friday night. Iowa fans are forgiven for retaining any questions they had about Mark Gronowski, who has yet to dazzle in three pedestrian starts. (I will remind you of this general rule I pointed out in my season preview: it really doesn't matter who's playing quarterback for Kirk Ferentz. The results are virtually identical.) All this leans towards guessing that Rutgers has a solid shot to win, but here's a fun fact: Iowa has never lost to Rutgers, and I'm guessing this team doesn't want to be the first. Also, Rutgers hasn't played any teams anywhere near Iowa's level yet anyway. Hawks win. Record Holder 31, Placeholder 13.

No. 21 MICHIGAN AT NEBRASKA (2:30 pm, CBS/Paramount+): In what factors to be the biggest game in Lincoln since ... I don't know, the Solich years, Nebraska has a chance to announce itself as having returned to its glory days. The Huskers have looked brilliant through three games, as long as you forget whom they have played. Everything is lining up for a Nebraska season that, at the very least, will be a dead-cat bounce, and that includes the fact that Michigan will be without head coach Sherrone Moore. I am not at all sold on the Huskers -- feast on cupcakes in September, puke up frosting in October, I always say -- and I'm not going to pick them to win here. No Moore 27, Down by Rhule 24.

MARYLAND AT WISCONSIN (11 am, NBC/Peacock): Luke Fickell simply cannot afford to lose this game. But September Maryland is still a thing, and he is still Luke Fickell, so he will. Terps 37, Derp 20.

No, 13 (FCS) SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE (6:00 pm, ESPN+): Remember, before the season started, I said that when all five of our teams weren't playing, I'd be picking games that interested me. This FCS matchup of two schools that are less than fifty miles apart is important to folks where I live, and I literally have skin in the game since my youngest daughter is a junior at Southern Illinois. So how can I pick against her, even though she's not the least bit interested in sports? Also SIU is ranked, SEMO isn't, and unlike the FBS polls, the FCS polls are coldly rational. SIU 45, SEMO 30.