A look at games that might pique your interest
Pretty light Thursday evening ahead of us with just one college football game on tap, but at least it’s an in-state team being featured with App State hosting South Alabama. The Jaguars are just 1-2 on the year, but they’re coming off an 87-10 win over Northwestern State (the one from the FCS, not the one from the Big Ten), so maybe there will be some excitement in Boone tonight.
Friday night has a pretty good schedule, all things considered. Stanford makes their ACC debut with a trip to Syracuse. Meanwhile we have a Big Ten affair going on between Illinois and a Nebraska team that the advanced metrics tell me is way better than I had noticed.
NC State fans get to kick off the Saturday action with the trip to Death Valley. Is State going to be better with CJ Bailey under center? Where exactly between the demolition by Georgia and the demolition of App State does Clemson really lie? We’re about to find out.
Let’s just ignore the rest of the noon timeslot since none of us here will really care, but… Go JMU Dukes!
If you’re looking for a betting line, Vegas has Virginia as a 3.5-point favorite at Coastal Carolina, but both SP+ and Sagarin are saying the Chanticleers should be the favorites. Should be a tight game either way.
USC-Michigan is your marquee midday game, and rightfully so. Still, I’m not buying this Michigan team. The Wolverines have not looked the part so far and were thoroughly manhandled by Texas. USC might not be as good as Texas, but they’re closer to Texas than Fresno State and Arkansas State, the two teams Michigan struggled to put away so far this year.
Also in the midday slot, Louisville gets their first test of the year with Georgia Tech coming to town. The advanced metrics tell us the Arkansas-Auburn game should be really good, but… really?! Also there’s Rutgers-VT if you’re looking for more ACC action.
Utah at Oklahoma State is the other midday slot (4:00pm start) that you should be watching. Both teams are 3-0 and this should be a great game.
The Sonny Dykes bowl between TCU and SMU kicks off 5:00pm with Dykes and the Horned Frogs having to go back to his former employer and current rival. I’m sure the Mustangs fans will be kind to him.
Cal has a chance to turn up the heat on Mike Norvell’s seat if the Golden Bears can send the Seminoles to their third straight home loss (and fifth straight overall loss). FSU is a 2.5-point favorite.
The key primetime game is going to be Tennessee’s trip to Oklahoma. The Sooners walloped Temple in their opener, but have struggled in the following two weeks against Houston and Tulane. Granted, they still managed to win, but if the Volunteers come in looking like they have over the first three weeks, this game will be over by halftime.
Also in the evening slate, Boston College has a chance to snag a win against a Big Ten team… granted, it’s Michigan State, but the league will take what it can get.
Don’t watch the game itself, but maybe keep an eye on how many points Boise State is going to hang on Portland State. I’d be shocked if they don’t hit 70. Also, that K-State vs BYU game looks like it’s going to be really good, but I like the Wildcats in that one.
Go Pack!
Rankings for SP+ Ratings (here’s the SP+ ranking for all college football teams) and Sagarin Ratings listed, respectively, ahead of each team’s name.
Thursday
85/98 South Alabama @ 80/70 Appalachian State – 7:30pm – ESPN
Friday
82/83 Stanford @ 64/59 Syracuse – 7:30pm – ESPN
46/51 Illinois @ 24/26 Nebraska – 8:00pm – FOX
83/97 San Jose State @ 48/35 Washington State – 7:00pm – CW
Saturday
51/64 NC State @ 21/20 Clemson – 12:00pm – ABC
36/42 Florida @ 69/71 Mississippi State – 12:00pm – ESPN
65/77 James Madison @ 29/57 North Carolina – 12:00pm – ACC Network
78/66 Houston @ 63/63 Cincinnati – 12:00pm – FS1
30/32 Kansas @ 54/39 West Virginia – 12:00pm – ESPN2
79/79 Virginia @ 75/82 Coastal Carolina – 2:00pm – ESPN+
17/14 USC @ 12/19 Michigan – 3:30pm – CBS
73/76 UCLA @ 18/16 LSU – 3:30pm – ABC
49/53 Georgia Tech @ 16/21 Louisville – 3:30pm – ESPN2
117/129 Buffalo @ 87/87 Northern Illinois – 3:30pm – ESPN+
28/52 Arkansas @ 22/25 Auburn – 3:30pm – ESPN
41/49 Rutgers @ 35/38 Virginia Tech – 3:30pm – ACC Network
(FCS) 136/148 Youngstown State @ 56/62 Pittsburgh – 3:30pm – ESPN+
59/54 Arizona State @ 55/44 Texas Tech – 3:30pm – FS1
13/11 Utah @ 19/17 Oklahoma State – 4:00pm – FOX
52/75 Duke @ 164/160 Middle Tennessee – 4:00pm – ESPNU
27/29 TCU @ 38/40 SMU – 5:00pm – CW
9/10 Miami @ 77/65 South Florida – 7:00pm – ESPN
42/41 California @ 34/27 Florida State – 7:00pm – ESPN2
6/8 Tennessee @ 15/15 Oklahoma – 7:30pm – ABC
23/22 Iowa @ 32/50 Minnesota – 7:30pm – NBC
68/69 Michigan State @ 57/55 Boston College – 8:00pm – ACC Network
44/34 Baylor @ 70/56 Colorado – 8:00pm – FOX
94/81 Purdue @ 66/61 Oregon State – 8:30pm – CW
(FCS) 215/202 Portland State @ 47/28 Boise State – 9:45pm – FS1
14/12 Kansas State @ 53/47 BYU – 10:30pm – ESPN